Klaus Mäkelä chosen for Chicago Symphony Orchestra music director

[Brian]

Here you go. (No paywall that I can see.)

-Bruce

Thank you. Wow, that was excellent and much-needed.

[Florestan]

Thank you. Wow, that was excellent and much-needed.

Yep. Perfectly civil and not unreasonable.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Thank you. Wow, that was excellent and much-needed.

I just read it too.  Quite interesting.  It sounds like conductors are having to spend too much time helping to fund raise these days?

Sorry to read about Salonen leaving S.F. too.

[Karl Henning]

His Shostakovich 7 from Frankfurt makes the work sound (even) better than it actually is.

Pro tip: that means the piece is simply great. There's no "he conducted a bad piece so well that it sounded good."

[Karl Henning]

The simple fact is musical history is littered with the appointment of 'young' conductors to major orchestras.

This is not the nature of my own objection, incidentally. Not that your comment was addressed to me.

[Karl Henning]

Here you go. (No paywall that I can see.)

-Bruce

Personally, I should have titled the piece "And Chicago Makes Four."

[Karl Henning]

I just read it too.  Quite interesting.  It sounds like conductors are having to spend too much time helping to fund raise these days?

Sorry to read about Salonen leaving S.F. too.

I hadn't twigged that Jansons was Latvian, though I might have guessed from orthography.

[brewski]

Personally, I should have titled the piece "And Chicago Makes Four."

Well, more concise, for sure.

-Bruce

[Brian]

I just read it too.  Quite interesting.  It sounds like conductors are having to spend too much time helping to fund raise these days?

Sorry to read about Salonen leaving S.F. too.

At American orchestras especially. A lot of the work of a smaller regional orchestra conductor, especially, is donor related. I wonder if a lot of these youngsters try to skip jobs with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic (just a random example) because they are not trained on that aspect of the business.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

At American orchestras especially. A lot of the work of a smaller regional orchestra conductor, especially, is donor related. I wonder if a lot of these youngsters try to skip jobs with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic (just a random example) because they are not trained on that aspect of the business.

An interesting thought.

Though if you could go quickly up the ranks and work at/conduct a major orchestra, wouldn't you go for it? 

[(poco) Sforzando]

Save for a reference to prominent cheekbones, Alex Ross makes some of the same points as Hurwitz but without the personal vitriol. Much as we'd like to pretend that good looks have nothing to do with a musician's reputation, the sexualization of performers goes back at least to Liszt, where women would swoon at the sight of him and cut off a lock of his hair. If you look at the Facebook group devoted to now 20yo Yunchan Lim, it's obvious that many of the comments are as much about how cute he is as how well he plays the piano. Given that Lim is extremely shy and seems almost monkishly asexual, there's plenty of space available for fantasy.

And as for the youth vs. age thing, there are as many fine young artists as older ones. If you can play the goddam notes well, who cares how young you are? Menuhin was another artist renowned as a prodigy when he recorded the Elgar concerto at 16 with the composer.

[DavidW]

Here you go. (No paywall that I can see.)

-Bruce

Except there is, I can't read it!  Wait, am I the only one that was blocked with a subscribe pop-up!  Ouch!

[(poco) Sforzando]

Except there is, I can't read it!  Wait, am I the only one that was blocked with a subscribe pop-up!  Ouch!

I was too. Trick is: copy and paste the article before the pop-up appears. It works!

[DavidW]

I don't know what DH said... but after listening to so some of his Sibelius, I think that KM is overhyped and promoted beyond his abilities unlike a young Bernstein or Karajan.

KM's Sibelius is mannered, uninspired, derivative and bland.  He just doesn't seem like he has enough presence to lead the CSO, one of the finest orchestras in the world.  He might have been fast tracked too fast much like Dudamel (though I think Dudamel has personality in his music making and people are too quick to dismiss him).

I don't think this has to do with age, I mean he is 28.  He is not Doogie Houser.  What does he have to wait until he is 40 before he starts conducting a major orchestra?

[DavidW]

I agree with Ross that having a conductor direct multiple orchestras is not spending enough time with any individual one, and also short changes all the other talented conductors out there.  And we seem to agree that KM hasn't managed a way to bring personality to his music making yet.

[Karl Henning]

And we seem to agree that KM hasn't managed a way to bring personality to his music making yet.

And there are new conductors who are already in middle age, who have chops, personality and vision, but who don't know the right people ....

[Pohjolas Daughter]

I don't know what DH said... but after listening to so some of his Sibelius, I think that KM is overhyped and promoted beyond his abilities unlike a young Bernstein or Karajan.

KM's Sibelius is mannered, uninspired, derivative and bland.  He just doesn't seem like he has enough presence to lead the CSO, one of the finest orchestras in the world.  He might have been fast tracked too fast much like Dudamel (though I think Dudamel has personality in his music making and people are too quick to dismiss him).

I don't think this has to do with age, I mean he is 28.  He is not Doogie Houser.  What does he have to wait until he is 40 before he starts conducting a major orchestra?

Oh, dear!  That's not boding well.  Did you listen to the Tapiola via your streamer?  I'll have to see whether or not I can find anything online with him conducting.

[Spotted Horses]

I see a "winner takes all" trend which pervades many areas of our culture, and the dominance of fundraising in roles which should be about creative activity. It is also an issue in the sciences, where funding piles up on superstar researchers, who don't actually do any research, but who are virtuosos of fundraising and self-promotion. Researchers whose work is not flashy or in line with current prejudices too often fall by the wayside. How many Nobel prize winners in science have commented "this never could have been funded today?"

I've never heard a note conducted by Mäkelä, but it seems like one directorship should be enough for him to express his view of music, leaving opportunities for others who also have their views to express.

[Karl Henning]

Oh, dear!  That's not boding well.  Did you listen to the Tapiola via your streamer?  I'll have to see whether or not I can find anything online with him conducting.
Mäkelä leading the Oslo Phil in the Brahms e minor Symphony

[Pohjolas Daughter]

@Karl Henning Thanks!