Mini-Maestro: ‘I’ve lost 55 kilos’

Mini-Maestro: ‘I’ve lost 55 kilos’

Orchestras

norman lebrecht

April 27, 2021

Following up on Slippedisc’s story about his Prince Philip symphony, Finland’s leading newspaper Helsingin Sanomat has published an interview with the exuberant Leif Segerstam.

The maestro, down from 172 kilos to 117 this year, has some diet tips to share.

‘The diet is very simple: I don’t drink any more alcohol, which already leaves a litre off every day. My favourite food is sashimi, or raw fish, and with it grated root. You can have a Sachertorte for dessert and still lose weight!’

The Prince Philip symphony was written in two days and ends, he discloses, with a dog mourning its master.

Read on here.

 

Comments

  • Evan Tucker says:

    He might be a genius, but he is the weirdest musician since Glenn Gould.

  • Nathaniel Rosen says:

    172 kilograms, right?

  • Sue Sonata Form says:

    Great!! And he’s just reduced his chances of getting Covid19.

    • Saxon says:

      No, you are wrong. He has actually reduced his risk of becoming seriously ill or dying should he get covid (probably). His risk of catching it hasn’t changed.

  • Anon says:

    I’m sure the reindeer will appreciate it next time they have to pull him around the North Pole.

  • Anthony Michaels-Moore says:

    A litre off daily? Would that be vodka or wine, I wonder?? Good for him, and I hope he lives long!

  • Nobody special says:

    Gosh! I hope he is not down to 117 lbs! I assume it must be kilos or stone.

    • RW2013 says:

      Where on earth do they still talk in lbs?!

    • BRUCEB says:

      It says kilos in the headline and also in the text.

      Also, nobody but the US talks in lbs. anymore. (Although with a health questionnaire I fill out regularly, when they ask your current weight, they say: “if in the US, please list your weight in pounds; if in the UK, list your weight in stones.” …and of course there’s a box to check so they know if your 240 means 240 pounds or 240 stone… LOL, I hope)

      • Ashu says:

        [Also, nobody but the US talks in lbs. anymore.]

        Wrong. It’s an idiosyncracy of Canadian culture that although we converted to metric in the seventies, for measuring a human individual’s weight alone, we somehow could not give up imperial.

    • BRUCEB says:

      ^ replying to my previous comment which is not yet approved:

      Pardon my snark. Looks like it originally said “lbs” and was changed to “kg.” If NL makes a correction he doesn’t usually acknowledge it, so it looks as if the way it is now is the way it’s always been.

  • Greg Bottini says:

    “The maestro, down from 172lbs to 117 this year, has some diet tips to share.”
    You might not want to follow those tips to the letter; that’s a pretty radical and possibly harmful weight loss over such a short time. Check with your doctor.

  • Doctor Faustus says:

    That should be kilos, not pounds. 172 kilos is approximately 379 pounds. Glad to see he’s finally taking his health seriously.

  • Gerry Feinsteen says:

    I suspect you meant 172KG to 117KG…so he lost 55KG?

  • Ben G. says:

    Why this diet of sashimi, Maestro?

    One of the numerous anagrams for your name is “Gefilte smears”.

    I suggest that you try this method, which is apparently very popular among today’s Kosher crowd. Highly effective, especially if you can stand the lingering smell.

    😉

  • Dolly says:

    Kgs…. if that was pounds I’d be seriously worried!

  • Gustavo says:

    He mentions Sibelian and Elgarian influences.

  • Denise Brain says:

    You need to correct something in your post here: you mean kg and not lbs. If Segerstam got down to 117 lbs. he would just disappear!

  • Barry Guerrero says:

    We sometimes get a Lava Cake from the frozen section at Trader Joe’s, but I don’t think that quite rates with a Sachertorte. I’ll need to step up my game a bit.

  • yujafan says:

    I have lost 1.5 kgs in the last month, in case anyone is wondering…

  • Edgar Self says:

    I wondered, wujafan, as I’m two kilos behind you over ten months and lost in admiration.

  • CRWang says:

    Losing 55 kilos is not healthy, unless he is the tallest maestro on the planet. Btw, who was the tallest conductor in living memory? Otto Klemperer?

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