CBSO appoints 29-year-old Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla as music director

[EdgeleyRob]

It might be of interest to note some future non-Birmingham dates for MG-T and the CBSO (assuming that our idiot Preznit doesn't start WWIII by then, of course):

(a) 15 September 2018, Lucerne Festival: https://www.lucernefestival.ch/en/pr...don-kremer/883

Dvořák: Othello, Op. 93
Mieczysław Weinberg: Violin Concerto in G minor, Op. 67

Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95

(Plus, the Lucerne Festival did a much better job mirroring non-UK orchestras that appeared at The Proms last year. compared to Edinburgh.)

(b) 13 October 2018, the Barbican: https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on...rite-of-spring

Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé (complete)

Lithuanian folksong arrangements (arranged by MG-T)
Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring

I can't recall any other conductor ever putting the complete Daphnis and The Rite on a single program.

Gidon Kremer too,Wow !

[Simon B]

(b) 13 October 2018, the Barbican: https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on...rite-of-spring

Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé (complete)

Lithuanian folksong arrangements (arranged by MG-T)
Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring

I can't recall any other conductor ever putting the complete Daphnis and The Rite on a single program.

The BBC Phil have done this at least once in Manchester - most recently with Mena and the Halle choir - https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/e3xhn3. In many ways it is a reasonably obvious pairing, and worked well with the Rite placed first, a better choice IMO than the other way around.

[bluestateprommer]

The BBC Phil have done this at least once in Manchester - most recently with Mena and the Halle choir - https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/e3xhn3. In many ways it is a reasonably obvious pairing, and worked well with the Rite placed first, a better choice IMO than the other way around.

Good catch. I also would have leaned towards putting The Rite in the first half. Although with MG-T's chosen order, one can wonder whether it's more optimal for the choir to sing the Lithuanian folk songs first, or Daphnis first. I'm a choir ignoramus, so I have no idea which would be the more practical option.

The inspiration for the thread recycle was finding this Afternoon Concert listing with the CBSO and MG-T at last summer's Lucerne Festival (haven't heard it yet, though):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09m16p2

[Zucchini]

I think it's hugely to Mirga's credit, musicianship and charisma that she appears at the prestigious Lucerne Festival for the third year in a row (her debut was with the COE) and is bringing the CBSO & Chorus to the Barbican.

I'm impressed that in Lucerne (with Gidon Kremer) her ticket prices have been set the same as LSO/Zimerman/Rattle and a price band higher than LPO/Gabetta/Alsop.

I think it's a long time since the CBSO was booked in London other than annual Prom. I'm rather to her credit that she hasn't bought herself a bit of insurance by bringing a top-drawer soloist. The Barbican page headlines "Mirga conducts The Rite ... come and hear what all the fuss is about". The Barbican have priced her the same as LSO/Rattle and a good bit more expensive than BBCSO/Oramo.

The CBSO sounds fabulous under her control. She's proving to be a wonderful successor to Nelsons.

(Incidentally I head the phenomental young cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason played DSCH Concerto 1 at a Symphony Hall concert in October. This was recorded by Decca and released last Friday)

[Alison]

I dare say you are right about Mirga and her various credentials but not sure ticket prices are the best guide to artistic merit.

BBCSO concerts have always been cheaper. Some of their concerts with Oramo have been outstandingly good.

[Keraulophone]

Gidon Kremer too,Wow !

Possibly the cheapest way of hearing Gidon Kremer live in the UK this year is in an IMS concert of chamber music on 31st March in Marazion Community Centre, Nr. Penzance. Those playing with him aren’t too unknown: Gerhard Schulz, Thomas Riebl, Ralph Kirshbaum and Thomas Ades.

Apologies for veering OT.

[Barbirollians]

Mirga is bringing the CBSO to Sheffield this March . There was a long period when I wasn’t a subscriber but I have tended to keep an eye on the programmes advertised and I cannot recall the CBSO coming since 1987 with Rattle when I was a student.

A terrific programme Debussy La Mer, Stravinsky’s Symphony of Wind Instruments , Schumann Piano Concerto and the orchestration of Debussy's Children's Corner to open. Unfortunately, it clashes with the Cheltenham Gold Cup .

[Simon B]

"Visiting" orchestras, even from within the UK, always have higher prices at the Barbican than the resident orchestras - or equal since the LSO substantially increased theirs for the Rattle era. This is because promoter is the Barbican rather than the LSO and BBCSO with their different cost structures.

The last visit by the CBSO I recall was Gerontius - originally billed with Nelsons though he was subsequently indisposed:
https://web.archive.org/web/20120127...l.asp?ID=11855 (tickets at what was then a rather premium £11-£45)

Meanwhile, at the same time, LSO (at the time, rather cheaper than the visiting CBSO):
https://web.archive.org/web/20110824...l.asp?ID=11781 (tickets £10-£35)

And BBCSO:
https://web.archive.org/web/20111008...l.asp?ID=11883 (tickets £10-£30)

In the interim, there has been both hefty general price inflation and widening in disparity between bottom and top prices per-event. Likewise between events of varying nominal prestige.

Based on a goodly number of her concerts in Brum, Ms Gražinytė-Tyla appears prodigiously talented at motivating an orchestra and injecting surface shade and nuance. Interpretational depth and wisdom is more variable - just like almost all talented young conductors. Nelsons' first Mahler 2 was a splashy but rather empty crash-bang-wallop "isn't this great?" fest. Five years older and wiser his next attempt was an entirely different beast, knocking on the door of profundity at times. Hopefully Ms G-T will travel a similar path - learning that just because she can manipulate and micromanage and the players will enthusiastically follow (e.g. Tchaik 4, exciting but pulled about til it tore at the seams) doesn't mean she must.

The hype around her gets a bit much, as it did with Nelsons. The "no platforming" ambience around the voicing of any doubt about her is regrettable as she must and will make mistakes for that raw talent to mature. Pretending everything is sensational all the time devalues the genuinely outstanding achievements.

[Barbirollians]

Well it could also be said that far from everything Rattle did when making waves in Brum when young was perfect either .

[Simon B]

Well it could also be said that far from everything Rattle did when making waves in Brum when young was perfect either .

Indeed so - far from it then, or now for that matter. It's obviously all just opinion, but all conductors are specialists IMV anyway. The ones who attain an aura of unfailing authority (e.g. Abbado, Haitink, C Kleiber) do so by means of first becoming good enough to call the shots and subsequently doing only what and with whom they wish. This usually involves their repertoire shrinking until it is clingfilm-like around their specialisms.

Meanwhile, the younger and/or less accomplished more or less have to bash their way through whatever comes their way, and in the case of the young ones, figure out what they're good at and how to do it on-the-job.

[Alison]

Good posts Simon. So true about the unnecessary hype.

I think it still clouds my judgment of Nelsons and it’s recurring with Mirga.

[bluestateprommer]

News that MG-T has a bun in the oven:

https://cbso.co.uk/news/news-from-mirga-gra%C5%BEinyt%C4%97-tyla

"CBSO Music Director Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla and her partner are pleased to announce they are expecting a baby at the end of August. Mirga will take a short maternity leave from July until mid-November 2018....."

Of course, writing from this side of the pond, July to mid-November would be considered amazingly generous in the USA, for maternity leave. Congrats to her and her partner.

From the Afternoon on 3 concert some weeks back, with the CBSO and MG-T at the 2017 Lucerne Festival, the CBSO, Gautier Capucon, and MG-T sounded in very fine form, a strong, solid concert. One very nice aspect of MG-T's interpretation of Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 3 was that she took the first movement exposition repeat, the first live rendition, in person or otherwise, that I've ever heard. If for nothing else, she wins points in my book for that. She also judged the encore selection, the Waltz from Leonard Bernstein's Divertimento for Orchestra, perfectly on the menu. This isn't to say that this was the greatest concert that I've ever caught on R3, or that MG-T is infallible, far from it. I could quibble a bit with some of the tempi stretches, and the orchestra did have a very few momentary slips. Critical reaction to MG-T interpretative ideas is out there, even among the positive buzz.

It's certainly healthy to be skeptical about hype. But the reality is that this is not a world where any given orchestra, the CBSO or otherwise, can simply list its programs, and people will automatically show up (the Field of Dreams "If you build it, they will come" approach). Any orchestra has to sell, and to market. Again, it's not enough to say "Hey, the CBSO has a cool new conductor; check her out!" and that will do the trick. Maybe it's the 'Americanness' of the hard sell that puts people off, which again is understandable, even saying this as an American who is skeptical of hard sells. The trick here is that there is substance to the hype, rather like with Hamilton, to use an extreme comparison, where the hype and buzz around MG-T is nowhere like with Hamilton. Again, it would be wonderful if this were still a world where great music sells itself. Certainly here, that isn't the case any more.

The CBSO has had to deal with subsidy reductions from Birmingham, and fund-raising thus is that much more of an issue. If they have a charismatic music director who is willing to roll up her sleeves, do meet and greet with locals, and (yes) help with publicity, then the CBSO is doing what they have to do to ensure its continued survival. If it gets to be too much, then the cracks will show in due time. But from what I can tell, I think that MG-T knows better than that. Her new baby will obviously re-orient her priorities even further.

BBCSO concerts have always been cheaper. Some of their concerts with Oramo have been outstandingly good.

At a wild guess, I gather that BBC SO tickets @ the Barbican benefit from the license fee helping to underwrite part of the ticket/concert costs. Public money does help out there.

[Barbirollians]

News that MG-T has a bun in the oven:

https://cbso.co.uk/news/news-from-mirga-gra%C5%BEinyt%C4%97-tyla

Of course, writing from this side of the pond, July to mid-November would be considered amazingly generous in the USA, for maternity leave. Congrats to her and her partner.

From the Afternoon on 3 concert some weeks back, with the CBSO and MG-T at the 2017 Lucerne Festival, the CBSO, Gautier Capucon, and MG-T sounded in very fine form, a strong, solid concert. One very nice aspect of MG-T's interpretation of Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 3 was that she took the first movement exposition repeat, the first live rendition, in person or otherwise, that I've ever heard. If for nothing else, she wins points in my book for that. She also judged the encore selection, the Waltz from Leonard Bernstein's Divertimento for Orchestra, perfectly on the menu. This isn't to say that this was the greatest concert that I've ever caught on R3, or that MG-T is infallible, far from it. I could quibble a bit with some of the tempi stretches, and the orchestra did have a very few momentary slips. Critical reaction to MG-T interpretative ideas is out there, even among the positive buzz.

It's certainly healthy to be skeptical about hype. But the reality is that this is not a world where any given orchestra, the CBSO or otherwise, can simply list its programs, and people will automatically show up (the Field of Dreams "If you build it, they will come" approach). Any orchestra has to sell, and to market. Again, it's not enough to say "Hey, the CBSO has a cool new conductor; check her out!" and that will do the trick. Maybe it's the 'Americanness' of the hard sell that puts people off, which again is understandable, even saying this as an American who is skeptical of hard sells. The trick here is that there is substance to the hype, rather like with Hamilton, to use an extreme comparison, where the hype and buzz around MG-T is nowhere like with Hamilton. Again, it would be wonderful if this were still a world where great music sells itself. Certainly here, that isn't the case any more.

The CBSO has had to deal with subsidy reductions from Birmingham, and fund-raising thus is that much more of an issue. If they have a charismatic music director who is willing to roll up her sleeves, do meet and greet with locals, and (yes) help with publicity, then the CBSO is doing what they have to do to ensure its continued survival. If it gets to be too much, then the cracks will show in due time. But from what I can tell, I think that MG-T knows better than that. Her new baby will obviously re-orient her priorities even further.



At a wild guess, I gather that BBC SO tickets @ the Barbican benefit from the license fee helping to underwrite part of the ticket/concert costs. Public money does help out there.

Delighted for her - an exceptional talent and I hope that the CBSO makes the necessary reasonable adjustments to take into account her protected maternity characteristic under the Equality Act 2010.

[teamsaint]

Delighted for her - an exceptional talent and I hope that the CBSO makes the necessary reasonable adjustments to take into account her protected maternity characteristic under the Equality Act 2010.

Is there some doubt that they will ?

[Barbirollians]

I hope not but a 4 month break is pretty short.