Comments on: MSO left without an Oleg to stand on

By: Heathdon McGregor

Heathdon McGregor — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 05:54:13 +0000

I know nothing of the MSO and its machinations but the reference

“audiences had tired of Caetani’s championing of the 20th-century Russian conductor Dmitri Shostakovich”

sounds like the word “audiences” should be replaced by “influential people”

By: Greg Barns

Greg Barns — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 05:33:56 +0000

Yet more depressing is that the Brits have Valery Gergiev at the LSO, Vasily Petrenko at the Royal Liverpool Phil, Vladimir Jurowski at the London Phil and Glyndebourne, Kirill Karabits at Bournemouth, Andris Nelsons at Birmingham, and Vassily Sinaisky as the Guest Conductor at the BBC Phil. That’s to say that the top six orchestral posts in Britain are held by Russians under 40, all of whom are devoted champions of Shostakovich. Meanwhile, we’ll get stuck with some unemployed Brit conducting Elgar and Holst …

By: deccles

deccles — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 02:45:34 +0000

Wow, the MSO had been playing Shostakovich and I didn’t even notice. If they’d marketed that as much as the pops suff I may have even bought a ticket or 3.

I’ll notice even less when they program warhorse after warhorse (Beethoven Piano Concerto No 5, again?) I suspect they’ll pull Iwaki out for another ‘Rite of Spring’ ‘Concerto for Orchestra’ token 20th Century program.