San Francisco Symphony Season Announcement Date: March 28

San Francisco Symphony has announced the date of its season announcement: it's a week from today, on Tuesday, March 28, at 10 a.m. I have a page of predictions of works that might appear at SFS, because they're composed by Esa-Pekka Salonen or a collaborative partner or because Salonen has conducted them elsewhere. 

Cast Change Announcement: NY Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra

Conductor Karina Canellakis has withdrawn from some of her upcoming programs because she's expecting a child in May. Here are notes about the conductors who will leading those programs.

• Jonathon Heyward, New York Philharmonic, April 27-29. The program is as originally scheduled:  Brahms’s Violin Concerto, with Christian Tetzlaff, Zosha Di Castri’s Lineage, and Lutosławski’s Concerto for Orchestra

• Osmo Vänskä, Philadelphia Orchestra, April 20-22. Perry Study for Orchestra, Mozart Piano Concerto No. 24 with Inon Barnatan, Beethoven Symphony No. 3 (“Eroica”)  

Best wishes to Canellakis for the easiest possible childbirth.

VFO Beats the VPO

On Saturday night I went to Vallejo to hear the new-ish Vallejo Festival Orchestra, conducted by Thomas Conlin. I'd never heard the orchestra or the conductor before, and I'm ever so happy to report that the concert was exemplary in every way: a well-played, well-conducted, stylistically-appropriate all-Sibelius concert with a really wonderful singer. It was all deeply satisfying. This is why it's good to see whatever you can; you never know when you'll hear a better concert by a regional orchestra than you heard days earlier with a world-famous ensemble.

I did not manage to get one point into my review: this was one of the few programs I've seen where the conductor's and soloist's comments from the stage truly added to the program, owing to the ability of both to connect sincerely and openly with the audience. That is very hard to do, so even more hats off to Thomas Conlin and soprano Katherine Whyte. I'm looking forward to the next Vallejo Festival Orchestra concert, you bet.

A Head-Scratcher

The last time that I attended a program conducted by Christian Thielemann was the 2015 Bayreuth Tristan und Isolde. It was transcendentally beautiful, so stunning that I came out of Act II raving about how gorgeous it had been. I believe I used the phrase "HOLY MOTHER OF GOD" to describe it.

So when Cal Performances announced a three-day series with Thielemann and the Vienna Philharmonic, I looked over the programs and decided to come to tonight's Mendelssohn and Brahms concert. And hoo boy, it was the worst money I have ever spent. 

The first half of the program was the Hebrides Overture and "Scottish" Symphony. Let me sum this up briefly: Mendelssohn with no charm is no good.

The second half of the program was Brahms's Symphony No. 2, and....it was just bad, fussy and overly controlled, with little sense of the big picture in any of the movements. (That was true of the Mendelssohn as well.) This is the most genial and sunny of the Brahms symphonies, and those qualities were also lacking. Thielemann's conducting was that of a blunt instrument, with little delicacy or grace or subtlety. 

I wonder whether I would have responded to that Tristan as I did if I had been able to see Thielemann, who was, of course, conducting from the mystic abyss, the invisible Bayreuth orchestra pit. I try not to be too influenced by what I am seeing, but Thielemann was really unpleasant to watch, in part because he looked sour and unhappy the entire time, and partly because of his particular vocabulary of movements. As I said to a friend afterward, we've had decades of visual goodness with SFS's music directors, from Blomstedt's attentive courtliness to MTT's energetic precision to Salonen's sheer grace. 

As for the VPO, let me say first that I am wary of getting too specific about the sound of any orchestra playing in Zellerbach. It's a concrete nightmare made half-decent by a Meyer Constellation system, but there's almost always something a little artificial about the sound there. The orchestra sounded...pretty good, but I would not have guessed them to be a legendarily great orchestra. The principal horn played a couple of solos very beautifully and I'd love hear more of him. The flutists were playing regular silver flutes, not the wooden instruments that you can see in some photos of the orchestra. 

The timpanist was oddly retiring or the placement of the timpani made him difficult to hear, or something. I own that I have gotten very used to the playing of SFS's principal timpanist, Edward Stephan, who is assertive and a great presence; it's possible that ten years ago I wouldn't even have noticed that the VPO timpanist wasn't very noticeable.

Thielemann and the VPO elsewhere:

• Zachary Woolfe, NY Times. Loved the Strauss and is a bit circumspect about the other works.
• Joshua Kosman, SF Chronicle. Loved the Strauss, thought the Schoenberg awful. "Yet there wasn’t much to savor [in the Schoenberg], as Thielemann drove the orchestra’s string players into a bare-knuckled series of confrontations. Melodies burst across the stage like missile blasts; it was as if any infusion of tenderness or lyricism would be taken as a sign of weakness." That last phrase predicted what last night was like.
• David Bratman, SFCV. This is very even-handed and the concert didn't deserve even-handed treatment. When you're allegedly one of the greatest orchestras in the world, you should be held to the highest possible standards. See the above: I would have been a lot meaner if I'd been reviewing this program, obviously. I eventually concluded that Thielemann conducted as though he hated the music, the orchestra, the audience, and maybe himself.

Friday Photo

Vegetables

December, 2022

 

Oldie But Goodie, 2018 Edition

I drafted this blog post in January, 2019, so, four years ago. I have no idea why I never published it. So, for your amusement, my look back at 2018:

People are publishing their 2018) best-of lists. As usual, I haven't heard enough new CDs to have opinions, and I attended way fewer concerts than I usually do, owing to a combination of overwork, failure to buy tickets, disinterest in most of the SFS season, and more jujitsu than I'd done in the last few years. Still, I have a few highlights and opinions on important news stories.

Local news story of the year: In an amazing coup, Esa-Pekka Salonen will be the next music director of San Francisco Symphony.

Second biggest local surprise of the year (after E-PS): Nic McGegan to retire after 30-odd years as music director of Philharmonia Baroque.

Local non-story of the year: Two and a half years after the announcement of Nicola Luisotti's departure from San Francisco Opera, there's no new music director in sight.

Favorite local cast changes: Irene Theorin stepping in for Evelyn Herlitzius in the SFO Ring, on almost no notice, and singing the heck out of Brünnhilde; Music Director Designate Salonen stepping into the concerts vacated by MGT, and being Salonen, MDD, improving the program.

Big news (mostly) elsewhere: Abusive behavior resulted in the firings, resignations, or suspensions of James Levine (Met), Daniele Gatti (Royal Concertgebouw....but the Rome Opera hired him not long after, astonishingly), Charles Dutoit (after more than 20 years of stories! was fired from or withdrew from engagements with eight different orchestras, as well as being fired ("stepped down") from the Royal Philharmonic, where he was music director, but....he now has a job in Russia), David Daniels (famed countertenor), William Preucil (teacher; longtime concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra), D. Kern Holman (musicologist), Massimo La Rosa (principal trombone of the Cleveland Orchestra), Stephen Shipps (chair of the string dept. at UMich), organist James David Christie, maybe principal oboist Lian Wang and associate principal trumpet player Matthew Muckey of the NY Philharmonic (the Phil was vague about why they were fired).

Two points about the above list:

1. That's a long list of prominent men.
2. There are more predators out there.

Better big news elsewhere, although....: Lots of conductor turnover, but somehow women still aren't being appointed to many highly visible positions, while some conductors have multiple prestigious appointments. Yes, I'm looking at you, Andris Nelsons, and you, Yannick Nezet-Seguin. There's so much talent out there that double appointments are not necessary or a good idea. I don't believe that even the youngish and energetic can adequately manage a big-budget orchestra and the Metropolitan Opera.

Belated Museum Mondays

Guo Pei Exhibit

Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco

September, 2022

 

Friday Photo

Flowering plants

Battle, near Hastings, England

May, 2014

 

Sibelius in Vallejo

Here's a program of interest to Sibelius fans:

Music From The Land of Midnight Sun
Performed by the Vallejo Festival Orchestra, Soprano Katherine Whyte
Conducted by Maestro Thomas Conlin

Sibelius songs: “Spring is Flying,” “Was it a dream?,” “The Tryst,” “Autumn Night,” “Sigh, Rushes, Sigh,” and “Black Roses”, all for soprano and orchestra

Sibelius, Finlandia

Sibelius, Second Symphony

Saturday, March 11, 2023, 7:30 p.m.
The Empress Theatre, Vallejo Center for the Arts
330 Virginia St, Vallejo, California 94590
Tickets $29 - $97 — Call (707) 552-2400 or Visit EmpressTheatre.org

This is the enterprising conductor and orchestra that performed a Wagner program last year with soprano Othalie Graham. Looking forward to this program!

Stuff I Expect to See in SF

Walt Disney Concert Hall Garden

March, 2017

Photo by Lisa Hirsch

Between this year's and next year's goings-on at the LA Phil, I would bet a few bucks that we will be seeing works or programs like these in San Francisco sooner or later:

• Felipe Lara, Double Concerto for Flute and Bass, because Susanna Mälkki is conducting it with SFS Collaborative Partners Claire Chase and esperanza spaulding.
• Bryce Dessner, Double Concert for Two Pianos, because the composer is a Collaborative Partner
• Esa-Pekka Salonen, Fanfare, which apparently features Collaborative Partner Pekka Kuuisisto
• Nico Muhly, Shrink by another Collaborative Partner
• Esa-Pekka Salonen, Karawane
• Herbert Blomstedt conducts Schubert 6 and Beethoven 7
• Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts the Sibelius violin concerto (Lisa Batiashvili) and John Adams Naive and Sentimental Music....with the San Francisco Symphony, on a weird one-day runout to Los Angeles.
• MTT conducts Tchaikowski 5 and Stravinsky Petroushka

Also guessing that there's a Ring revival coming at the Paris Opera because Gustavo Dudamel is conducting a well-cast semi-staged Das Rheingold in January, 2024. It's part of the orchestra's celebration of Frank Gehry, architect of Walt Disney Concert Hall, and he's the scenic designer.

And the SFS program feature about Gabriella Smith discloses that "The Symphony will present Breathing Forests [Smith's organ concerto] next season as part of the California Festival: A Celebration of New Music."

Belated Museum Mondays

Detail of a Painting

Boston Museum of Fine Arts

October, 2019

 

New This Week

I've got a couple of items up at SFCV today:

• What Gets the Pros Riled Up About Tár? (I did not come up with this title!) Huge thanks to conductor JoAnn Falletta for a great talk and her insights about the world of conducting.
  
• Clair Chase Becomes a God of the Wood in Pan

Come in the near future: a bibliography of everything I read about Tár! And an anecdote or two that didn't make it into the piece, featuring some conductors.

Backstage Protocols

There's been some reporting about changing COVID-19 protocols for performing arts audiences, for example, Joshua Kosman's article about San Francisco Opera retaining its masking requirement, but not much that I have seen about what's happening offstage. That is, how are arts organizations protecting their performers and crew, whether instrumentalists, singers, actors, stage crew, or ushers?

You might remember that earlier in the pandemic, San Francisco Symphony and West Edge Opera both had to cancel a performance because of late-breaking positive COVID tests.

I asked San Francisco Opera and San Francisco Symphony about their current protocols, and here's what these organizations told me. I'm planning to ask around a bit more; many organizations know me from my reviews.

• San Francisco Opera: "The Company continues to meet with the team of UCSF doctors who have guided us since the beginning of the pandemic. We have testing protocols in place for aerosol generating activities (rehearsals and performances) that are responsive to the community risk level."
• San Francisco Symphony: "Our current protocols require that musicians receive symptomatic testing, and chorus and vocal soloists are tested prior to each service. Additionally, the San Francisco Symphony requires full vaccination for all musicians and staff to participate in any Symphony-sponsored activities at Davies Symphony Hall, Zellerbach Rehearsal Hall, or any other locations of such activities. Our current protocols were made based on guidance received from the San Francisco Symphony’s Health and Safety Task Force—which includes medical professionals from UCSF and private practices—and the organization remains as nimble as possible and we may adjust protocols in response to new guidance as we receive it."

So...I certainly see some potential gaps here: "responsive to the community risk level" might mean that testing depends on case rates in San Francisco or some larger geographic area. "Symptomatic testing" means that people with asymptomatic cases aren't getting tested. Do wind players generate less aerosolized risk than singers? As expressed, that is the assumption.

New Music at the NY Phil

David Geffen Hall

Photo courtesy of the NY Philharmonic (I think)

In today's SF Chronicle Datebook, Joshua Kosman speculates about who's next as the LA Philharmonic music director, and like everyone else, reaches no conclusion. He has linked to my own speculation on the subject.

I want to add just one thing to what he says about orchestral innovation elsewhere in the United State:  over the last 14 years, the NY Philharmonic has done more than you might think, if you're not reading orchestra season announcements. 

From the orchestra's web site, here's a bit from Alan Gilbert's bio about his eight years as music director:

Gilbert’s tenure as Music Director at the New York Philharmonic was defined by the expansion and redefinition of the symphony concert experience. In 2010, the Orchestra performed the New York Premiere of Ligeti’s avant-garde opera Le Grand Macabre. In 2012, Gilbert led the Philharmonic 360 performance at the Park Avenue Armory. Gilbert was also responsible for CONTACT! and the NY PHIL BIENNIAL, two new-music series that together unveiled 92 World Premieres.

When Gilbert left the orchestra, the CONTACT! series was in danger of being cancelled (and I think eventually was). Sadly, the NY Times reported that, for all the new music in the series, it didn't reach many people because so many of the premieres were for small ensembles and were performed in small venues.

Here is some information from outgoing music director Jaap van Zweden's bio about his new music efforts:

Highlights from recent Philharmonic seasons include the launch of Project 19, the multiyear initiative marking the centennial of the 19th Amendment with commissions by 19 women composers, including Tania León’s Stride, which was awarded the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in Music; the new, staged production of Schoenberg’s Erwartung and Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle; his first Young People’s Concert; and works by Barber, Beethoven, Bruckner, Philip Glass, Mozart, Steve Reich, Ellen Reid, Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky, Nina C. Young, and more, including the school-age participants in the New York Philharmonic Very Young Composers Program.

Jaap van Zweden’s most recent recording is the 2020 release of the World Premiere of David Lang’s prisoner of the state, following the 2019 release of Julia Wolfe’s Fire in my mouth,

Yeah, this isn't on the scale of what MTT and Esa-Pekka Salonen did and are doing at their respective orchestras, but these efforts at the NY Phil were certainly forward movement from the days of Mehta, Masur, and Maazel. 

Previously: Speculation: LA Philharmonic's Next Music Director

Outgoing

 

Davies Symphony Hall

If you read my blog, or if you've been following the current contract negotiations, you know that SFS has many vacancies, in the winds, the brass, and the strings. I'll note as well that the late Principal Keyboard player Robin Sutherland has not been replaced and neither has former Chorus Master Ragnar Bohlin. I think that there are a couple of endowments supporting the principal keyboard position, but I need to ask; if so, they're restricted and that's what they're supposed to be used for.

The openings are being filled, slowly: Rainer Eudeikis is the new principal cello, and Matthew Griffith is the new associate principal and E-flat clarinet. The second round (!) of principal flute auditions is finishing up this month.

But there are two new auditions listed on the audition page:

• Principal horn, with auditions to be held in June and July. This would be Robert Ward's position.
• Second bassoon, with auditions to be held in April and June. 

I've got to assume that Ward is  retiring. He will be missed. (Previously mentioned: the associate concertmaster position from which Nadya Tichman stepped down at the beginning of the current season.)

NB: Steven Dibner is associate principal, not second bassoon. He is not retiring, which I know because I asked him.

Friday Photo

Photo of a graphic display take at SFSoundBox. Horizontally symmetric pattern based on a Renaissance painting. Elements include a lute's fretboard and a feathered hat, on a red background.

February, 2023

 

Belated Museum Mondays

Armchair by Alexander Girard

Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe

August, 2019

 

Belated Friday Photo

City Hall, San Francisco

February, 2023

 

Contract Negotiations at San Francisco Symphony

Davies Symphony Hall

Photo by Lisa Hirsch

Two recent stories stemming from the fact that SFS musicians are currently working without a contract.

• Janos Gereben, SFCV
• Joshua Kosman, SF Chroń

Opera San José Falstaff

I'll be seeing Falstaff on Sunday. The reviews are good and it's a wonderful opera.

• Joshua Kosman, SF Chronicle
• Georgia Rowe, Local News Matters / Bay City News Foundation
• Nicholas Jones, SFCV
• Opera Tattler, who quite rightly calls out the numerous fat jokes and the director's non-handling of them

Speculation: LA Philharmonic's Next Music Director

Walt Disney Concert Hall

Photo by Lisa Hirsch

March, 2017

First, I've updated my previous post on Gustavo Dudamel and the NY Philharmonic with more links, mostly to the NY Times.

With his departure, there will be an opening at the LA Philharmonic, a great orchestra with a forward-looking administration, solid finances, and one of the best (and most architecturally marvelous) concert halls in the country. The names that are being bandied around are:

• Susanna Mälkki, the orchestra's principal guest conductor until 2022.
• Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, who was an associate and assistant conductor of the LA Phil and has a good ongoing relationship with the orchestra.
• David Robertson, whose affinity for new music would fit well with the orchestra's ongoing commitment to expanding the repertory.

I'll note that none of these three is an obvious candidate to slip easily into Dudamel's role as an educator working with youth. Also, as a native Spanish speaker, Dudamel could communicate very directly and naturally with Southern California's large Spanish-speaking population. If having a Spanish-speaking music director is a factor, these conductors might be under consideration: 

• Lina Gonzalez-Granados, from Colombia.
• Rafael Payare, Venezuelan like Dudamel.
• Pablo Heras-Casado, who is Spanish.

If you're thinking about the age and experience levels of the first two, well, LA has a history of taking a chance on young conductors who don't have a 20- or 30-year track record. Zubin Mehta took the job at 26, Esa-Pekka Salonen was offered the job at 31, Dudamel became music director at 26.

UPDATE, February 12: See also: New Music at the NY Phil

 

Music Director Updates

Updates:

• Gustavo Dudamel appointed music and artistic director of the NY Philharmonic, effective 2026-27.
• Lahav Shani will be the next music director of the Munich Philharmonic, leaving the Rotterdam Philharmonic in 2026.
• Sir Mark Elder to depart from the Hallé Orchestra as of approximately Fall, 2024.

A reminder that Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla has been quite clear that she's not interested in being a music director at this time, though it's also the case that the LA position becomes available three years from now. She could have held her position at the CBSO indefnitely! A more likely appointment to the LA Philharmonic is principal guest conductor Susanna Mälkki.

I would expect an announcement about Chicago fairly soon.

Open positions:

• Hallé Orchestra, when Sir Mark Elder leaves.
• Rottedam Philharmonic, when Lahav Shani leaves
• Los Angeles Philharmonic, as of 2026-27, when Gustavo Dudamel leaves for NY
• Berlin State Opera
• Indianapolis Symphony, where Jun Märkel is artistic advisor 
• Sarasota Orchestra, following the death of Bramwell Tovey
• Seattle Symphony, following Thomas Dausgaard's abrupt departure in January, 2022
• Chicago Symphony Orchestra, where Riccardo Muti leaves at the end of 2022-23
• Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra: open in 2024
• Hong Kong Philharmonic, when Jaap van Zweden leaves in 2024.
• Oakland Symphony, owing to the death of Michael Morgan in August, 2021.
• Teatro Regio Turin: Open now with departure of Gianandrea Noseda. The Teatro Regio has not named a new music director.
• Minnesota Opera: Michael Christie has left. MO has not named a new music director. 
• Virginia Symphony: JoAnn Falletta is now laureate, but no successor has been named.
• Shanghai Symphony Orchestra
• Marin Symphony, at the end of 2022-23.
• Vienna Staatsoper, when Philippe Jordan leaves at the end of 2025.

Conductors looking for jobs (that is, as of the near future, or now, they do not have a posting): 

• Christian Thielemann
• Osmo Vänskä
• Alasdair Neale (Not currently seeking a new position)
• Ben Simon (Not currently seeking a new position)
• Susanna Mälkki, who leaves the Helsinki Philharmonic at the end of 2023-24
• MGT (apparently does not want a full-time job, as of early 2022)
• Krzysztof Urbański
• Miguel Harth-Bedoya
• Lionel Bringuier
• Sian Edwards
• Ingo Metzmacher
• Jac van Steen
• Mark Wigglesworth
• David Robertson
• Peter Oundjian
• Philippe Auguin
• Kwame Ryan
• Ilan Volkov
• Aleksandr Markovic
• Lothar Koenigs
• Henrik Nanasi
• Philippe Jordan, eventually

And closed:

• New York Philharmonic, with the appointment of Gustavo Dudamel. Note that Jaap van Zweden leaves in 2024 and there will be a two-season gap until Dudamel arrives.
• Helsinki Philharmonic: Jukka-Pekka Saraste to succeed Susanna Mälkki.
• San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, with the appointment of Cosette Justo Valdés.
• Staatskapelle Dresden, with the appointment of Daniele Gatti.
• Seoul Philharmonic appoints Jaap van Zweden.
• Royal Opera appoints Jakub Hrůša to succeed Antonio Pappano in September, 2025.
• Garry Walker: now full-time music director of Opera North
• Jun Markl: music director of the Malaysian Philharmonic
• Juanjo Mena: music director of the Cincinnati May Festival
• Eric Jacobsen is the new music director of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra.
• Andrés Orozco-Estrada is now music director of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra (not to be confused with the Vienna Philhamonic).
• James Gaffigan appointed Music Director of the Komische Oper in Berlin, succeeding Henrik Nanasi, who left several years ago. 
• Royal Stockholm Philharmonic: Ryan Bancroft is chief conductor designate. He starts in 2023-24.
• Anja Bihlmaier is the new chief conductor of the Residentie Orchestra, The Hague.
• Dalia Stasevska is the new chief conductor of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra.
• Daniela Candillari named principal conductor of OTSL.
• Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, where Klaus Mäkelä, now their artistic partner, becomes chief conductor in 2027.
• Jonathon Heyward becomes music director of the Baltimore Symphony, succeeding Marin Alsop. Baltimore is not in great shape; they've had terrible management and terrible financial problems, although they've also hired Mark Hanson, who is known to be competent.
• Thomas Søndergård becomes music director of the Minnesota Orchestra, succeeding Osmo Vänskä. (The NY Times can manage the umlauts in Vänskä, but not the diacriticals in Søndergård. C'mon, you can do better than that.) Two interesting things about Søndergård: he was a timpanist, unusual among conductors, who tend to be pianists; he married his partner, a baritone, less than two weeks ago. Me, I'm wondering whether he was worried that Obergefell might be overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, given Justice Thomas's threat in Dobbs.
• Michigan Opera Theater: new principal conductor is Daniela Candillari.
• Teatro Comunale, Bologna: Oksana Lyniv becomes music director.
• Atlanta Symphony: Nathalie Stutzmann to succeed Robert Spano in 2022-23.
• Carlos Kalmar is now Director of Orchestral and Conducting Programs and Principal Conductor of the Cleveland Institute of Musicas well as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Grant Park Music Festival in Chicago. 
• Houston Synphony: Juraj Valčuha to succeed Andrés Orozco-Estrada.
• Opera de Paris: Gustavo Dudamel succeeds Philippe Jordan.
• Melbourne Symphony: Jaime Martin becomes chief conductor in 2022. Sir Andrew Davis left at the end of 2019. 
• City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra: Kazuki Yamada replaces MGT when she leaves at the end of 2021-22
• London Symphony Orchestra: Sir Antonio Pappano becomes Chief Conductor Designate in September, 2023, Chief Conductor the following year.
• Fort Worth Symphony: Robert Spano to succeed Miguel Harth-Bedoya.
• Oregon Symphony: David Danzmayr succeeds Carlos Kalmar at the beginning of the 2021-22 season.
• Scottish Chamber Orchestra: Maxim Emelyanychev has succeeded Robin Ticciati
• Orchestre de Paris: Klaus Mäkelä to succeed Daniel Harding
• Montreal Symphony Orchestra: Rafael Payare has succeeded Kent Nagano.
• Richmond Symphony: Valentina Peleggi succeeds Steven Smith.
• Singapore Symphony: Hans Graf succeeded Lan Shui.
• BBC National Orchestra of Wales: Ryan Bancroft succeeded Thomas Søndergård
• BRSO hires Sir Simon Rattle to succeed the late Mariss Jansons, effective 2023.

Dudamel to NY Philharmonic

Gustavo Dudamel

Photo courtesy of NY Philharmonic

Gustavo Dudamel will be the next music and artistic director of the New York Philharmonic, succeeding Jaap van Zweden. Here's the announcement that just landed:

We are thrilled to announce today that Gustavo Dudamel will join the NY Phil as Music and Artistic Director in the 2026–27 season, serving as Music Director Designate during the 2025–26 season. Dudamel will become part of a storied legacy that includes Gustav Mahler, Arturo Toscanini, and Leonard Bernstein. 

“I am grateful to the musicians and leadership of the New York Philharmonic as we embark on this new and beautiful journey together,” said Dudamel. “As the great poet Federico García Lorca said, ‘Every step we take on earth brings us to a new world.’ I gaze with joy and excitement at the world that lies before me in New York City. All of us are united in our belief that culture creates a better world, and that music is a fundamental right. I look forward to the work ahead.” 

More gushing information at the NY Phil web site. 

His commute to Paris will be half the length, and now the LA Phil will choose a music director to succeed him. (Do not look to the north, please. You had him for 17 years, right?)

In the news:

• NY Phil press release
• Javier C. Hernández, NY Times. "Gustavo Dudamel, Star Maestro, to Leave L.A. for New York Philharmonic."
• Zachary Woolfe, NY Times. "Will Dudamel Be New York's New Bernstein?" Is that the right question here? Regarding reactive appointments, Alex Ross made the same point when Jaap van Zweden was appointed to the NY Phil. I will also stick my neck out far enough to say that the living conductor who most resembles Bernstein is Michael Tilson Thomas.
• Justin Davidson, Vulture
• Joshua Barone, NY Times. "Gustavo Dudamel: An Introduction in 10 Recordings." (The only one I know is Adams, Must the Devil Have All the Good Tunes?, which is fine.)
• Javier C. Hernández, NY Times. "A Maestro at the Crossroads."
• James Barron, NY Times. "Can Gustavo Dudamel's Star Power Boost the Philharmonic?"
• Mark Swed, LA Times. "Dudamel Transformed LA. That's Why NY Poached Him."

One of the things I'm struck by, looking at the list of U.S. orchestra openings and appointments, is how few music directors at the large-budget groups are from the U.S. It's not as though American conductors are less talented than than European and South American peers.

Girls of the Golden West, Redux

 

Davone Tines and Julia Bullock

Girls of the Golden West

Photo: Corey Weaver/Courtesy of San Francisco Opera

The most recent - probably the last - revision of John Adams's Girls of the Golden West was performed the other week at the Los Angeles Philharmonic. I did not see it, but here are some reports.

• Jim Farber, SFCV, interviews Adams about the revisions
• Jim Farber, SFCV, Review of the performance
• Mark Swed, LA Times, Review
• Mark Swed, LA Times, reviews the Amsterdam revision of 2019

Previously: my media round-up of the November, 2017 San Francisco Opera premiere.

Belated Friday Photo

Godwits, on shore and in the air, with a couple of American avocets

Elsie Roemer Bird Sanctuary, Alameda, CA

December, 2022