Conductors who avoid certain composers....

[Nick Armstrong]

Sitting in the RAH on Wednesday evening watching Sakari Oramo, I was recalling the brief dicussion in the Proms Extra programme on Saturday ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode...xtra-episode-3 - starts around 38'50" or so ) about Oramo's view of Mozart. In particular he would never choose to conduct Mozart's Requiem.

Then, listening to VW's Job, I wondered what Colin Davis would have made of it... At the time, I thought he hadn't touched VW's music, but I find there are CDs of the 4th and the 6th (and no doubt he performed others with the LSO).

Abbado did Prokofiev (and everthing else) so well - but did he ever conduct any Shostakovich?

No conductor can do everything, of course.

But is anyone aware of any other antipathies expressed by conductors, for the work of composers whose work might normally be regarded as 'core repertoire' ?

[EnemyoftheStoat]

Rattle didn't touch (couldn't conduct?) Brahms for a long time, and Tchaikovsky not until very recently.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Boulez regards his refusal to have anything to do with Tchaikovsky as a badge of honour. It isn't.

[Nick Armstrong]

Oh yes I'd forgotten about that!

[Madame Suggia]

I wonder what Haitink would do with Sibelius.

[Bryn]

Boulez regards his refusal to have anything to do with Tchaikovsky as a badge of honour. It isn't.

He's not got much of record with Brahms, either. Though there is a recording of a performance of the German Requiem with him at the helm.

[Belgrove]

I wonder what Haitink would do with Sibelius.

You pipped me to the post Madame Suggia. Apparently he conducted the Halle in No 2 in 1965 and has conducted the violin concerto with Joshua Bell in Boston.

[Stanfordian]

From memory:
Riccardo Chailly doesn't conduct Elgar with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig.
I'm not aware of Sir Simon Rattle conducting Vaughan Williams symphonies.
Sir Mark Elder won't conduct Malcolm Arnold.
Karajan did conduct all the Sibelius symphomies except No. 3.

[PJPJ]

Has Haitink conducted VW's Job?

[salymap]

Through my long ago youth Boult, Sargent, Beecham etc conducted all I knew.

There were gaps in my listening for years. Still are.

[Nick Armstrong]

Has Haitink conducted VW's Job?

Not on record, afaics. Maybe in concert, but not that i know of.

Checking the answer has cost me 17 quid... because I found this I didn't know existed and had to have it !!!!

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/ica%2Bclassics/ICAD5037

[amateur51]

Rattle didn't touch (couldn't conduct?) Brahms for a long time, and Tchaikovsky not until very recently.

Somewhere I have a cassette tape of a broadcast of Rattle/BBCSSO playing Brahms symphiony no 1 in the 1980s.

[Richard Tarleton]

I've read JEG (who conducts all sorts of things these days) being very rude about Bruckner symphonies in an interview (comparing them unfavourably to Brahms ), tho' he has done lots of the motets etc....

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Apart from Haitink and Maazel, is there any conductor who has performed/recorded cycles of both Bruckner and Mahler Symphonies? Wand & Tintner? No Mahler. Kubelik? Complete cycles of Beethoben, Schumann (twice), Brahms and Mahler, but Bruckner? Bernstein? Just Bruckner #9 (twice). Jochum? Just Das Lied von der Erde as far as I know. Karajan? A complete Bruckner set, but only 4, 5, 6 & 9 (and the orchestral songs) of Mahler. Solti the other way round - a complete Mahler cycle (some twice) but only Symphonies (again, IIRC) 1, 4, 7 & 8 of the Bruckners. Abbado? Similar to Solti. Barenboim? Two Bruckner cycles, but only Mahler's Fifth. Rattle? A complete Mahler cycle, but has only (afaik) performed the 7th & 9th of Bruckner. Granted, he's recorded more of the 9th than any of the other names mentioned so far, but ...

Curious.

[PJPJ]

Not on record, afaics. Maybe in concert, but not that i know of.

Checking the answer has cost me 17 quid... because I found this I didn't know existed and had to have it !!!!

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/ica%2Bclassics/ICAD5037

You won't regret it - it's wonderful....