tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post1424645184826419495..comments2024-03-27T21:41:50.122-07:00Comments on Iron Tongue of Midnight: Levine and the Boston Symphony OrchestraLisa Hirschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014924958428072675noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-41934732627376018892010-04-05T13:37:06.571-07:002010-04-05T13:37:06.571-07:00He's now withdrawn from what I expect must be ...He's now withdrawn from what I expect must be the balance of his Met performances for the year - some Toscas and Lulus.<br /><br />I hope he can recover; back issues are really tough. I'm sorry to hear how nasty the blog comments were.Lisa Hirschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14014924958428072675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-26186295707751292992010-04-05T13:34:02.446-07:002010-04-05T13:34:02.446-07:00Lisa, yes you're absolutely right: age isn'...Lisa, yes you're absolutely right: age isn't the issue; rather it is Levine's health. He is in worse shape than many octogenarian you listed. Considering he's almost the same age as MTT... MTT exudes youthfulness, JL is the exact opposite.<br /><br />Having said that, the several BSO concerts I attended this season with JL as conductor, those truly stood out from the rest. He is a genius and I really hope with his latest surgery, he can recover and return to lead the BSO.<br /><br />FWIW, the comments on the Globe's Exhibitionist blog entry when the withdrawal news first broke out, were far nastier than in the Eichler article.y2knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-12838147633533207292010-03-30T20:44:21.179-07:002010-03-30T20:44:21.179-07:00Thanks, Henry. I've no idea what the BSO shoul...Thanks, Henry. I've no idea what the BSO should do in this situation. Levine's contract has a couple more years to run, and if his health improves, they might keep him.Lisa Hirschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14014924958428072675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-18955122597881676182010-03-30T20:25:03.406-07:002010-03-30T20:25:03.406-07:00I'll just repeat what I wrote over there:
...I'll just repeat what I wrote over there:<br /> <br /><i>The assistant conductor here in Los Angeles is Lionel Bringuier, he's 24 and I've heard him conduct two really terrific concerts. There's others, like Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who's been highly rated in London with the LPO and others who aren't French or French/Canadian. There's a crop of good, young conductors around in the 2nd tier orchestras, waiting to move up to the bigger orchestras. <br /><br />With a young conductor, there might be a period where things don't go right all the time, but as someone who saw and heard Esa-Pekka Salonen go from a one-shot guest conductor who couldn't conduct the 19th century rep to save his life to one of the best conductors in the world with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, if it works out, the rewards are immense. </i><br /><br />I'd add, whoever gets the Boston job, now or soon, won't have to do the big orchestra rebuilding job that E-PS did, the LAP was in very poor shape when he took over full time.Henry Hollandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15871451112170286316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-83734496816691703052010-03-30T09:37:06.775-07:002010-03-30T09:37:06.775-07:00It seems there will be a lot of grumbling no matte...It seems there will be a lot of grumbling no matter who is music director. There's nothing orchestra patrons love more than a good grumble.Joe Barronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16638252347181688694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-83919916779810230302010-03-30T08:41:06.960-07:002010-03-30T08:41:06.960-07:00I suspect those preferring Ozawa are preferring fa...I suspect those preferring Ozawa are preferring familiarity or their own younger days -- in other words, it does come down to the adventurous listener vs the warhorse listener. There was a lot of grumbling, more or less openly, about Ozawa when I lived in Boston, and I left years before he did.Patrick J. Vazhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09279528648512493917noreply@blogger.com