More good news: Herbert Blomstedt is back
OrchestrasThe Swedish conductor, who is 96, will preside over two Schubert symphonies at the Leipzig Gewandhaus later this week. He has reportedly recovered from a fall he suffered four months ago.
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Do we really need a 96 y.o. conductor? We need composers trained in the Classical tradition.
Blomstedt is a good general all-purpose conductor I wouldn’t go out of my way to hear him unlike, say, a specialist like MTT.
“A good general all-purpose conductor…” Talk about damning with faint praise. You try and do better then, and we will see how many flock to your concerts.
We badly need conductors of Blomstedt’s calibre, regardless of age. But I’d love to ask that question to, say, young musicians performed the Brahms 3rd under Blomstedt in Tanglewood in 2022(beautifully, according to my ears).
Aging conductors are seldom generalists. They usually focus on what they’ve been doing best. Somehow, quite a few of them settle for the Viennese classics and Bruckner. So am I, to some extent, as a listener (disclosure: I am much younger than Blomstedt).
As of now I am planning on attending one of Blomstedt’s concerts in New York in February 2025. I can’t wait!
A very arrogant comment from somebody who doesn’t understand the value of a mature conductor.
Don’t forget to drop by the news on Makela and complain that he is too young.
I heard him a couple of years ago give a blistering Nielsen 4th and the best Beethoven 5 I’ve heard in ages (NYPO). So the answer is “yes” because he isn’t boring and most conductors are.
Bollocks
Even in his 90s, Maestro HB is still much better than a “general all-purpose conductor” and certainly far more inspiring to work with than MTT has ever been – ask any professional musician who has played more than once or twice with each of them.
Yes. Conductors tend to age well. And Blomstedt seems to be a beloved elder statesman, welcomed by A-list orchestras around the world. Enjoy him while you can.
Heard a wonderful Bruckner 4 with him in Chicago last year. Delighted that he is doing better.
That’s good news. When someone of that age has a fall, they very often never really recover.
amazing. iam 14 years younger than him. it is hard for me to get up from a chair.
Happy to see him back though sadly only in Leipzig. We were looking forward to see him conduct the Missa Solemnis in Vienna next month but has already been replaced by Adam Fischer (and was replaced last week by Honeck in Dresden, which we were also attending).
He will conduct Bruckner 8 in Paris at the end of april. At least I hope so.
I will be there!
Attended last night. Flew
Two hours to get here. Time and money well spent.
I worked with other „too old“ conducters, but everyone should enjoy maestro Blomstedt as long as he is able to perform…one of the finest artists, musicians and humans I had the privilege to work with!
Welcome Back Mr B! I once asked him in a rehearsal if he’d heard the Louis Glass 5th and he said no, but ‘I let him’ off as he’d already given us so much amazing Nielsen and Sibelius.
I think he’s got some Bruckner up too, in Bamberg. Check it out.
He will conduct Bruckner 8 in Paris at the end of april.
Anyway, he cancelled the concerts with the VPO end of May in Musikverein
Is that purported release of Franz Berwald’s four symphonies on the Deutsche Grammophon record label (with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra?) with conductor Herbert Blomstedt still in the works, or underway, or completed?
Yes Blomstedt gave good readings of Schubert, Beethoven and Bruckner, but would I call him a specialist of these masters? No way.
Fact is — some people are late bloomers they don’t get respect until in their ripe old age (in any case age itself is a dubious measure of wisdom). Blomstedt wasn’t held in high regard 20-30 years ago.
There is often a disconnect between fame and artistry. The spotlight is often on the young and the old. Anything in between gets overlooked, even among well established artists.
When he was in San Francisco (almost exactly 30-40 years ago), you could say he was well regarded. But he was only in his 50s-60s then. As he has gotten older, he’s become more of a fan and orchestra favorite. It’s true of a lot of conductors; Haitink, Skrowaczewski, Pretre, etc..
First, most of us usually prefer a versatile conductor over a “specialist”. Second, Maestro Herbert Blomstedt was well-regarded 30 years ago too, but the truth is that he is probably the only conductor out of many with whom I have worked several times over several decades who was actually better in his 80s than he was in his 50s when he was already quite good. So it is only natural that he is so beloved now by those of us who appreciate truly fine musicianship, not to mention his wonderful personal qualities.
Like I said, all these new qualities in a late bloomer.
Glad he has recovered from the fall.
His human qualities have always been exemplary, and his fine qualities as a musician are not really new either, but their development and improvement at an advanced age is extraordinary. He is a treasure.
Greate news. My favorite conductor.
Wow! Wonderful news.
Very late finding this out. I’m glad and relieved that Maestro Blomstedt has recovered and is back to conducting again. He definitely is one of the finest conductors, and has been for many decades. He is a very fine man in every way.
How wonderful that Maestro Blomstedt is still conducting concerts.
Attended a concert on February of 2023 in New York with Blomstedt conducting the Symphonie Fantastique by Berlioz and a modern Swedish piece. Amazing! I also heard Stanislaw Skrowaczewski in Minneapolis in 2015 at the age of 92 conduct an extraordinary Bruckner 7. These guys are/were the real deal. What a blessing.