It's been announced today:
http://www.gramophone.co.uk/classical-music-news/daniele-gatti-named-new-chief-conductor-of-the-royal-concertgebouw
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/10/03/gatti-named-chief-conductor-of-royal-concertgebouw-orchestra/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0
Quite unexpected, at least to me...
I heard Gatti conduct the Mahler 5th a few years (2? - 3?) ago, in the Concertgebouw. It was a solid, sensitive and warmly received performance, but not an exceptional one.
I must say I am surprised. Records and broadcasts will tell us more.
Interesting! :)
Unexpected choices have led to surprising results in the past, so I guess we'll see.
Q
I can't say I'm happy or upset with this decision but Gatti, to his credit, has turned in some great recordings. One in particular I'm thinking of is the Berg recording released on the RCO's house label. Very passionate performances of Three Pieces and the Lulu Suite. He also has turned in some great Tchaikovsky, Mahler, and Respighi.
Good denomination, though I don't know Gatti well, it just seems to fit. It's a logical choice as well, since there seemed to be a connection when they collaborated in the past.
Will explore some of his work, probably the Stravinsky he did.