After the hype: a candid look at Sir Simon Rattle

After you've climbed the summit and received immense critical accolades, what's next? It's Sir Simon Rattle's dilemma, one that certainly haunts him even as the British press is infatuated with him during his London residency. His career has been on a strong upward note, as he has gone from the charming Liverpool kid to the most powerful position in the musical world as director of the Berlin Philharmonic. It hasn't all been smooth sailing. Rattle's decision to leave Berlin in 2018 could be taken as a sign of defeat. During his tenure, critics have complained about deficits in his conducting, pointing to fussiness and over-refinement as his besetting faults. Maybe Rattle is exhausted, tired of the mindless adulation of the British press while being equally irked by the overly analytical critiques that detractors have waiting for him behind every corner.

 

Claudio Abbado seemed to escape much of the lambasting that super-star conductors usually endure. When he left the Berlin Philharmonic for health reasons in 2002, he was a musical hero. When we lost him last year, the sense of loss was tangible, as critics rushed to acknowledge his induction into the pantheon of greats. Maybe Abbado's modesty and frail health saved him from critical attack? But Herbert von Karajan was subjected to the most piercing scrutiny, and when he left the Berliners in 1989, there were suppressed cheers in various musical circles. Musical power brings with it expectation. 

 

★★★★★ Jansons continues his sudden rise to greatness, this time in Strauss

Strauss: Don Juan & Ein Heldenleben

What has happened to Mariss Jansons? For years, I had a lukewarm opinion about the Latvian conductor, despite his international renown and the prominence of his positions at the Royal Concertgebouw and Bavarian Radio Symphony. But he's been a new conductor lately, with originality and insight that has shocked me. Frankly, I now watch him with more expectation than any other conductor on the scene.

After such a laudatory prelude, how is his Strauss? We hear a good sampling in the Don Juan that starts out the program. Jansons' approach is refined and inward-looking, not out for display but almost indifferent to it, actually. For some it will be too low key, since this is far from a lurid, go-for-broke type of interpretation. But the inner meaning is gripping, and the virtuosity is natural and beyond words. I appreciate Karajan for lyric intensity, Tennstedt for fervent romanticism, Haitink for youthful infectiousness, and Abbado for exuberant virtuosity, but there's something here that screams for attention. If I enjoyed Dudamel's recent reading with the Berlin Phil, Jansons is a step higher.

Alan Gilbert's tenure with the New York Philharmonic will end in 2017

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Yet another major orchestra is losing their principal conductor. Alan Gilbert has been principal conductor of the New York Philharmonic since 2009, but he will be leaving in 2017, the New York Times reports. Critical opinion has been mixed on Gilbert, with detractors citing a lack of charisma, but Gilbert has been experimental with programming and seems to have a good relationship with the orchestra. Gilbert says he wants to give a new director an opportunity to build a relationship with the orchestra during the time their Avery Fischer Hall is renovated. 2021 is the soonest the renovation is expected to be completed, and Gilbert says he simply doesn't want to stick around that long. This announcement leaves yet another opening in the conducting world. Who is line to take the orchestra?

Rattle and the LSO?

Is Sir Simon Rattle about to head to London? British newspapers are obsessed with the idea, and it's no wonder. Rattle will only be 63 when he leaves the Berlin Philharmonic in 2018, so his career likely has many years still coming. And no British conductor has nearly the international reputation that Rattle has garnered. Why not welcome him home to Britain with an appointment to the LSO? His London residency with the Berlin Philharmonic is only heightening the talk and hype.

On the other hand, is Daniel Harding in line to take the LSO? He too is British and a rising young star who is surely due for a promotion. For now, we'll just have to sit back and watch this game of musical chairs unfold. The speculation is irresistible though, admittedly.