Holde Kunst Classical Music Blog - Comments

robert berger comments on Muti Is New CSO Director

robert berger — Sat, 10 May 2008 20:42:44 +0000

And speaking of French symphonies,it would be
great if Muti did the rarely heard but gorgeous
symphony in C major by Paul Dukas,who wrote more
than"The Sorcerer's Apprentice(unfortunately little
else escaped the composer's destruction).There are
some excellent recordings of it.Or the symphonies
by Saint-Saens other than the Organ one,or Albert
Roussel,Alberic Magnard,VincentD'Indy,and Ernest
Chausson etc,all well-worth doing.

robert berger comments on Muti Is New CSO Director

robert berger — Thu, 08 May 2008 15:02:19 +0000

I don't quite agree with you about programming
today.Yes,certain standard works by Beethoven,Brahms
and Tchaikovsky etc are still popuilar,but plenty
of new works have been premiered by a wide variety of
living composers,including some promising young ones.
And many interesting rarities from the past have been revived;so there is actually greater diversity
of repertoire than ever before! And by the way,
the Franck D minor symphony is no longer played that
often,but I like it any way,and it should played
from time to time.
And we have enterprising conductors like Alan Gilbert,Robert Spano,James Levine,Neeme and Paavo
Jarvi,James Conlon,Leonard Slatkin,Gerard Scwarz,
David Zinman,Marin Alsop,Joann Falletta(under whom
I have played as a horn player),and others.
So we're not doing too badly when it comes to
stimulating programming.

John Gibbons comments on Muti Is New CSO Director

John Gibbons — Thu, 08 May 2008 13:14:49 +0000

While everything you say is true, there is a difference between being boss and being bossy. And most conductors are arrogant. My sources tell me Muti is very well liked by the CSO. Nevertheless, I hold to what I say, I think there has been some drifting at the CSO in recent years, some laxity. Muti is obviously a significant conductor,but he is a 66 yr. old European, a known quantity. I'd like a younger conductor, preferably an American. I think there is too much of the "same old" going on in American orchestras, sometimes it seems the orchestras get better and better, and too many of the concerts are duller and duller. Please let's have modern music and esoterica, and no more Franck symphonies in d minor.