NY Phil Appoints Jaap van Zweden

Jaap van Zweden

NY Philharmonic Photo

Jaap van Zweden, currently music director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Hong Kong Philharmonic, will be the next music director of the New York Philharmonic, succeeding Alan Gilbert. (Link is to the press release.)

Van Zweden starts his term in 2018-19 and will be music director designate in 2017-18. During that season, he will be leading several weeks of programs at the NYPO.

Van Zweden is currently recording Wagner's Ring in live concerts for Naxos with the HKP; Das Rheingold has already been released and Die Walkuere was just recorded within the last couple of weeks. It is of even more interest to me now. The singers include Matthias Goerne (Wotan), Stuart Skelton (Siegmund), Heidi Melton (Sieglinde), and Michelle deYoung (Fricka).

The conductor was in the news a couple of years ago owing to reports of clashes with the musicians in Dallas. When speculation started about who would succeed Gilbert, Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim more or less said, do not hire someone who has musician problems. 

Van Zweden studied at Juilliard and was appointed concertmaster of the Concertgebouw at the astonishingly young age of 19, becoming a conductor in his late 30s. He's now 55.

Related coverage:

• From last year, Times critics fantasize, mostly about Esa-Pekka Salonen, but note Corinna da Fonseca-Wolheim's remarks.
• Esa-Pekka Salonen tells the Times he's not a candidate, by Michael Cooper
• Joshua Kosman's interview of Esa-Pekka Salonen, last May. Reading this, it's hard to tell what the NYPO could possibly have offered Salonen to take the job, and bear in mind that Salonen is given to understatement.
• Michael Cooper article on van Zweden in the Times
• Zachary Woolfe tells you what you need to know, in brief, about van Zweden
• Anthony Tommasini writes astutely about the appointment. His concerns are perhaps reinforced by an incident at the press conference, as reported on Twitter by Will Robin: "Asked about the future of the Biennials, Zweden had to clarify with Van Biesen what they were (!), but asserted commitment to new music."
• Anne Midgette in the WashPost
• Alex Ross in The New Yorker
• Alex Ross has an additional thought or two at his blog
• Justin Davidson comments
• Joshua Kosman reviews van Zweden's only appearance to date at SFS: the conductor sounds like Toscanini, Jr. and Joshua has reservations.
• Kalimac's review of van Zweden's only appearance to date at SFS.

Updated list of open spots (I removed the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra because Jansons re-upped for another five years; thank you, Immanuel!):

• Dallas Symphony Orchestra (when Jaap van Zweden takes up his new post at the NYPO)
• City of Birmingham SO (Rumors of Edward Gardner; suggestion made that Mirga Grazintye-Tyla is also a strong possibility)
• Milwaukee Symphony
• Hong Kong Philharmonic
• Shanghai Symphony Orchestra
• San Diego Symphony
• Orchestra Nationale de France
• Vienna Staatsoper / VPO (Dominique Meyer not planning to appoint a WSO MD; his contract expires in 2020.)

And closed:

• New York Philharmonic; Jaap Van Zweden appointed, 1/27/16, succeeding Alan Gilbert
• National Symphony Orchestra; Gianandrea Noseda appointed, 1/4/2016, succeeding Christoph Eschenbach.
• Leipzig Gewandhaus: Andris Nelsons appointed, 9/9/2015
• LSO: Simon Rattle appointed, 3/2/2015
• Orchestra de Paris: Daniel Harding, 6/11/2015
• Berlin Philharmonic: Kirill Petrenko appointed, 6/22/2015
• BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra; Thomas Dausgaard succeeds Donald Runnicles in September, 2016