Why was one of the world’s greatest conductors walked out the door? | classical music

TThe Boston Symphony Orchestra’s termination of its contract with Andris Nelsons, its music director since 2014, came as a shock to players and conductor alike. “The BSO and Andris Nelsons were not in agreement about the future vision,” said a brief statement issued last week by the orchestra’s board of directors and Chad Smith, its president and CEO. Nelson will leave the orchestra after the Tanglewood season in summer 2027. In the icy world of conductor delivery and orchestral music programming, where decisions are often made years in advance (see the LPO), this seems worryingly hasty.

The BSO is one of the most distinguished and celebrated orchestras in the United States, and one of the so-called “Big Five.” Nelson won two Grammy Awards with the Boston Symphony players just last month (Lamesian and Shostakovich), so why did the board decide to end the relationship? Is this a dispute between the board of directors, players and management? There is no suggestion of any misconduct or breach of contract; Perhaps the face-value interpretation is the correct one: artistic differences over the orchestra’s “future vision.”

“Although this is not the decision I expected or wanted, I am firmly committed to you and to our work together,” Nelson, who was born in Latvia, told his musicians; They appear to be completely shocked: the BSO players said in a statement posted on their social media accounts that they “strongly oppose the decision… to terminate the appointment of Maestro Nelsons.”

This all begs the question: What is the BSO Board’s vision, and why shouldn’t Nelson be a part of it? One reason may be that he conducts two major orchestras on both sides of the Atlantic: he has been conductor of the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig since 2017, and also regularly guest performs with orchestras such as the Vienna and Berlin Philharmonic. Maybe Smith wants a music director who can commit to being in town more than a third of the year? Although the sports analogies are trite, bear with me because they are a useful way to understand the role of a music director, especially in the United States. It’s not just about performances on match days – sorry, concert evenings – it’s about being present at training sessions, training sessions, it’s about being a charismatic figure who can attract money from donors. Above all, it’s about integrating into the city’s musical and cultural grassroots, so that your music director becomes like an Alex Ferguson or Pep Guardiola, indelibly linked not just to the orchestra but to the identity of the place as a whole. That’s what Simon Rattle did in Birmingham in the 1980s and 1990s, and that’s what Mark Elder managed for a quarter of a century with the Manchester band Halle.

It should be noted that Nilsson is not alone in having two orchestras on two continents: Klaus Makela will conduct the Chicago Symphony and the Amsterdam Concertgebouw in 2027, and dozens of prominent conductors of recent decades have held positions in Europe, the United States and Japan simultaneously. Meanwhile, the Leipzig Gewandhaus musicians have issued their own message of solidarity with the BSO players, celebrating the mutual benefit Nilsson’s leadership has provided them: “Over many years, the close alliance between the BSO and the Gewandhausorchester has grown into much more than a formal partnership… knowing the strong artistic bond between Maestro Nilsson and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. [Boston Symphony] The Orchestra, realizing that this outcome does not reflect the wishes of the musicians, would like to express our sincere sympathy and solidarity with you at this difficult moment.

It’s getting dicey in Boston. Meanwhile, who might replace Nelson? Accidental – Karina Kanellakis. The American conductor’s boldness in programming combined with her commitment to renewing the classics make her a unique voice of her generation. She will also be the first woman to conduct any of the Big Five orchestras in the US (not that the UK’s leading orchestras are any better at appointing women to senior positions, with the exception of Mirja Grazineti-Tyla, who succeeds Nelson as music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra until 2022).

However, it is anyone’s guess at the moment where the BSO’s ‘future vision’ will take them – and if the relationship between players and the board appears to be on the rocks, this could become a Premier League-style story of power, arrogance and swearing. my darling.

AAs Oscars hype season reaches peak absurdity, Best Actor nominee Timothée Chalamet made comments about how “no one cares” about ballet or opera anymore. Proving that no publicity is bad publicity, the gatekeepers of these art forms used Chalamet’s fame to whip up a media frenzy, but in reality he was just a bit of a nerd.

There is no point in criticizing him for disparaging living art forms, as others have done so forcefully and defensively. What’s worth saying is that AI is coming for you, Timothy, as it is for every movie star that can be digitally manipulated. It is the living arts and living experiences – yes, opera, ballet, theater and man-made, human-performed classical concert hall culture – that will endure. Just watch.

This week Tom was listening to: Soundtrack by Ennio Morricone’s song “My Name is Nobody”. Julia Davis’ immortal Nighty Night series got me into this: it uses the film’s opening title music as a fun, surreal theme tune. Morcone’s entire score, complete with Wagnerian dispatches and lyrical passages, is ridiculously gorgeous. Listen on Spotify or Apple Music