How highly do you rate Riccardo Chailly ?

[Alison]

Thanks in advance,
ALI.

[Freddie Campbell]

...I think it's as well to judge on results from Leipzig- Excellent!

[Petrushka]

Hi Alison,

Interesting question. Here in the UK we don't see as much of him as I think we should and with precious few CD's appearing the consequence is that he is difficult to assess in some ways. I haven't got the RCO anthology given over to his work with the Concertgebouw but I did hear him live with them several times and the results were thrilling. I particularly remember a stunning Mahler 1 at the 1995 Proms and a very fine Bruckner 6 in Birmingham. Another two live performances I hold in my memory are a really outstanding Mahler 7 with the Leipzig Gewandhaus at the Barbican and a moving Mahler 10 at the 2009 Proms. At the same time I recall an indifferent Bruckner 8 with the LSO which never really caught fire.

On disc the results are more mixed with both his Mahler and Bruckner cycles just missing that indefinable edge that Haitink and Abbado have. Much the same can be said of his Bartok for example though I enjoyed his Stravinsky. I would certainly welcome more visits to these shores as he is a thrilling conductor to watch and it's a pity one of our own orchestras can't snap him up as guest.

[BBMmk2]

Didn't not enjoy a spell atr the RCO, Amsterrdam? Good to see thast he has found an orchestra that he can work with.

[Freddie Campbell]

...Well there's quite a lot of his work Broadcast on Sky Arts-not Mahler,but standard Repertoire very good.IMV...

[Roehre]

Didn't not enjoy a spell atr the RCO, Amsterrdam? Good to see thast he has found an orchestra that he can work with.

Sorry, but I don't think he didn't enjoy Amsterdam. Would he have stayed for nearly 18 years there (and prolonging his contract twice!) if the relations were constantly under pressure? I don't think so.
The main thing which did attract Chailly (whom I find an excellent conductor, and his love for 20th C music has to be lauded as well!) to Leipzig, is the double post of Gewandhaus-director plus opera-director, something similar Amsterdam couldn't offer him.

[gradus]

One of our best conductors I think and I wish I knew more of his work. I only have some Mahler and Puccini recordings by him. In Manon he has a very good ear for the lyrical subtleties of the score, taking pains with quiet episodes that often pass for nothing in other readings. His Mahler 10 is my favourite reading and it is a shame that we have seen so little of him on the concert platform in the UK, although on reflection, he has probably appeared at the Proms but I can't recall when, perhaps others know? Maybe ROH too?

[vinteuil]

I have a particular regard for Riccardo Chailly for his advocacy of rare / lost works by Rossini. In particular the two vols on Decca of the Cantatas (le Nozze di Teti e di Peleo; il Pianto d'Armonia sulla morte di Orfeo. le morte di Didone; in onore del Sommo Pontefice Pio Nono), and the seven world premières (Robert Bruce ouverture; le Chant des Titans; Final du Divertissement, and Pas de Deux, from 'Guillaume Tell'; Ballabile e Galop, from 'le Siège de Corinth', Hymne 'de l'Italie et de la France'; Hymne à Napoléon et à son Vaillant Peuple'...

[Roehre]

The same applies for unknown Verdi and Puccini, and Berio's completion of the latter's Turandot (premiered in the Amsterdam Muziek Theater). He did some promotion for Dutch composers (Wagenaar, Keuris [3 Preludes for orchestra at the Proms e.g.], Schat) as well.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I have a particular regard for Riccardo Chailly for his advocacy of rare / lost works by Rossini. In particular the two vols on Decca of the Cantatas (le Nozze di Teti e di Peleo; il Pianto d'Armonia sulla morte di Orfeo. le morte di Didone; in onore del Sommo Pontefice Pio Nono), and the seven world premières (Robert Bruce ouverture; le Chant des Titans; Final du Divertissement, and Pas de Deux, from 'Guillaume Tell'; Ballabile e Galop, from 'le Siège de Corinth', Hymne 'de l'Italie et de la France'; Hymne à Napoléon et à son Vaillant Peuple'...

My first taste of Chailly's conducting was an early Decca CD of Rossini Overtures. I considered his William Tell Overture to be tastelessly overdone, which has coloured my opinion of him somewhat. However, I would not want others to be swayed in this way.

[Alison]

Some quite interesting stuff here once you get past the comment about Dudamel, Barenboim et al

http://www.theartsdesk.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=2657:theartsdesk-qa-conductor-riccardo-chailly&Itemid=24

[gradus]

Thanks for the link to a fascinating interview. He was interviewed on R3 last week and I hope that we hear more music from him.

[makropulos]

Thanks in advance,
ALI.

Alison - in short, I rate him increasingly highly. He's become one of the conductors whose work I actively seek out. Quite a lot of his Mahler set is excellent, and his Schumann arr. Mahler cycle is terrific, I think. Most recently I've been surprised and delighted by (improbable as it may seem) his Bach. He's also a terrific Mendelssohn conductor and I'm always eager to hear him in more unusual repertoire (Zemlinsky, unusual Puccini and Verdi, and so on). I find his Bruckner a little disappointing compared with the best of his other work, but that's probably just a personal reaction - in general I'm impressed, whether in modern pieces (Messiaen, Berio etc.) or standard rep. When I've seen him at work he strikes me as intelligent and unflashy (and I mean both of those are compliments).

[Thomas Roth]

Interesting interview. Chailly is a good conductor and should be hailed for his interest in contemporary music. Next he ought to realize that Vaughan Williams is one of the greatest ever. One thing disturbes me about Chailly though, he looks like the twin brother I never had. We look very much alike.