Egalitarian orchestra decides it needs conductor
OrchestrasThe St Pauk Chamber Orchestra functions with artistic partners, not directors. Its players say they prefer to go conductorless.
However…. they have just chosen a new artsitic partner and he is a conductor.
Gábor Takács-Nagy, 68, is principal conductor of the Manchester Camerata.
Is this St Paul? Does anyone know what ended up happening about the affair between the current concertmaster and the other lady in the violin section?
György Pauk is a wonderful violinist. Perhaps he has become a saint and an orchestra is named after him.
If this is about St Paul Ch. Orch. seems to me they have had many conductors/music directors over the years.
That musician hasn’t been in the orchestra for a few seasons, slick. They used to be co-concertmasters but he’s gone now.
I think there’s a big misunderstanding. Both concertmasters made an advance to the violin lady in the orchestra. She reported one to the HR and had an affair with the other.
It is really odd that the history of the current CM and inappropriate relationships with both colleagues at SPCO and various students has not yet come out, especially relating to a certain summer music festival. Most of the faculty of said music festival (as well as the festival director) knew, and yet he was repeatedly re-engaged. This is/was the case also with the conductor of the student orch at the same festival (also still re-engaged), which became a source of tragic ridicule at some point, and still is. I am told that both have now “changed” and settled down a bit (maybe that’s true). My guess is that Ms. Needleman will eventually latch on which would really be a problem IMO and both may have a somewhat belated #metoo experience. Deservedly.
So we can look forward to more self-serving over-interpreted Beethoven symphonies now???
My fly on the wall tells me that they decided for a conductor when again and again, sections of the ensemble choose their own tempo with the result that performances ended in cacophony. Although this drew the attention of certain critics who detected a new way of interpreting the old works of the repertoire, which brought them closer to the modern world, ticket sales were dropping so they succumbed to tradition.
Hey Bortslap, check the season calendar; they’re playing many many symphonies and programs without conductor, and a select few programs with. As they have done for a while now. And Twin Cities critics are at about the same level as Susan Hall.
I know of two chamber orchestras who found-out they did not need a conductor for Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert etc. etc. when their conductor boarded the wrong train and did not make it for the concert. So, it helped them tremendously with the budget. And when they played contemporary music, nobody in the audience could hear the many mistakes anyway so everybody happy.
Contemporary music….Audience ???
You’re new to John’s sense of humour, aren’t you?
https://m.startribune.com/st-paul-chamber-orchestra-names-gabor-takacs-nagy-its-newest-artistic-partner/600381803/?clmob=y&c=n
This is a bit like people offloading their Renault Zoe and replacing it with an Audi Quattro, isn’t it?
Net Zero doesn’t work for orchestras, either.
Somehow, for me, collective music-making just doesn’t do it. I think more about Orpheus, a much more recorded orchestra than this one. I’ve owned a few Orpheus recordings over the years, but somehow I just never listened to them past the first hearing. Great playing, sure. Interpretation? Any distinct point of view about the music? Meh.