In several senses, the world of orchestras resembles sports, such as in watching which musicians get hired for new instrumental positions in orchestras (kind of like draft picks), but in particular, which conductor will get hired to be the next music director of an orchestra once a music directorship opens up (more like hiring a head coach). The latter situation is really prominent these days among US orchestras, because no less than 5 (!!) major American symphony orchestras are looking for new music directors, with 3 of those posts opening up just this month. Something's clearly weird in teh cosmic ether for such a convergence, even if 3CM the loser hasn't the faintest clue what (would he be a loser if he knew?). More, maybe, below the flip....
The 5 US orchestras who are looking for music directors currently are, in order of timing (with official press release links from the respective orchestras):
(1) New Jersey Symphony Orchestra: Jacques Lacombe leaves in 2016, after 6 seasons (announced last October)
(2) San Diego Symphony Orchestra: Jahja Ling leaves in 2017, after 13 seasons (announced in November)
(3) New York Philharmonic Orchestra: Alan Gilbert leaves in 2017, after 8 seasons (just announced on February 6)
(4) Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra: Edo de Waart leaves in 2017, after 8 seasons (just announced last week, on February 12)
(5) National Symphony Orchestra: Christoph Eschenbach leaves in 2017, after 7 seasons (announced 2 days ago, February 19)
Of course, given the nature of spin, all of these announcements don't dwell on anything negative as to the "real reasons" why conductors leave, which leads us more into the realm of speculation and gossip (the latter especially being the stock in trade of the worst, most gossip-prone and mean-spirited writer in classical music, with the initials NL). Not that what you're about to read from me is much better, in fairness, but at least in the realm of speculation, various theories can be proposed. So:
(1) In the case of Lacombe, he'll be in his early 50's by the time he's done with the NJSO. I've never seen him conduct, so I have no first-hand experience of the quality of his music-making. If nothing else, he is a handsome chap, which certainly helps with marketing. The NJSO is an unusual orchestra in that it performs in 6 different venues around NJ, so that they're on the road a fair bit, but Newark hosts the lion's share of concerts, at NJPAC. Of more immediate relevance, it got a black eye several years back over the whole controversy about the "Golden Age" string instrument collection (long story, but the punchline is here). The NJSO is a good band, but not quite in the very top tier, IMHO, so that they're not likely to attract a "big name" conductor as their next music director (but to be fair, Lacombe's predecessor, Neeme Järvi, is a big name among conductors).
(2) The case of Ling leaving San Diego is more understandable. 13 years is a pretty long stretch to be music director of an orchestra these days, so the sense of "time for a change" for both sides may well be a factor here. I have not seen Ling conduct in San Diego, but I've seen him guest-conduct here. He's OK, no fuss, no muss, but nothing special either. Ling has had a long affiliation with the Cleveland Orchestra as an assistant/associate conductor, but obviously never got the top job there. (The orchestra clearly had time to get to know him.) Given that he'll be in his mid 60's in 2017, my guess is that he won't get one of the other posts opening up in 2017.
(3) The Gilbert / NY Phil story was a total left-field surprise, such as reported in the NYT here. One issue dogging the NY Phil is potential proposed renovations to their current home, Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center. When those renovations start, the orchestra will obviously need to find alternative places to play. Plus, the orchestra has to raise all the money to renovate the hall, and cover the costs of playing in other venues. Cooper notes these challenges:
"The orchestra is just beginning a major fund-raising effort connected with the renovation project, while planning the renovations and making the preparations needed to help the orchestra survive two seasons away from its home. The Philharmonic expects to lead a nomadic existence during that time, playing elsewhere across New York City, which could help it reach new audiences but also threatens to hasten the erosion of subscriptions already faced by orchestras around the country."
In terms of "why leave now", Michael Cooper quotes Gilbert:
"It's become clear that the next chapter, logically, has to carry the organization through to the opening of the hall, which is at the earliest 2021. It’s a wonderful atmosphere, which of course I will be sorry to leave. But as I’ve thought about it, the next logical step - it’s just longer than I want to stay around. It’s actually that simple."
Of course, anytime someone says "it's actually that simple", one can cynically guess that it isn't. In fairness, though, staying through 2021 would make it 12 seasons for Gilbert, which would be a pretty long stretch in one post, again keeping with my comment about Ling and San Diego. But here's the catch: if you really want to make an impact with an orchestra and meet some impressive challenges, helping them meet those kinds of challenges sounds like precisely what a music director with moxie would want to do. Knowing that all these challenges face you would really force you to be resourceful and imaginative. Maybe Gilbert honestly doesn't feel up to the challenge.
The darker speculation, of course, is that maybe either the board of directors (or even the orchestra) don't necessarily want Gilbert as their 'public face' to raise all the funds and do all that, or don't feel that he's up to the challenge. That's a harsh assessment, to be sure. But in terms of his musical interpretive gifts, the WaPo's Anne Midgette had this assessment:
"Gilbert was, of course, supposed to be the orchestra’s new face himself when he started in the 2009-10 season. As a 40-something American conductor with lifelong ties to the Philharmonic (both his parents were long-time members of the orchestra), he represented youth and a commitment to new music and new ways of doing things. And he’s borne this out in practice with a range of initiatives, from the new-music series 'CONTACT!' to semi-staged musical and operatic productions (Ligeti’s Grand Macabre”) to the New York Philharmonic [Biennial], a new-music festival that had its inaugural season this past May.
But though he had all the right ideas, and all the right moves, it wasn’t always clear that Gilbert had the musical stature to be a dominant leader of the orchestra. To put it bluntly, his conducting wasn’t always very exciting, particularly in the standard repertory, which even the most adventurous orchestra can’t afford to neglect. And though he worked mightily to connect with the players and the city, it’s hard to say he was particularly beloved of either."
I've seen Gilbert conduct a few times, once at Santa Fe Opera and a few times here in STL. I actually see where Midgette is coming from. Gilbert is rather "meh", if OK, though nothing special overall. He did lead a fine Shostakovich Symphony No. 4 a long while back in STL, and did a very good job with Thomas Ades'
The Tempest in Santa Fe back in 2006 (his last season as music director there). But from hearing more mainstream repertoire like his pinch-hitting at the Proms last summer for a sidelined conductor, the results are more mixed, where over iPlayer, the Mahler 3 was good, but the Beethoven 9 was rather charmless in the 1st three movements.
Gilbert will be 50 when his time in New York is up. That's pretty young in conductor-career years, so the question of "where next?" comes up there. As it turns out, the biggest conducting prize of all, the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, opens up in 2018, when Sir Simon Rattle leaves that post. To be honest, though, I hope that the Berlin Philharmonic doesn't elect Gilbert as their next musical boss, for the reasons noted above. (BTW, just so you know, that's one big difference between an orchestra like the Berlin Phil and US orchestras, in that the Berlin Phil musicians themselves vote for their chief conductors, rather than getting together a committee which has a few musicians and a bunch of non-musicians or admin staff, like what happens in the USA).
(4) With the last two openings, age becomes a very logical factor. With Milwaukee, de Waart will be 76 in 2017, so that's a no-brainer that the orchestra needs a younger face to lead them into the future. 8 seasons is also a pretty reasonable time frame to be a music director these days in the USA. I've only seen de Waart as a conductor live once (and once at the Met HD-cast a few seasons back of Der Rosenkavalier, where one of his ex-gf's sang Octavian), and he's a solid, straightforward conductor, again no fuss. He does have a strong reputation as an orchestra builder, from what I hear, so although Milwaukee has had its share of fundraising challenges, I don't doubt that he'll leave the orchestra in good technical condition.
(5) In the case of the National Symphony, Eschenbach will be 77 in 2017, so again, a no-brainer that it's time to bring in someone from a younger generation. But Eschenbach brought a lot of baggage when he arrived in DC, namely the very rocky history of his 5-year music directorship of the Philadelphia Orchestra, where, to oversimplify things, the musicians didn't really have any input in his selection, and one particularly hostile critic ran an almost continuous 5-year campaign of negative reviews to run him out of town. In the end, that worked.
In perhaps slightly milder form, Midgette took up Dobrin's baton in the critics' relay race, where in one of her articles about Eschenbach leaving, she begins:
"The National Symphony Orchestra announced this morning that Christoph Eschenbach will become Conductor Laureate of the orchestra in the 2017-18 season.
In other words, his contract, after what will have been seven seasons as music director of the orchestra and of the Kennedy Center, is not being renewed."
Ouch. But more substantially, Midgette comments on various issues of Eschenbach's tenure:
'The NSO has turned in some fine concerts on his watch, but hasn’t fully shaken its issues with ensemble playing, and its occasional issues in the winds and brass.....
And his role in programming at the Kennedy Center has not been highly visible. If the NSO’s contributions to the upcoming “Iberian Suite” festival are an example, they are notably unimaginative, including a “French composers influenced by Spain” program that’s standard issue around the world.'
Midgette went on further in a
follow-up article:
"It’s not that Eschenbach's tenure has been an unmitigated failure. And he reportedly has a generally warm relationship with the orchestra’s musicians. When the players learned Tuesday that he was leaving, [NSO executive director Rita] Shapiro said, 'It was very quiet.'
What’s been missing, though, has been a clear vision for the orchestra - something that’s become, these days, a requisite part of the job."
That is where the other major figure in the follow-up article comes in, namely Deborah Rutter, the new president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, under whose umbrella the NSO falls. The element of a new broom sweeping clean might be another factor, as this bit from Rutter in the second Midgette article indicates:
"We’re going to be looking for someone who has a fresh [attitude]. It’s about saying, okay, as we look at orchestras in our world today, how do we remind ourselves of the importance of the historical repertoire, the canon and providing exciting interpretations of that, as well as interacting with music today? What’s the role of the orchestra in terms of community involvement? How are we going to have the orchestra engage across the Kennedy Center?
“An orchestra needs its maestro to be the person to inspire, nurture, build. [Eschenbach] has really given it that."
But then Midgette quotes Rutter:
"....it's better to leave too early than too late."
Hmmm.....or perhaps meow. But even if Midgette seems more than a bit lovey-dovey towards Rutter, Rutter does have a fine track record at running orchestras, per
this earlier MIdgette profile of Rutter from last year. She, working with Rita Shapiro, will need all those skills to find the NSO's next music director, and will moreover have to "get in line", in the context of the other orchestras also looking for music directors.
Of course, it isn't really a line, but more five parallel streams, running at their own pace and with their own unique features. Given also the vagaries of human personalities, while certain "top tier" names may recur for the NY Phil and perhaps the NSO jobs, and "next tier" names for the other 3 ensembles, there's no single conductor who fits with any orchestra, anywhere. It's very much like when two individuals meet; they hit it off right away, or they don't, or maybe the acquaintanceship takes time to build. But given how the classical music world plans years in advance, there actually isn't a lot of time for the "top tier" orchestras to find Maestro/a Right/Right-Now.
And this hasn't even addressed the 3 major UK orchestras who are looking for new chief conductors, not to mention the aforementioned top prize of all in Berlin. But that's for another day, if at all. With that, you can:
(1) Comment on this topic (which might be difficult, given its niche nature, particularly requiring people who live in any of these 5 areas who care enough about their local orchestras on DK....tough combo, that), or:
(2) Observe the usual SNLC protocol.
Somehow, I expect posts on the latter to be more likely....