Just in: Philly snatches Chicago’s principal trumpet
OrchestrasPhiladelphia Orchestra has just signed Esteban Batallán as principal trumpet, starting next month.
The Spanish virtuoso, 40, has put in five years in the role at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, where he was recruited by Riccardo Muti.
He sounds pleased: “The Philadelphia Orchestra and Music and Artistic Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and the entire management team, make for a historic organization unique in its commitment to the musical arts,” said Batallán. “The combination of excellent musical and personal standards make The Philadelphia Orchestra a truly great musical family.” / “La Orquesta de Filadelfia junto a su Director musical y artístico, y toda la pirámide administrativa, hacen de institución histórica que sea única en su compromiso con el arte de la música. La combinación entre excelentes estándares musicales y personales hacen de la Orquesta de Filadelfia una gran familia musical.”
Yannick Nézet-Séguin issued a yelp of triumph: ‘From the first moment I heard Esteban play, I knew he was the perfect match for The Philadelphia Orchestra. This is a historic appointment that will have a generational impact on the sound of the Orchestra. We look forward to welcoming Esteban to our Orchestra family and to experiencing his contributions to our work.’
This is a power play, plain and simple.
I didn’t realize that David Bilger had left the orchestra. Wow.
Odd how pointless comments like this continue to live on this website but any comment daring to (gently) scrutinize Friedman’s playing gets deleted after a couple days. Did the Philly PR department have a word with Slipped Disc? I wonder…
Odd how people on this website like you continue to post factually incorrect statements. Perhaps my surprise that Bilger was gone was “pointless,” but at least I’m not spreading misinformation like you.
I’m particularly tickled by that the incorrect statement about Bilger being the highest paid member of the orchestra received 26 likes when it was not only absurd to assume he got paid more than the concertmaster, but publicly accessible documents show it wasn’t true.
I said below that was wrong. I’m sorry. Having checked the orchestra’s recent IRS Form 990, Bilger had the third highest salary in the orchestra. The website where I saw a higher salary was clearly incorrect. BTW, publicly accessible information also shows Bilger left Philly in 2022.
Please disregard last comment. Was on the wrong article! Carl needs more coffee!
Fabulous player. The previous principal trumpet in Philly was the highest paid member of the orchestra. Probably still will be.
I doubt that he was paid more than the concertmaster.
Sorry, but wrong.
To be clear, that was wrong. The website posting salaries was incorrect.
Not true…don’t know where you get your info, but no way..
Such power plays are the norm in orchestra politics. In his memoir “Shoot the Conductor” Anshel Brusilow asserts that when Eugene Ormandy lured him away from George Szell’s Cleveland Orchestra, Szell never again spoke with his fellow Hungarian.
For better or for worse, Szell viewed everything as life and death with Cleveland because he was so personally invested in the orchestra. It’s hard to imagine today’s conductors being that upset about musicians leaving for peer orchestras.
Big loss for Chicago, but I bet you they will try to bring him back, especially for Mäkelä’s first season as MD. Chicago will also have a Principal Trombone audition this fall. That seems like an important audition if they want to keep their legendary brass status. In the mean time, their brass might sound less legendary for the time being.
Yes. With Dark Mark likely set to hack away in the principal trumpet chair to keep it warm, there will be rough concerts ahead.
Legendary comment and right on. The section needs a heart transplant. Stat.
Mark Ridenour is a fabulous player,,,Sound wise, i liked him much more than Martin,Batallan, and certainly Herseth during his last decade. Saw some unforgettable concerts with him(Mahler 9, Berg Lulu Suite, Bruckner 7 and many more)..Always wondered why he didn´t get the CSO principal spot, or any other(he played superbly on some Telarc Cincinnati Symphony recordings after Philip Collins retired).
I haven’t heard the CSO live in ages, but someone spoke highly of John Hagstrom. Could he be at least an interim leader?
He seems to shy away from first. I can’t recall ever seeing him on 1st even in chamber concerts. Esteban and Hagstrom had been sounding very nice together.
My opinion both Chris Martin and Esteban especially are better players than Mark. Esteban has that powerful sound and approach like Herseth did. That’s why he was hired. Orchestra’s that have had memorable players always want to replicate them. The NY Philharmonic wanted another Phil Smith when he retired. Chris is great but no Phil. So my point is great orchestra’s want a super star to lead their sections. Mark R is good and so is Hagstrom but they are not super star players.
Chicago audiences (who clearly still understand good music) used to give standing ovations to the great David Cooper, certainly not to Esteban.
The CSO only chance to regain (not retain) their brass status was to keep Cooper as principal horn. He was the only player that could have become legendary.
Muti blew it by denying Cooper tenure.
Esteban’s departure actually improves the orchestra, at least incrementally.
Can’t admit when you are wrong, rat? pure ignorance about trumpet
Disagree. Esteban was the second coming of Herseth. Big loss my opinion. As far as Cooper not getting tenure, I heard members of the orchestra didn’t want him for some reason.
Has anyone definitively discovered why Mr. Cooper didn’t get tenure in Chicago? Did they not like his phrasing? Technical deficiency? Bad breath? Foot odor? (I’m just wondering, no dog in this fight.)
It’s been laid out over and over again in these comment sections.
Not sure about less legendary but certainly less loud and unrefined sounding…….
Agree that this is Makela’s golden opportunity to hire the brass section he wants and rebuild it from the ground up, new trumpet, new trombone, perhaps new tuba afterall Pokorny is 71, perhaps new French horn if Makela denies Almond tenure.
Inasmuch as Muti hired every principal in the wind section and remade the Chicago wind sound, Makela remaking the brass section is 10 times bigger, he can redefine the Chicago sound for the 50 years!
IF he is capable. Alas I think Makela is too young to know how to build an orchestra.
I believe Mark Almond was given tenure earlier this year.
Too much player movement now a days. You can’t lock in a “sound” anymore.
Esteban is no doubt one of the top orchestral players in the world, but his sound never was and never will be right for Chicago.
Chet, Almond has already received tenure. It’s no secret Batallán was a fan of Cooper. I wonder if he would have gone to Philly if Cooper was still with CSO and if they had a different Principal Trombone…
Same thoughts, Sotto Voce.
Dear Lord save Philly.
Philly audiences: you better run and get a stock of ear plugs before they are sold out, as you are in for a special Trumpet-Boar (or Boar-Trumpet, whatever) treat.
If I still cared about the CSO I’d get carried away and say they are half of the way through a real recovery by getting rid of the Italian Stallion, the Trumpet-Boar, and the used-to-be Trombone. But then I remember they still have to get rid of the principal horn, clarinet, and oboe to sound at least decent.
Oh well. Will Esteban tell Yannick what Muti’s opinion of the flamboyant Philly MD is? Maybe Harvey Sachs should lean in too; he’s privy to Muti’s thinking and shares the same opinion.
To Chicago audiences: you are still in hell, but at least not in its worst pit after this announcement.
I’ve been terminally online for most of my life and this is one of the most insane things I have ever read about anything.
I tend to agree with chicagorat on most things. s/he is clearly someone who spends regular time in Orchestra Hall, listens, and cares. I’d only counter that out of all the low brass, Jay was the one that was closest to still cutting it.
“Jay was the one that was closest to still cutting it”
That is so wrong. Jay could barely play anything the last few years.
You have no clue to what “cutting it” is at the professional level if you think Jay was anywhere close the last 10-15 years. Probably more.
I stand by my statement, as worded. Out of the current low brass section, he is the closest to still cutting it. I attend regularly and I listen, and on the not infrequent occasions that the low brass ruin a concert for me, I know exactly why.
He plays like Herseth and he plays Herseth’s actual instrument. It’s phenomenal news. Of course he can play loud, he can also play quietly, at any volume he has an incredible sound which is what you want in a principal trumpet.
I would love to hear your thoughts on CSO oboe! That was certainly a hire/tenure that surprised many.
Can you or someone else help me out here? I swear I heard a trumpet make a horrendous mistake in the final phrase of the Tchaikovsky Fifth (admittedly not the most sublime piece) on its Friday night performance last year. It surprised me so suddenly I wasn’t sure it was real. Was anyone else at this performance & was I hallucinating? I just don’t go to enough CSO concerts to have a firm opinion on its state.
I’ve heard more than a few highly exposed clams during EB’s tenure. Of course those never make their way to the Trumpetclips page but I have them on tape.
Lt.Kije, How is possible that you have them recorded? That’s really disrespectful…you can not record concerts because you want to and use it for any bad purposes. Where is the dignity of people? Why would you do that? Somebody should do it to you too…
Not as bad as recording phone conversations. Mic drop…..
How callous of you to assume I keep concert recordings for malicious intent. This only reveals your single-minded way of thinking.
Lt. Kije, You should be banned from entering every Hall without checking you, recording without permission is prohibited, and you know it’s the truth, whatever you do with them, it’s disrespectful.
That’s why live music is best.
Don’t you mean Tchaikovsky 6 when Craig Morris was back as guest principal? Woof Lol
A big part of the problem is that the stage is wide and shallow in Chicago. That lends to the feeling that the brass are almost sitting up in the front. I don’t think Batallon will sound nearly so forward in Philly’s relatively new hall, but I could always end up being wrong about that. It surprises me that there hasn’t been a push to build a new hall in Chicago. Orchestra Hall is becoming more ‘dated’.
Not sure for the downvotes on this one. Orchestral Hall is a subpar acoustic experience every time I visit, though my home hall is Boston’s SH so I may be cynical.
Lt.Kije, this is very Interesting. Chicago has a hall that is not good, everybody knows that, so, do not visit it if you don’t like it hahaha simple!
Never forget that Henry Fogel destroyed the Orchestra Hall acoustic when he gave us “Symphony Center” in the late 90’s. Between that and hiring Daniel Barenboim instead of Claudio Abbado as MD, an EPIC FAIL as a steward of the organization. ♂️♂️♂️
First they lose Chris Martin to New York and now this to Philly. I guess the ‘legendary’ status of the Herseth chair isn’t enough to keep the best in Chicago.
Bravo! And welcome back to Earth after your trip to a parallel universe where Chicago is still home of the best lol
This also means that our new Maestro Klaus will not enjoy home-cooked meals prepared by Esteban’s wife, like Muti who was invited regularly, according to certain verbal accounts. Some say though that Muti did not particularly enjoy the cooking … is that true?
Martin didn’t do his best playing in Chicago. Good that he went to New York. Battalion is another story. What’s going on in that section that drives principals away?
Some of that is addressed in earlier comments. I don’t think it was necessarily anyone in the trumpet section that soured the milk for him.
The 4th trumpet gave him a lot of trouble.
Historically, principal trumpets lured away from Chicago, to New York by van Zweden and to Philly by Nézet-Séguin, don’t have much of an impact, either on the local critics or in the orchestra.
I think twice the NYT has singled out Martin’s playing in 7 years, but mostly the NYT says the Philharmonic brass is too strident in the refurbished hall. So yes, van Zweden got Martin to New York, but Zweden didn’t know what to do with Martin once he got him.
Both Martin and Batallan played as principal under Zweden (NY and Hong Kong) and Zweden was elbowed out of the NY Phil by Borda because of his brutish interpretations. Neither Martin and Batallan are known for their nuanced playing.
Nezet-Seguin will have the same problem: same NYT critics, same failing in marshalling the players (eg, of the Met) as the NYT noted in their last Carnegie Hall review.
No doubt, both men got bigger pay checks, although I didn’t realize Philadelphia had any money.
In any case, Chicago is not known to be extravagant in its salary for principal players. They know no one is irreplaceable.
I hope the CSO isn’t holding Batallan’s position for an eventual return, they did that for the principal flute when he left for LA and Berlin, but it’s not worth it. No one is irreplaceable.
Correction: Chris Martin was hired by Alan Gilbert in season 2016-2017 which was Gilbert’s last season with NY Phil.
Jaap van Zweden started his tenure in season 2018-2019
The NYT critics know less about brass playing than my cat. They do know loudness is a problem in Geffen Hall and they’re right about that.
Bud. Bud was irreplaceable, but sadly, not immortal
Laughable comment. Martin not nuanced? What is nuanced then?
Martin is not nuanced. Effete is more like it. Granted playing in a bone dry hall for years can’t have been conducive to musical expression. There’s a reason those in the biz call him Mr. Perfect, and not as a term of endearment.
I have to disagree with you slightly. I understand why people would call him “Mr. Perfect” – he fits in with the section and plays well (very few clams) but for me he is a “sit there and play” principal (as was Phil Smith) which is not what I want in a first trumpet. As a listener (and this would apply to all wind soloists) I want someone with some soloistic mentality (trumpeter ego). Think of Marc Lifschey the Cleveland oboeist…….read the stories about him and Szell! These players are not commonly encountered. One who was superb in this was Maurice Murphy with the LSO (I actually heard him many times with the BBC Northern orchestra before he was picked up by the LSO). Maurice had a sensational sound (as John Williams delightedly found out when recording the Stars Wars soundtrack) and he “led the orchestra” in a way that is rarely encountered. Murphy in Mahler 5 was unbelievable. Similar players in the US were Herseth and Kaderabek (who of course also played in the CSO before Detroit and Philly). Before my time but in your town of Boston – Voisin. Here in NY before my time (but audible on recordings and from what people tell me) Glantz and Vacchiano. In Boston you have the best hall in North America (I will be there for Mahler 8 – even Nelsons can do that well) but not my favorite principal trumpet (soloistic but too clam prone). Mike Sachs is wonderful but left Cleveland though I heard him guest with the Phillies very successfully. Inouye also very good, most especially high up as he likes to play jazz in his spare time. Ideal player – Doc Severinsen – if only he were a symphonic player…………what a sound!
I agree with everything, especially Severinsen. But…Phil Smith was much, much more. A God in the principal trumpet world!
Yes, Smith was a more refined Herseth who also played lots of solos. Something Herseth didn’t do.
I think you missed the most obvious one of all, Charles Schlueter. To a lesser degree Bernie Adelstein and Ryan Anthony. Cheers.
Agreed. He is a great player. Heard him play Poem of Ecstasy with Karina Cannellakis and he was absolutely wonderful.
Heard it too! Fantastic concert, by Karina,Chris , and the whole orchestra. She turned the orchestra within a couple of rehearsals into a fine tuned luxury band, after years of a loud, muddy wash of sound under JVZ.
Exactly.
Michael Sachs has not left Cleveland. He resigned from the Cleveland Institute of Music faculty but is still with The Cleveland Orchestra. I’ve heard him live a number of times including Mahler 5 and Strauss’s Symphonia Domestica. He always sounds amazing.
Yes, too many boring players coming out of the universities. All good but sound the same. Heaven forbid you have a unique sound.
Absolutely right. I read your comments on this thread. You know your stuff. Everyone should read them.
Speaking of the NYT, it had written a big splashy article a few years ago on the new generation of the Chicago brass sound, with photos and all, featuring Batallan on trumpet, Friedman on trombone, and Cooper on horn, and lo and bebold, they are no longer there.
So much for NYT journalism, lol.
Look, orchestras have less and less a unique sound, prime example, with Klaus Makela leading the CSO and the Concertgebouw, it will be inevitable that they lose a bit more of their individuality under a shared music director.
Those players were there when the article was written however….now if you were Battalan would you rather play for Makela or YNS? Plus Chicago is very cold for a Spanish person…..
Batallan is from northern Spain – Galicia. It rains a lot & it’s very green there. Brisk temperatures in the winter.
Philadelphia still has bars where you can smoke…
Not to be mean, just being anatomically observant, from the photo, Batallan has a deformed ear that must deform his accoustic awareness of his sound and the sound he hears around him. It most certainly has an effect on his playing.
This is one of the most objectively stupid things I’ve ever read in this comment section.
There is no deformity of the ear. The angle of the photograph simply emphasises the shape of the pinna. A simple look at other photos of him online would have shown that. And even if it were ‘deformed’ it would not affect his hearing, and it certainly would not affect his playing. Part of the perception of one’s own sound as a brass player is via bone conduction, and the rest via the ear. The pinna has almost no effect. But hey, let’s make things up to look smart-ass, why not.
I’ve seen him up close and there’s nothing wrong with his ears or his hearing. Or his playing!
I heard his Mahler 7 with Philadelphia at Carnegie. It was amazing and the whole brass section elevated around him. Congrats to both Esteban and the Philly Orchestra. Really looking forward to hearing them play Mahler 3,6,9 here next season!
I was there too, had the same impression (particularly the obvious joy of the other trumpets playing with him). At the conclusion, YNS went over to him first to ask him to stand for applause. That was right, he was so secure in the finale’s high parts that my immediate thought was “Here’s another Bud Herseth.”
John, I’ve enjoyed your comments here but I don’t think he sounds anything like Herseth. Speaking from hearing both many many times at Orchestra Hall.
True, regarding. But on the Mahler 7, he had the presence of Herseth.
I think it depends which trumpet he is playing.
Fantastic!!!!!!!!!!! I heard him play as a guest principal in Mahler 7 (stupendousIy I might add) and tweeted to YNS that I hope he can hire him. YNS and I share an eye for talent……………
What??!! Why??!! He has always told that he’s dream has always been Chicago Symphony and his idol’s Bud Herseth’s chair so why leave the post what he had always dreamed?? I can’t understand!
You know what they say… never meet your heroes…
Dreams are fragile and once you realize they’re not what you hoped them to be, they can shatter really easily. But here are few things that might help you understand.
1) It’s not easy to sit next to a decrepit trombone section.
2) It’s not easy to watch you’re beloved Music Director make bunch of stupid decisions like hiring the principal oboe and promoting second oboe to assistant principal while not giving tenure to your pal Cooper who absolutely deserved it
3) When you’re viewed by majority of the orchestra as a lesser replacement for the well liked and respected Chris Martin, it’s always going to be hard. But when you decide to befriend the second trumpet, who was the sole reason for Martin’s exit, by default you’re going to piss lot of people off, especially the other trumpet guys who wanted Martin to stay and Hagstrom fired. You can imagine the kind of environment Batallan found himself in…
Who knows, perhaps he will find Philly to be no different and will return. After all the new era in CSO is not far, two new trombones will be coming in soon and I can’t imagine Mulcahy and Vernon lasting much longer, Ridenour is also about the right age so one less enemy in the trumpet section, the tide is changing and he’ll have plenty of time to consider things during next season.
Your characterization of the perception of Chris Martin vs Esteban within the orchestra is not accurate. It is also rather odd to insinuate that his friendship and extremely fruitful working relationship with his second trumpet player is a problem. If there are people who are upset that Esteban had a good relationship with his second trumpet player, then perhaps they are the ones who need to change their behavior.
Actually, “don’t ask who I am” is on to something…
Meanwhile, Esteban has been knocking it out of the park this summer at Ravinia. Mahler 9, Pines of Rome, Daphnis… every performance, stellar. By the way, not easy to do when we often have 3 different programs per weekend. He will be missed this coming season, but I hope he comes back. In the meantime, Mark R can still play and has the CSO trumpet sound. Anyone who heard him play principal this season on Nielsen 5 knows.
I recall Chris Martin knocking it out of the park once he decided to leave….
Sounds like usual brass camaraderie you find in most orchestras. I have yet to encounter an orchestra trumpet player with an ego that could not readily be seen from space……………
One name: Tom Rolfs
I’ve heard him numerous times. On a good day he’s great. Unfortunately they’re not all good days….
Hagstrom? Derp, and here I was thinking it was Ridenour who drove Chris Martin away…. what was up with Tage always sitting 27 feet away from Mark?
Can I ask who the other trombone that’s leaving is?
I heard that after the Mahler 7th concert that he played in Philly, he was taken out to eat by the brass section. They decided to introduce him to the famous Philly Cheese Steak. It was love at first bite. That was the deciding factor for Mr. Batallan.
Philly Cheese! They have a great cardiology department at U of P
I assume the downvote is either someone who doesn’t think U of P has a great cardiology department or someone who plays poker at Parx lives in Southern Jersey and eats at the Wawa all the time….
Or someone who’s already concerned for Esteban’s health…
Chicago´s loss, Philly´s gain!!!!!
I never thought Esteban fit in that well with the CSO. But the CSO can’t seem to keep a principal trumpet. Tough to fill Herseth’s shoes. Good luck to him.
You definitely have no idea Kalogeresis.
You should keep doing what you do instead of having an opinion on how music works, or maybe changing architectural historician for musical bulls..ter
Methinks Chicago Cat is related to Chicago Rat. Certainly equally rude.
The truest characters of ignorance are vanity, and pride and arrogance – you wear it so well ChicagoCat.
Wow, I’m shocked to hear that. I thought he was really great and his sound worked perfectly with the CSO.
Looks alor older than 40 plus it is a power plan for diversity. Go diversity.
Batallan is a young white European guy. How is that diversity?
This seems to me to be a good selection for Philly and for Chicago. Esteban is a fine player, but his style suits Philly better than Chicago town. Christopher Martin, in New York, too.
Herseth left an existential challenge to the orchestra, and, so far, no one has risen to it. Clevenger, belatedly, as well. Jacobs, well, who could?
Perhaps, one day.
Mark Ridenour is a stellar place holder, and has been so in the past, and he should be proud, but the powers that be, as with Danny Gingrich, also a stellar place holder, decided that they shall not rule.
Au contraire. These two, along with the inimitable memory of Arnold Jacobs, and the legacy execution of Jay Friedman, brought a sense of the elegance, virtuosity, depth, and commitment to the Chicago sound that brought Chicago to the epitome of orchestral excellence when it was the wonder of the world. These things are precious. To squabble over them seems unseemly.
We can, and should, do better than quarreling over who’s better, and who should go where, and who should not go where they want to go. It’s music. It’s about expression. There is never one, single way it is right.
Again?? CSO lost its principal Trumpet just a few years ago to the NY. Phil. — Chris Martin
For a long time I have heard that he was very unhappy since Cooper left (correct me if I’m wrong, but I think he is the godfather of Cooper’s daughter from what I have heard), and he has always defended the CSO Brass tradition, which is dissipating over time sadly.
Perhaps it’s due to the lack of leadership in the horn section, or trombones, which is very clearly seen week after week (also in the newspapers)
As much as some of you think otherwise, he knows perfectly well what the Chicago Symphony sound means, and I believe that it is not an economic decision but an artistic one that has led him to make this decision (which I have heard first hand from people very close to him)
I wish he will come back, and wish him the best although we will miss him, he is the true heir of Herseth.
My first thought was, apart from artistic considerations, that the CSO is in better financial shape than Philly. Or am I wrong?
CSO management says he is taking a one year sabbatical
That’s the usual course, to see whether he gets tenure.
He is will get it, for sure.
They invited a ton of trumpet players for this audition, principal trumpets all around US
Norman, he will get tenure, for sure. Nobody makes wrong moves in those levels, I’m pretti sure of that.
Except in Chicago.
Someday we will know the whole story behind this, I don’t think this is a random decision and probably has a lot more than we speculate. We like him, and appreciate him, let’s see what this all is about in the future.
Everyone invents palace intrigue about orchestral principals and conductors–while this is a loss for Chicago, I wonder if some of this musical chairs is just generational.
Especially with a shift to a defined contribution from a pension model [the outcome of the 2019 strike], a 5-year “change of scenery” is common in so many fields [law, business, even increasingly academia]. The old model of work somewhere for 40 years and retire has gone away. Even at its best, the orchestral world is monotonous. Sabbaticals, new creative partnerships, different conductors, new chamber music or teaching opportunities refresh the spirit and keep the flame alive. The portability also refreshes the orchestra that lost someone
Philly has been overrated and irrelevant for decades. Thats why I moved to Bel-Air. He’ll be back to Chicago.