Originally posted by amateur51
View Post
Not a ramble at all, bsp - I'm grateful for the time & effort it must have taken, it was a fascinating post & well worth reading. Many thanks 
Starting with Nelsons, his CBSO contract is officially through 2014/2015, and then becomes an evergreen contract, on something like an annual rolling renewal, subject to a year's notice if one side wants out, although I can guess that if and when Nelsons decides that it's time to go, he'll give at least 2 years notice, again to set enough time for the orchestra to do a decently thorough search. I do remember reading somewhere that Nelsons was hoping to be with the CBSO through its centenary year, which falls in 2020. If he were to stay through all of 2020, into the end of the 2020-2021 season, that would make 13 seasons, a pretty good run. Nelsons would be 43 by then. But if he got the nod for the BPO, it's hard to predict if he'd try to juggle both posts.
In terms of repertoire, my impression of Nelsons is that his programs are pretty much meat-and-potatoes standard fare, without many forays into contemporary music. For example, in the Philharmonia Orchestra's concert schedule for 2013-2014, he's leading a Brahms cycle, and he's in the midst of a Beethoven cycle with the CBSO currently. Admittedly, I've obviously never seen him conduct in Birmingham (or indeed elsewhere), so I may need correction on the breadth of his programming. But if the BPO wants to stay with a more forward-looking conductor in terms of repertoire, then Nelsons' relatively tight focus on the core standards might count against him. I'm sure he has the brain cells to tackle more contemporary or thornier repertoire such as what Rattle likes to do, but the question is whether Nelsons feels self-motivated enough to "branch out" more. In fairness, he is scheduled to conduct Mark-Anthony Turnage's new cello concerto later this year in Leipzig. I think, however, that the CBSO is Nelsons' only main post, which is a relative advantage in that he's not stretched too thin that way.
Volkov has the Iceland Symphony Orchestra as his only major post, I believe, so he's like Nelsons in that regard. However, from my limited impressions, Volkov strikes me as someone with greater interest in contemporary and more offbeat repertoire, so he could have an edge over Nelsons there. However, I don't know if Volkov has guested with the BPO, so there may not be any chemistry or relationship there as of this time.
Dudamel obviously has the SBSO and the LA Phil, and he's contracted with LA through 2009. I remember that he's really devoted to his Venezuelan orchestra and won't give up the SBSO any time soon. He did recently give up the principal conductorship of the Gothenburg Symphony, which cuts down on his travel a bit, although he's obviously still racking up the frequent flier miles otherwise. If he were elected and he took it in 2008, he'd be 27, a scarily young age to be taking on a group like the BPO. Plus, one of his 2 main posts would probably have to go, and it might well be LA, although I suspect that he wants to leave a strong Sistema-like legacy in LA, and that's going to take a lot of time and what attention he can spare them. Also, on the question of contemporary repertoire, I don't know that Dudamel would be strong with the continental European modernist composers, again putting him in a similar situation like Nelsons.
There's also YNS, about whom, BTW, there was this recent NYT article from this past Sunday:
I was remiss in forgetting that YNS also has his Montreal orchestra, the Orchestre Metropolitan, although they don't have a full near-weekly schedule like the Rotterdam Philharmonic or The Philadelphia Orchestra. His Montreal orchestra's schedule is more on the order of a concert every few weeks, almost monthly, it seems. Thus it's not a hugely onerous commitment, but from the article above, he has obvious sentimental ties in terms of that orchestra giving him the opportunity to build up his repertoire over the years. Of course, there's also the personal connection that YNS' partner is a violist in that orchestra, so that would be a reason not to stray too far from Montreal. It's kind of interesting that Daniel Wakin indulges in a bit of gossipy speculation (but at least of a positive sort, unlike the "Slipped Disc" fool) that YNS could be potentially music director at the Metropolitan Opera down the line, which is an interesting thought.
Again from looking at his programs with his various orchestras, including his guest dates as principal guest conductor of the LPO, YNS also tends to stick fairly closely to the standard repertoire, IMHO, although with a greater penchant for choral works, since he started as a choral conductor. His sidebars into contemporary music seem relatively minimal, again IMHO a potential disadvantage with the BPO. I also think his BPO debut wasn't all that long ago, around October 2010, so there hasn't been much time to build up a relationship there.
BTW, if anyone wants a chance to hear YNS with The Philadelphia Orchestra, one of the Philadelphia radio stations, WRTI (Temple University) is broadcasting the Carnegie Hall performance that took place tonight of the Fabulous (more or less, following the bankruptcy) Philadelphians, YNS, and Leonidas Kavakos this coming Sunday, at 2 PM Philadelphia time, which I think works out to 7 PM UK time. There's a WRTI blog post in advance of tonight's concert here:
The Carnegie link, just for the record: http://www.carnegiehall.org/Calendar...hia-Orchestra/
Program note from The Philadelphia Orchestra's page: http://www.philorch.org/sites/defaul...ostakovich.pdf
Also, for the record, the original concerto was supposed to be a new violin concerto by Osvaldo Golijov, but he didn't finish the commission in time.
I listened to this concert, and I should warn you that you do have to put up with the US public radio "style" of the hosts in question, which may at times make you appreciate R3 people a little better. But there's always a price to be paid somewhere. I found some quirks in the interpretations of the Ravel and DSCH, but if anyone wants to listen on their own, I don't want to bias anyone. Also, remember that we don't have the equivalent of iPlayer here on the various individual radio stations here, so if you want to hear this concert, you have to listen at the designated time.
And this still leaves the older guys to consider regarding the BPO. That may have to wait until another time :) .
Comment