Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Robertson to Leave SLSO

Something of a shock in the NY Times: David Robertson will be stepping down as music director of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra at the end of the 2018-19 season.

I'm surprised because it has seemed like a good pairing, with Robertson popular and his programming first-class. This leaves him with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in Australia and no ongoing US appointment, though he has frequent guest engagements with orchestras and the Met.

The big question, of course, is, who will replace him? Will the SLSO be the U.S. orchestra that finally scoops up Susanna Mälkki or Pablo Heras-Casado?

Updated list of open spots:
  • St. Louis Symphony Orchestra 
  • Dallas Symphony Orchestra (when Jaap van Zweden takes up his new post at the NYPO)
  • Milwaukee Symphony
  • 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:

  • Hong Kong Philharmonic; Jaap van Zweden's contract extended through summer of 2022
  • City of Birmingham SO; Mirga Grazintye-Tyla appointed 2/4/2016, succeeding Andris Nelsons
  • 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

2 comments:

Molly said...

Wiener Staatsoper has named Bogdan Roščić (Sony Classical) as Meyer's successor. The reaction in the Austrian press is one of surprise.

Lisa Hirsch said...

I just go to the Times article about it. Surprised myself.