The Met fast-forwards a concertmaster
mainHaving brought forward Yannick’s start date as music director by a full year, the Met has now confirmed Benjamin Bowman as joint concertmaster, half a year before the end of his probationary term.
press release: New York, NY (February 26, 2018) – Benjamin Bowman has been appointed to one of the two concertmaster positions at The Metropolitan Opera by incoming Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, it was announced today. After a one-year contract this season, the 38 year old American-Canadian violinist officially begins his duties next fall with the start of the 2018/19 season. Bowman joins David Chan, who has been Met Orchestra Concertmaster since the 2000/01 season. Unlike most American symphony orchestras with one concertmaster, the Met has two concertmaster positions because of the heavier performance schedule of seven operas a week.
“I’m very happy about Ben’s appointment,” said Nézet-Séguin. “He has proven himself to be an accomplished and inspiring leader and has won the admiration and respect of his fellow orchestra members as well as mine.”
If you are going to have a concertmaster, you might as well appoint a Bow Man.
What the heck happened to concertmaster Eanet? He left to join Juilliard, left them for “health reasons”, returned to the Met, and has — vanished?
I’ve said it many times, Benjamin Bowman is a superlative musician. I suspect he is actually too fine for this job. I hope it won’t use him up. I heard him play the Korngold Concerto, yes, while a student at the Curtis Institute, and it was sheer artistry. His classmates were Timothy Fain, Soovin Kim, Nick Kendall, and others, and he was head and shoulders above them all. A real artist, yet completely down to earth. He should be concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic, or the Philadelphia Orchestra. He will also likely make a great teacher.
Leave him in the Met Orchestra – in my humble opinion, a much better ensemble than the NYP
I’m in 1000% agreement! The Met orchestra plays with ever so much more color, emotion, and scope than the NY Phil. The Met orchestra is actually now my favorite orchestra. Completely unmatched.
It’s been a while since I heard them, but under Levine, in Carnegie Hall, they sounded like an old-time pit band, with a very gloomy overall sound, dark and dingy, and not very pleasant. The Phil, on the other hand, was always full of rich color, superb leaders, if not all that responsive to conductors.
Yo mama is deaf and so are you