Greatest living conductor?

[bhodges]

If we are discussing greatest rather than favorite, then I think there have to be criteria that we can at least try to quantify.  These would be (in my opinion)

1 Covers wide range of Genres
2 Covers wide range of epochs
3 Covers wide range of cultural traditions
4 Consistent Excellence of performance
5 Unique Interpretations, influence on other conductors
6 Effective administrator, orchestra builder
7 Explores unconventional repertoire

I think this is a pretty good list of criteria.  It would be hard for me to come up with one "greatest," though, since so many conductors are good at say, 80% of the repertoire--but each is good at a different 80%. 

My choices would probably be among Abbado, Boulez, Chailly and Haitink (in alpha order), but I'd be hard-pressed to choose just one.

--Bruce

[rubio]

I have most respect for Harnoncourt and possibly Boulez, but a special mention goes to Rozhdestvensky.

[not edward]

Chailly would certainly fill the "opera expert" role very well.

As would a very fine conductor who seems to perpetually fly under the radar: Christoph von Dohnányi.

[Mirror Image]

My favorite living conductor is Neeme Järvi son Paavo Järvi.  I am not a big fan of Neeme, he is good at some stuff but not others.  However his son Paavo is fantastic, he brings everything he touches to life!

Paavo is decent, but I wouldn't throw superlatives at him just yet. I've ony liked one of his recordings and it's this one:



I think the biggest problem I have with Paavo is too often he lacks rhythmic drive in the music. I also think the way he just goes through composers so quickly makes me wonder how much knowledge he actually has of the composers he's conducting. But these are, of course, my own opinions.

[Mirror Image]

I also love these living conductors: Ivan Fischer, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Eiji Oue, Yoel Levi, Robert Spano, David Zinman, Jesús López-Cobos, James Levine, Lorin Maazel, Leonard Slatkin, André Previn and Edo de Waart

Maazel, Spano, Lopez-Cobos, Slatkin, Zinman, and Oue? Are you freakin' kidding me? Is this a joke? If it is, you got me!!!

[Scarpia]

Chailly would certainly fill the "opera expert" role very well.

Chailly was left off the list, but I think he may be a contender because of the high quality of his work and because of his flexibility.  He certainly is at home in orchestral music and opera.   He does well in core repertoire, as well as modern works. 

[Teresa]

Maazel, Spano, Lopez-Cobos, Slatkin, Zinman, and Oue? Are you freakin' kidding me? Is this a joke? If it is, you got me!!!

Nope, totally serious these are my favorites.  Right now I am listening to some fantastic Debussy and Turina conducted by Jesús Lopez-Cobos.



I find Paavo Järvi to have superb rhythmic drive, he started out as a percussionist you know. 

[Mirror Image]

I find Paavo Järvi to have superb rhythmic drive, he started out as a percussionist you know. 

Simon Rattle was a percussionist too but this doesn't mean that this aspect of their musical lives will translate well when assuming the role of a conductor. When Paavo first started out, he was a pretty good conductor, and, again, that Grieg recording is a great example of the kind of power he had over an orchestra. It seems his recordings with the Estonian Philharmonic Orchestra have a much more lively energy to them than his later recordings with Cincinnati and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony. Now, I find his music-making to be quite uninspired and lifeless.

[not edward]

If Boulez had been a choice, I might have gone with him too...although I've never heard anything by him from the classical era...and if you don't conduct Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven, can you really lay claim to being the greatest? His Mahler, Wagner and Bruckner, though, can't be faulted, and of course he's the master of the twentieth century.

Sarge

There's a WP-issued DVD that includes Boulez conducting the London symphony. Could be interesting.

http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=WPH-L-H-2009

Also a Mozart D minor concerto with Pires here:

http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=2053078

[Brian]

When Paavo first started out, he was a pretty good conductor, and, again, that Grieg recording is a great example of the kind of power he had over an orchestra. It seems his recordings with the Estonian Philharmonic Orchestra have a much more lively energy to them than his later recordings with Cincinnati and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony. Now, I find his music-making to be quite uninspired and lifeless.

Listen to Paavo's Beethoven (esp. 2-4, 7-8). If you find that "lifeless," then my name is Grover McGillicuddy.

[Mirror Image]

Listen to Paavo's Beethoven (esp. 2-4, 7-8). If you find that "lifeless," then my name is Grover McGillicuddy.

I'm not a big fan of Beethoven's music, so I doubt I will be hearing them. But regarding, late-Romantic and early 20th Century music, I just haven't heard anything remotely inspiring coming from his baton. Bare in mind, this is just my opinion and I certainly am happy to speak from the minority regarding his conducting. But I'm just not apart of the Jarvi bandwagon.

[Brian]

I'm not a big fan of Beethoven's music, so I doubt I will be hearing them. But regarding, late-Romantic and early 20th Century music, I just haven't heard anything remotely inspiring coming from his baton. Bare in mind, this is just my opinion and I certainly am happy to speak from the minority regarding his conducting. But I'm just not apart of the Jarvi bandwagon.

Okay. I know little of Paavo outside of Beethoven.

[Philoctetes]

I voted for Davis, love him in Berlioz and I love him in Bruckner. I find those two sufficient.

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

If we are discussing greatest rather than favorite, then I think there have to be criteria that we can at least try to quantify. 

For me at least, one of these criteria is that a conductor leaves a definite stamp on the way music is made - by bringing a composer out of the shadows, or by creating a different style of playing, for instance.

Mackerras for example brought Janacek out of the Czech ghetto and made him a regular in the opera houses and concert halls of the world.

Bernstein did great things to promote Mahler (though claims of his single-handed revival of Gustav are exaggerations), and was also the greatest promoter ever of American orchestral music.

The major figures of the early music revival (like Harnoncourt and Leonhardt) also count, regardless of whether you like their approach or not, because they changed our understanding of how past music should be played.

There are lots of fine conductors who can lead good performances of various repertoire. There are very few who can alter our musical landscape in a meaningful way.

[vandermolen]

I voted for Haitink but also think highly of Previn, Ashkenazy, Slatkin and (having seen him at a rehearsal) Jurowski.

[Brian]

Which Jurowski, Mikhail or Vladimir?

The Ma Vlast thread reminded me to mention Antoni Wit - I don't think he is the greatest by any stretch (I haven't voted yet, am leaning toward Harnoncourt), but I do feel like somebody ought to mention him in this thread. Champion of Penderecki, Lutoslawski, and Karlowicz; able or more than able conductor of the high romantics (Strauss, Smetana, Dvorak, others); and he did pretty well by Weber in a recent disc too. His way with Schumann roused critics into a kerfuffle. Next year's release of a Janacek album - Glagolitic Mass and Sinfonietta, two works for which I very heavily favor Czechs like Ancerl - will be a major test. The man's main limitation is his modesty of ambition; he doesn't seem particularly willing to leave Poland and take more high-profile concert environs by storm.

Anyhow, leaning towards Harnoncourt, but Abbado is making me think. Barenboim too. Boulez three - just for the glorious DG Ravel!

[Mirror Image]

Karlowicz

Great composer! Kudos for mentioning this virtual unknown. I have both of Wit's recordings of Karlowicz's orchestral works. Great discs!

[not edward]

One important aspect to conducting that isn't really being mentioned here is the orchestra-building aspect. Though it's not necessarily so easy to assess this, leaving an orchestra in better shape than you found it is surely a key aspect in being a great conductor.

[Gabriel]

Another vote for Harnoncourt.

[Josquin des Prez]

Wow, i don't find any of these conductors to be particularly exiting, though some of them occasionally manage to reach greatness (I.E, Harnoncourt's paris symphonies). Disappointing.