When a soloist gets ignored
mainThere’s a small storm brewing in France over a concert review in Le Figaro, where the stand-in conductor was praised to the skies and the soloist in the Brahms concerto barely got a name-check. The double-stand-in conductor was the timpanist Adrien Perruchon, who made his debut after Lionel Bringuier and Mikko Franck called in sick. Good story (we broke it first).
But to ignore Francois-Frederic Guy, who received an ovation and an encore for the second Brahms concerto was a bit casual on the reporter’s part. The article is not exactly a review, more a celebration of the late substitute, but it left the soloist quite unhappy.
This sort of thing happens quite a lot.
The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.
Maybe the pianist couldn’t or wouldn’t afford the fees asked by Le Figaro, and the conductor paid it?
So, it’s not actually a review but a profile of the conductor? In that case, it sounds perfectly reasonable.
Sounds like there’s a possible ‘liaison’ between the sub maestro and the over-zealous journalist.
A possible lack of integrity on the part of a journalist or music critic?? “I’m shocked.”
The journalist-Christian Merlin, I suppose- is rather obsessed with conductors. -a good music critic, though.
Il listened the concert on french radio “France-Musique”. the pianist was widely interviewed on this radio before the concert, but not the new conductor.
You can hear the concert here, until 11th january:
http://www.francemusique.fr/emission/les-vendredis-du-philhar/2014-2015/en-direct-de-l-auditorium-12-12-2014-20-00