Bychkov joins BBC Symphony

[Guest]

The BBC Symphony Orchestra has announced that Semyon Bychkov – who conducted the Orchestra at the BBC Proms on Wednesday, August 8th 2012 - will join their roster of conductors with a position created especially for him by the Orchestra. The title the Günter Wand Conducting Chair was chosen in recognition of the affection and respect that the Orchestra held for the conductor who was appointed their Principal Guest Conductor exactly 30 years ago, and is mirrored in the relationship they enjoy with Bychkov.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/orchestras/symphonyorchestra/about/news/semyon_bychkov.shtml

I think this is wonderful news, although I'm not completely clear what it means

[gurnemanz]

I think this is wonderful news, although I'm not completely clear what it means

I agree. We loved his Tannhäuser not long ago at ROH and have his excellent DSCH 11 from Cologne Radio. I can remember that Karajan took him under his wing and tipped him for the Berlin Phil post at some point in the future.

[Osborn]

He's in a totally different league to the BBCSO, which struggles to maintain a place in the upper reaches of mediocity amongst European orchestras. I can't see it as anything but a blot on his cv.

[jayne lee wilson]

Don't be like that, Osborn!

Knussen's BBCSO performance of the Debussy Martyre de Saint Sebastien was possibly the most sheerly beautiful orchestral performance this season, and their virtuosity in the Knussen and Goehr pieces in the same concert are beyond most other bands in recent repertoire. Rattle and the Berlin Phil couldn't improve on that, and they'd never play them anyway!
But wasn't it Bychkov who performed DSCH 11 with the BBCSO at the 2009 Proms? It was a tremendous performance of impact and discipline which I've never forgotten.

[bluestateprommer]

The BBC Symphony Orchestra has announced that Semyon Bychkov – who conducted the Orchestra at the BBC Proms on Wednesday, August 8th 2012 - will join their roster of conductors with a position created especially for him by the Orchestra.....

I think this is wonderful news, although I'm not completely clear what it means

I speculated on the "meaning" of this under the Prom 34 thread:

"Given the creation of the new "Gunter Wand Conducting Chair" for Bychkov, I wonder if it's a back door-ish way of making him the BBC SO's principal guest conductor, without actually offering him that title. For the superstitious out there, the principal guest conductorship of the BBC SO seems to have had the air of a poisoned chalice over many years, as JB once put it:

"I was told that the permanent guest position in this orchestra was a killer, that everyone fails."

Quote reference, for the record:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2007/sep/06/proms2007.proms

JB was the first to break that "curse", of course, becoming chief conductor of the BBC SO in due course (although him missing 2 of his 4 scheduled Proms this summer is obviously bad luck now). David Robertson just finished as principal guest conductor of the BBC SO, after 7 years, quite a run, but clearly without moving up the next rung on the BBC SO's conducting roster, so the "curse" may have reared its head again. It's a question of whether the BBC SO will appoint a new principal guest conductor around the start of the Sakari Oramo era, although having Oramo and Bychkov at the top of the conducting roster is clearly a sign of good times ahead for the orchestra."

For JLW, I wouldn't slam on Rattle and the BPO regarding Knussen and Goehr, as I think that Rattle would be happy to conduct them with the Berlin Phil, and the BPO would play music of either of them very well.

[Stanfordian]

The BBC Symphony Orchestra has announced that Semyon Bychkov – who conducted the Orchestra at the BBC Proms on Wednesday, August 8th 2012 - will join their roster of conductors with a position created especially for him by the Orchestra. The title the Günter Wand Conducting Chair was chosen in recognition of the affection and respect that the Orchestra held for the conductor who was appointed their Principal Guest Conductor exactly 30 years ago, and is mirrored in the relationship they enjoy with Bychkov.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/orchestras/symphonyorchestra/about/news/semyon_bychkov.shtml

I think this is wonderful news, although I'm not completely clear what it means

That is really good news as Semyon Bychkov is a marvellous conductor. Bychkov's ongoing Shostakovich symphonic cycle he recorded between (they all may now be in the can) the Berlin Philharmonic and the WDR Sinfonie-Orchester Köln is a exceptional achievement. Bychkov's Shostakovich cycle seems to have kept under radar; a hidden gem for me and one of the finest cycles around.

[amateur51]

He's in a totally different league to the BBCSO, which struggles to maintain a place in the upper reaches of mediocity amongst European orchestras. I can't see it as anything but a blot on his cv.

If only the Maestro had realised that your advice was available to him before he made his decision, Osborn ..

[Alison]

It's precisely the ability to make the BBCSO sound world class that enhances Mr Bychkov's CV.

[french frank]

I think this is wonderful news, although I'm not completely clear what it means

An important phrase might be:

"The Günter Wand Conducting Chair recognises the mutual wish of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Semyon Bychkov to collaborate on significant projects." A cycle? Mahler? Bruckner? Brahms?

[Stanley Stewart]

I also wholeheartedly welcome the appointment of Semyon Bychkov to the BBC SO. I'm sure that many others will recall the impact of the Verdi Requiem which he conducted - Prom 13, 24 July 2011, and I recorded on BBC 4 when it was transmitted on 21 August, and have subsequently viewed on several occasions since then - and still get the impression that he brought that 'little something extra' which always indicates a memorable experience. Soloists: Marina Poplavskaya, Sonia Ganassi, Joseph Calleja and Ferruccio Furlanetto and BBC Sym Chorus, BBC Nat Chorus of Wales and London Phil Choir, all adding dimension and a frisson to the event.

[Stanfordian]

That is really good news as Semyon Bychkov is a marvellous conductor. Bychkov's ongoing Shostakovich symphonic cycle he recorded between (they all may now be in the can) the Berlin Philharmonic and the WDR Sinfonie-Orchester Köln is a exceptional achievement. Bychkov's Shostakovich cycle seems to have kept under radar; a hidden gem for me and one of the finest cycles around.

I forgot to add that the excellent Semyon Bychkov will probably come at a price. I guess that his wife Marielle Labèque and no doubt her sister will feature in programmes each season; in the manner of Sir Simon Rattle and his wife Magdalena Kožená. If that turns out to be the case some may like it. However, I'm not a great admirer of the pianistic duo the Labèque sisters.

[amateur51]

I forgot to add that the excellent Semyon Bychkov will probably come at a price. I guess that his wife Marielle Labèque and no doubt her sister will feature in programmes each season; in the manner of Sir Simon Rattle and his wife Magdalena Kožená. If that's turns out to be true some may like it, however, I'm not a great admirer of the pianistic duo the Labèque sisters.

If it helps to encourage him to work with the BBCSO, I think it's a small price to pay

[bluestateprommer]

Nicholas Wroe has a recent feature in The Guardian about Semyon Bychkov, for those who hadn't seen it yet:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/nov/16/semyon-bychkov-beating-time