Just in: Concertgebouw loses concertmaster
OrchestrasThe Romanian violinist Liviu Prunaru has told the Concertggebouw Orchestra today that he is leaving at the end of the season. He has been concertmaster for 16 years.
Prunaru, 54, says he wants ‘to explore other ambitions’.*
His co-concertmaster, the Bulgarian Vesko Eschkenazy, will be assisted next season by guests and trialists.
Appointing a new concertmaster will not be easy, with the Boston Symphony leading a global hunt.
*He can apply to Dear Alma for guidance.
An excellent violinist, great concertmaster and a lovely human being.
He is a superbly equipped violinist who plays with real flair and I guess it is a sign of my own advancing age that I still regarded him as the youthful virtuoso who headed the violins in the Camerata Lysy Gstaad.
Vesko Eshkenazy is a super musician, and also, to use the words of Fabio Luisi, a lovely human being. Such people spread their humanity and musicianship through the entire orchestra.
Liviu Prunaru is a great artist I remember a Sibelius concerto he did with the RCO and Chung. During the last year I had the feeling that he was less present as concertmaster. Eschkenazy is always doing the biggest part of the concerts. I suppose Tjeerd Top will be more present now as concertmaster.
He should conduct, following his predecessor and his former colleague, Jaap van Zweden and Gustavo Gimeno, who have worked seriously and built very successful conducting careers on the podiums of the best orchestras in the world; there is a demand from orchestras looking for that Concertgebouw magic…the sound, the work ethic, the collegiality, the cohesion…
Jaap van Zweden was not Prunaru’s so called straight predecessor – Alexander Kerr (currenty CM in Dallas) was between him and Prunaru
I suppose that he will make more chamber music or concertos with orchestras. If you realy like him watch the movie “Royal orchestra” on dvd
I’d say the last sentence is more correct the other way round:
Appointing a new concertmaster will not be easy for Boston, with the Concertgebouw now leading the global hunt.
While I respect your opinion … let’s talk money. BSO and Concertgebouw- not that vastly different in reputation. I have friends in Amsterdam in the band who live in subsidized public housing- the fee is that terrible. Boston Concertmaster is about a half million a year, with no Dutch taxes, and heaps of time off. After these last years, it is follow the money and security.
European ‘subsidized public housing’ is very different from American ‘subsidized public housing’, the latter is the slums, the former could be part of state employees’ salary package and could be very respectably, even eviably, upper middle class, so much so that corruption accusations are always thrown around when the public actually finds out where state employees reside, you’d need a very healthy dual income to afford such an apartment in the open market.
Nope. Boston had a big head start. Plus, two different styles of playing – thank God.
Have you compared the salaries?
I care to disagree, but first let me just say that the two orchestras have completely different playing profile which will also mean the respective CMs they will end up choosing will likely be very different types of players. That said I don’t believe the same kind of people would be auditioning for these jobs when economic perspective is brought in place.
The RCO job sure is going to be of interest to many Europe based CMs and orchestra players, but for majority of CMs or even section violinists from major to mid size US orchestras, the RCO job will be of little interest as it would most certainly mean a major pay cut and higher living expenses. Boston will not need to worry about that. Let’s just say that if one person happens to be the winner of both auditions, RCO stands a very slim chance of being the winner. Money always talks.
Completely agree. I forgot to mention BSO has their summer season at Tanglewood (gorgeous) and with it a housing stipend that alone is practically as much as an RCO salary!
So for the better part of the last two decades the Concertgebouw Orchestra had a Bulgarian and a Romanian concertmaster.
Take that, Geert Wilders.
I’ve enjoyed my CDs of Saint-Saens piano trios with Prunaru on violin. On the BSO/concertmaster search: so many fine violinists come out of our major conservatories each year – certainly there must be SOMEONE capable of filling the chair.
Sure there are many “fine” violinists, unfortunately there are very few excellent ones. And even fewer among those who have the ability to handle the pressure and the hundred or so children in the orchestra that will despise him/her from day 4. Many crack under that load, few have handled the job and left with their heads up. I can only think of Silverstein and Dicterow at the moment (I’m sure there probably few others)
Oh it is hardly as dire as all that I should think. Gingold. Druian. Corigliano. Chausow. Hilsberg. Mischakoff. Kolberg. Krebbers. Carol. I could go on.
My cousin recommended this page to me, but no one else seems to know my concerns as well as he does, so I’m not sure whether he wrote this post. You are amazing; I appreciate you.
The British term ‘leader’ is preferable, in my view. It is neutral – and thus non-sexist.
The term ‘concertmaster’ creates an expectation of male leadership which very subtly makes it more difficult for female candidates to apply, to be taken seriously, and – most importantly – to succeed in being appointed.
Many countries need to move on from this unnecessarily-gendered term.
vegetable rights and peace.