Bolshoi will not rush to name music director

Bolshoi will not rush to name music director

News

norman lebrecht

March 23, 2022

After the sudden departure of Tugan Sokhiev, there’s room at the top and not many candidates in Moscow with international credentials.

But general director Vladimir Urin, pictured with Putin, says he won’t be hustled into an appointment.

‘I know almost everyone who might be in the circle of prospective music directors. This circle is not very wide,’ he told the state news agency, Tass. ‘This is a question not only of talent, of matching the scale of the Bolshoi Theater and that person. Compatibility with the orchestra and opera troupe is important. This is a matter of artistic authority . The atmosphere in the team will depend on this, how much this person will be trusted.

‘We will not rush, we will watch, try, discuss.

‘We need to find not just a good conductor – we need to find a leader who, together with me and others, will make the Bolshoi Theater. In other words, a person who will take on the responsibility of making primarily artistic decisions.’

Comments

  • DG says:

    What conductor who wants any hope of an international career would even consider this appointment?

    I guess they realize that and that’s why they are not trying to name anyone right now.

  • waw says:

    He left out the most important criteria: the candidate needs the personal approval of Putin, so my money is on … Roman Abramovitch.

  • IP says:

    There is no shortage of great artists, and no shortage of Putin supporters, but the intersection of the two sets may yield a very limited circle or even an empty set — over this I must agree with Comrade Putinite.

  • José Bergher says:

    Once the criminal Putin issues orders for a nuclear attack, his country’s priorities will drastically change and the Bolshoi will disappear and stop worrying about music directors, performances, seasons, etc.

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