Maestro bows out with a hint: Mission Impossible
OrchestrasThere were tears in the aisles as the Frenchman Louis Langrée conducted his last performance on Sunday after 11 years as music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
At the close Langrée, 63, was awarded the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for his impressive achievement over more than a decade, commissioning no fewer than 65 new works.
The concert contained music by Beethov en, Anthony Davis, Dukas and Ravel. But the clincher was a piece Langrée first heard during a Cincinnati Pops concert – Lalo Schifrin’s theme for Mission: Impossible.
It went down with a blast. But one does have to wonder whether the departing maestro was not making a subtle remark on the role of the music director in the next quartile of the 21st century.
Report here.
One of the unsung partnerships of an orchestra as good as any of the so called / self proclaimed Big Five.
The fact that they never appeared at Carnegie Hall is a stain on those who lead. Shame on you, Clive Gillinson – but enjoy your afternoon tea anyway.
Indeed, “the so-called/self-proclaimed” Big Five. I’m reminded of the definition of a celebrity as “someone famous for being famous,” and I think the Big Five–a completely arbitrary grouping–have their share of forgettable phoned-in performances and are often in the news because of their internal strife and/or the antics of current/former/potential music directors.
Cincinnati is, and always has been, a superb orchestra which need make no apologies to anyone. A shame that, with Telarc’s absorption into a larger corporation and its ensuing demise as a label actively involved in recording classical music, the CSO substantially disappeared from visibility outside its own region, although occasional livestreams do help.
This orchestra also performs in a classically beautiful and acoustically gratifying hall:
https://akustiks.com/project/cincinnati-music-hall/
As of this writing, the livestream of “Louis’ Grand Finale,” a concert filled with affection, remains temporarily available online, although the “Mission Impossible” encore was excluded from it:
https://www.cincinnatisymphony.org/watch-listen/free-livestreams/
In your last paragraph, you wrote, “…that they never appeared at Carnegie Hall….” I presume you mean with Mr. Langree? It’s been a while since they’ve been at Carnegie Hall – I agree that’s true, but Mr. Langree never got to conduct them in NYC; really?
Yes, really. Please check Carnegie Hall’s database: https://www.carnegiehall.org/About/History/Performance-History-Search.
They may have appeared together at Lincoln Center, but I don’t remember this to be the case. And, unfortunately, Lincoln Center does not have a performance history database (the Met and the NY Phil do have theirs though). But definitely not at Carnegie.
Langree and the Cincinnati Symphony played Lincoln Center in Jan 2016. Tchaik 5 + 1st piano concerto with Alexander Gavryluk.
I recall a Cincinnati Pops concert at Carnegie in the mid 1980’s – featuring Cleo Laine.
I haven’t heard Cincinnati live for many a year but their recent-ish American in Paris recording with Langree is a very classy album indeed.
No one really uses the term “Big Five” any more, as there are too many great orchestras outside those five that on any given day probably outshine them. (e.g. San Francisco, Los Angeles, Cincinnati, the Met Opera Orchestra, etc)
Also, if I remember correctly, the last piece Rafael Kubelik conducted as music director of the Chicago Symphony was Josef Suk’s march Towards a New Life.
Very fine orchestra with a long list of world class maestros. I am sure they will find an excellent conductor to replace him.
Cincinnati’s next music director has already been announced.
https://slippedisc.com/2024/04/maestro-move-cristian-to-cincinnati/