I have seen MTT (as he is universally known) in concert on two separate occasions: the first was an LSO event at the Barbican - and I can remember the entire programme, too (Ives' Unanswered Question; Bartok's Viola Concerto and Bruckner 9; can't recall the soloist's name, but it was a Russian).
The concert began late as, we were informed by tannoy, the rehearsal had been extended: never a good sign. When it began, I was immediately struck by MTT's extremely mannered podium style: all of his gestures seemed deliberately 'showy' (I can still see him cue-ing the offstage brass in the Ives) and over-elaborate. He was very difficult to ignore or channel out, with the result that I found it difficult to concentrate on the music, so perturbed was I by the prospect of what camp gesture MTT was about to execute next. All told, he came across less as a conductor than as someone playing the part of a conductor - and in a very showy and unconvincing way.
I made a mental note to avoid MTT in future and, for a while (about eighteen months), I managed to do so.
Cut to summer 2000: a friend of mine asked if I'd like to accompany her to a Prom the main item of which would be Shostakovich ll. OK, I said, that sounds good. The orchestra was, I think, the San Francisco Symphony, conducted by MTT - though, in those days of less regular access to the internet media, I only found this out once we'd arrived at the venue. When I saw MTT's name on the programme, I heaved a sigh of disgust and made brief mention of my opinion of the conductor; but my friend assured me that MTT was 'very good', and that she'd seen him a couple of times before.
Expecting to be thoroughly irritated and resolving to look at the RAH ceiling rather than at the stage, I headed toward our seats in the balcony. And so it began: I forget what the first item was but the Shostakovich was very good indeed. I can recall still finding MTT a bit too flamboyant for my tastes but this time he came up with the results and the only one of his gestures I can remember from that night was a rather effective little mime he did to indicate that there would be no encore (and quite right, too: you can't really follow S11with a bonbon).
I have not seen MTT since but have gathered from speaking to others that he excites strong opinions, both pro- and anti-. I'd be interested to hear what others have to say.....
The concert began late as, we were informed by tannoy, the rehearsal had been extended: never a good sign. When it began, I was immediately struck by MTT's extremely mannered podium style: all of his gestures seemed deliberately 'showy' (I can still see him cue-ing the offstage brass in the Ives) and over-elaborate. He was very difficult to ignore or channel out, with the result that I found it difficult to concentrate on the music, so perturbed was I by the prospect of what camp gesture MTT was about to execute next. All told, he came across less as a conductor than as someone playing the part of a conductor - and in a very showy and unconvincing way.
I made a mental note to avoid MTT in future and, for a while (about eighteen months), I managed to do so.
Cut to summer 2000: a friend of mine asked if I'd like to accompany her to a Prom the main item of which would be Shostakovich ll. OK, I said, that sounds good. The orchestra was, I think, the San Francisco Symphony, conducted by MTT - though, in those days of less regular access to the internet media, I only found this out once we'd arrived at the venue. When I saw MTT's name on the programme, I heaved a sigh of disgust and made brief mention of my opinion of the conductor; but my friend assured me that MTT was 'very good', and that she'd seen him a couple of times before.
Expecting to be thoroughly irritated and resolving to look at the RAH ceiling rather than at the stage, I headed toward our seats in the balcony. And so it began: I forget what the first item was but the Shostakovich was very good indeed. I can recall still finding MTT a bit too flamboyant for my tastes but this time he came up with the results and the only one of his gestures I can remember from that night was a rather effective little mime he did to indicate that there would be no encore (and quite right, too: you can't really follow S11with a bonbon).
I have not seen MTT since but have gathered from speaking to others that he excites strong opinions, both pro- and anti-. I'd be interested to hear what others have to say.....
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