Chailly cancels Proms

[Petrushka]

Petrushka to cancel Proms?

Quite possibly!

[teamsaint]

Quite possibly!

Viagogo has stalls tix at over 100 notes, circle at 55.

[bluestateprommer]

INPO:

1. For Barbirollians, yes, the LGO do need a conductor for their tour that encompasses their two Proms. They are also giving concerts in Lucerne and Berlin. Their tour page:

http://www.gewandhaus.de/orchester/tourneen/

The LGO announcement about Alan Gilbert as replacement (so people don't have to go to Lebrecht's site and thus don't have to give him traffic that he doesn't deserve):

http://www.gewandhaus.de/medien/alan-gilbert-uebernimmt-saisoneroeffnung-festival-tournee/nachrichten-a-5772.html

2. For Black Swan: the back story behind Gilbert's appointment to the NY Phil is that for years before that, the NY Phil had wanted Riccardo Muti as their next music director. Muti turned them down as they were looking for a successor to Kurt Masur, so that the NY Phil then picked Maazel. When Maazel's time was winding down, they tried again, and Muti turned them down again, opting for Chicago. So they went for Gilbert as their second (or whatever) choice. Gilbert is a "Philharmonic brat", as both his parents were members of the orchestra.

3. For pastoral guy, and like-minded comments: having seen Gilbert on a few occasions here in the USA (e.g. Santa Fe Opera), my assessment is pretty much with yours. He's not a bad conductor, just not a particularly great one, even considering that he is just 47 now and has much time to go in his career. His conducting style is quite 'angular', if that makes sense, in his gestures.

I will say that he led Thomas Ades' The Tempest quite well at Santa Fe some time back. It would seem that in NYC, he is trying ever-so-gently to push the envelope with including more contemporary music, and has made semi-staged concert operas a more regular feature of seasons at Avery Fisher Hall.

4. For Petrushka: tough call as to whether to unload the tickets. The orchestra itself is wonderful, of course, and is its own pleasure. But in terms of interpretative depth.....well....

5. For Richard T.: just as a lighter note, about that concert you saw way back with Gilbert conducting the ONL, you may be amused to know that Gilbert's sister Jennifer Gilbert is with the ONL. In fact, she is concertmaster of the orchestra currently. (No idea if she was when her brother guest-conducted on that occasion back then.)

PS: Forum calendar duly updated.

[richardfinegold]

Riccardo Chailly has broken his arm in a fall and has cancelled his two appearances with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra at the Proms. His place is being taken by Alan Gilbert.

This is deeply disappointing news and is the second time that Chailly has been thwarted from giving us Mahler 3 at the Proms. A previous outing scheduled with the Concertgebouw was cancelled due to a shoulder injury. I was really looking forward to both of these Proms.

What views on Alan Gilbert anyone? Never seen nor heard him so a completely unknown quantity for me. I only really know that he is chief at the New York Phil but what's he like in Mahler and Beethoven?

http://slippedisc.com/2014/07/maestr...season-opener/

I don't see what the big deal is.
The NY Phil Concerts are broadcast in Chicago weekly and I usually try to tune in. Gilbert's Concerts have impressed me a lot more than his recordings. Go and enjoy, Pet, it's still the Gewandhaus. Chailly is a good , but not great, Conductor and his absence wouldn't make me cry in my beer. I own his recording of Mahler 3, and it doesn't crack my top 10.

[Richard Tarleton]

5. For Richard T.: just as a lighter note, about that concert you saw way back with Gilbert conducting the ONL, you may be amused to know that Gilbert's sister Jennifer Gilbert is with the ONL. In fact, she is concertmaster of the orchestra currently. (No idea if she was when her brother guest-conducted on that occasion back then.)

She was indeed Just checked the programme.

[P. G. Tipps]

Considering there are another six Mahler symphonies scheduled this year it might have been nice if the programme had been changed as well as the conductor? Why is there always so much of this composer, year after year after year?

If poor old Bruckner can be totally ignored twice in recent years what's the problem in occasionally doing the same with the seemingly now wall-to-wall Mahler?

[Petrushka]

I don't see what the big deal is.
The NY Phil Concerts are broadcast in Chicago weekly and I usually try to tune in. Gilbert's Concerts have impressed me a lot more than his recordings. Go and enjoy, Pet, it's still the Gewandhaus. Chailly is a good , but not great, Conductor and his absence wouldn't make me cry in my beer. I own his recording of Mahler 3, and it doesn't crack my top 10.

You may well be right. It's all part of the mix that will sway me one way or the other. I'm much more impressed by Chailly than you, having seen him since his days as a protégé of Claudio Abbado and his previous live Mahler with the Gewandhaus at the Proms (6 & 10) have been crackers. No doubt the Gewandhaus will give their 'Chailly performance' anyway, particularly of the Beethoven 9 which they have played together numerous times.

Chailly has matured considerably as a conductor since his Concertgebouw days, where he never seemed to be entirely happy, and some of the recordings they made had a feeling of 'work in progress' about them. It's a different matter nowadays where he has galvanised the Gewandhaus (always a great orchestra anyway) into a truly world class ensemble.

As mentioned above, I've never seen nor heard Alan Gilbert but many of the comments I've heard here and there, chime in with what has been said on here. 'Safe pair of hands' and 'lacklustre' seem to sum it up fairly accurately.

As BSP says, it's a tough call.

[Barbirollians]

Mahler is always likely to feature as it is a stapled or international orchestras on tour and the Proms has to take the programme they are doing .

That ought perhaps to suggest slimming down the Mahler elsewhere in the season . Perhaps making some room for Haydn and Mozart symphonies !!!

[Stanfordian]

Riccardo Chailly has broken his arm in a fall and has cancelled his two appearances with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra at the Proms. His place is being taken by Alan Gilbert.

This is deeply disappointing news and is the second time that Chailly has been thwarted from giving us Mahler 3 at the Proms. A previous outing scheduled with the Concertgebouw was cancelled due to a shoulder injury. I was really looking forward to both of these Proms.

What views on Alan Gilbert anyone? Never seen nor heard him so a completely unknown quantity for me. I only really know that he is chief at the New York Phil but what's he like in Mahler and Beethoven?

http://slippedisc.com/2014/07/maestr...season-opener/

I attended a concert in Munich in 2011 and Alan Gilbert was conducting the touring New York Philharmonic. The main work was the Beethoven Eroica and I remember reporting that the NYSO seemed in holiday mode with swim suits and towels all packed and ready for the beach. I've never sat through a more lacklustre performance of the Eroica.

[EdgeleyRob]

Considering there are another six Mahler symphonies scheduled this year it might have been nice if the programme had been changed as well as the conductor? Why is there always so much of this composer, year after year after year?
If poor old Bruckner can be totally ignored twice in recent years what's the problem in occasionally doing the same with the seemingly now wall-to-wall Mahler?

It's a good question.

[teamsaint]

It's a good question.

Money Honey.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

It's easy to see why Mahler is so frequently featured - seriously great composer (I mean, one of the very best); popular with audiences; popular with performers. Win, win, win.

Why Bruckner (seriously great composer; I mean one of the very best) doesn't attract the same enthusiasm "out there" is beyond me. And why Rodge didn't invite his mate Danny to do a Bruckner cycle at the Proms (to finish off what would have been a trilogy of such cycles) - well: the missed opportunity of the season.

[richardfinegold]

You may well be right. It's all part of the mix that will sway me one way or the other. I'm much more impressed by Chailly than you, having seen him since his days as a protégé of Claudio Abbado and his previous live Mahler with the Gewandhaus at the Proms (6 & 10) have been crackers. No doubt the Gewandhaus will give their 'Chailly performance' anyway, particularly of the Beethoven 9 which they have played together numerous times.

Chailly has matured considerably as a conductor since his Concertgebouw days, where he never seemed to be entirely happy, and some of the recordings they made had a feeling of 'work in progress' about them. It's a different matter nowadays where he has galvanised the Gewandhaus (always a great orchestra anyway) into a truly world class ensemble.

As mentioned above, I've never seen nor heard Alan Gilbert but many of the comments I've heard here and there, chime in with what has been said on here. 'Safe pair of hands' and 'lacklustre' seem to sum it up fairly accurately.

As BSP says, it's a tough call.

Try to keep an open mind about Gilbert. At the risk of repeating myself, his Concert Performances have impressed me, but his official recordings have been dissapointments.
I have many Chailly recordings on my shelves so I did not mean to sound overly critical there. I also saw him and the Concertgebouw on tour here years ago and retained a favorable impression, although I'm damned if I remember what the program was. His Mahler 3 from Amsterdam is one of those recordings, and I probably bought it because it was the first Mahler 3 in SACD. M3 is one of my favorite works, but this Chailly never gets trotted out. In my collection I would rank 2 Bernsteins, 2 Haitinks, 2 Abbado's, Horenstein, MTT, Zander, Kubelik, Zinman, and Boulez above it. (well, maybe Chailly ahead of Zinman). That doesn't mean it's bad, but not exactly essential...
I don't like what I have heard of Chailly's most recent work. He seems to not be able to make up his mind if he wants to embrace HIPP or just play the music. Hopefully he figures it out before he breaks another bone...
At any rate, it isn't like you had tickets to Furtwangler or Toscanini and are getting Montovani in their stead. To become the Principal of the New York Philharmonic, it just might be possible that Gilbert might know a thing or two...

[richardfinegold]

Money Honey.

Is Mahler considered safe box office, and Bruckner not?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Is Mahler considered safe box office, and Bruckner not?

Yes, apparently so. I don't know why, or even if it's true - but this is the perception. (Fewer books published about Bruckner, too, in comparison with Gus. Still, at least Tony has been spared the indignity of a Why Bruckner?)