Breaking: Salonen to conduct Ring
mainAt Finnish National Opera, 2019-21. With lots of new technology.
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Question: Jaap van Zweden is “wrong” for NY because he is not a woman or from an ethnic minority. (see here: https://slippedisc.com/2016/01/why-white-van-man-is-so-wrong-for-the-new-york-philharmonic/)
If that should have been the criteria, how is Salonen a “loss” for NY?
Plus, this is about conducting OPERA. Why in all the world should the NY Phil be interesting in mounting the Ring? What does NY have to lose by Salonen doing something that the NY Phil would never do, in an opera house with which Salonen was already involved, when it is plainly clear that Salonen would have NEVER done the Ring with the NY Phil???
Also, if Salonen clearly didn’t want to go to NY, how is it NY’s loss? What should they have done? Twisted his arm? Held him hostage?
Maybe Norman thinks it’s New York’s loss, because Peter Gelb hasn’t started courting Salonen for the Met’s MD post yet 😛
A load of BS on two counts. 1. Not wanting another US MD job, Salonen seems content with his current NYPO/Gilbert relationship. 2. JvZ has the approval of the majority of NYPO’s musicians, in a time when there’ll be upheaval to the orchestra’s normal way of doing things.
It is strange how this idea persists that Salonen and the NY Phil “should” have been a match, even though neither ever showed any interest in a permanent relationship with the other.
I’m going to ignore all this BS about Salonen and the NY Phil to say that I think his take on Wagner’s ring could be extremely fascinating. Having heard him transform the sound of the LA Phil during his first eight seasons in LA, I’d expect it to sound something akin to Boulez at Bayreuth in 1976.
It will “sound something akin to” the Tristans he has been conducting in bit and pieces and wholes for years.
Does he speak a word of German?
Just asking…
==Does he speak a word of German?
He’s good with languages. Speaks Italian from when he studied there, plus pretty good French, excellent English plus of course Finish and quite possibly Swedish.
I wouldn’t worry about his capacity to learn German
Who cares about his languages ability. All he has to do is stand in one place and look as excellent as he does! Nothing more. And he has the whole world in his hand.