Take a look at the story in this morning New York Times about who–if anybody–will replace Lorin Maazel as music director of the New York Philharmonic:
When he was selected in 2001, Mr. Maazel was assumed to be a one-term appointment. He was 70, and concerns about an aging audience prompted calls for a less traditional leader. But his appointment also represented the new power of the orchestra’s musicians, who had pushed for Mr. Maazel, having played under him as a visiting conductor. Many orchestra members continue to say they are content under his baton.
The quotes are revealing. The orchestra’s board invited several Philharmonic players to give their opinions of Maazel. One compared him to Kurt Masur, the orchestra’s previous music director:
“He’s such a welcome relief after the tremendous abuse we took before,” said Eric Bartlett, a cellist. He said Mr. Masur had operated on “the assumption that every musician was trying not to play well and had to be terrorized into doing their best.” He added, “That assumption wore everybody down.”
Another, concertmaster Glenn Dicterow, said, “If we have no one to replace Maazel, we just can’t let him go. I just don’t think we’re in a rush to replace someone as brilliant as Mr. Maazel….He’s respectful and thorough, and he doesn’t waste time.” And to critics in the media who claim that Maazel’s programming is “too conservative,” Dicterow replies, “New York audiences like to hear their Beethoven. If we played only contemporary music, we’d only have a quarter of an audience, and pretty soon we wouldn’t have an orchestra.”
This story virtually speaks for itself, but I should add one footnote for readers with short memories: Kurt Masur took a demoralized, undisciplined orchestra and turned it into the virtuoso ensemble it had been in years past. He didn’t do that by being respectful and efficient–he did it by tyrannizing a bunch of temperamental players notorious for their bad behavior. (It’s no accident that the Philharmonic long ago acquired the nickname “Murder, Inc.” for its treatment of weak and incompetent conductors.)
As for the rest, I’ll simply direct you to my earlier post on the future of the classical concert (see below). For my part, I don’t think Lorin Maazel is a very interesting or significant conductor, but in a way that’s the least important thing about him. What really matters is that the Philharmonic itself clearly believes it can continue to do business as usual, indefinitely. Perhaps it can. The Philharmonic is, after all, America’s flagship orchestra, located in a city big and rich enough to keep it afloat no matter what it does or doesn’t do. But how many other American orchestras can say the same thing? Damned few–which is why so many are either floundering or folding.