This blog entry, written by MSO principal violist Robert Levine, talks about the recent appointment of Edo deWaart as the next music director of the Milwaukee Symphony.
Here’s a taste:
Most members of the orchestra regard this as very good news, I think. He’s arguably the best-known conductor we’ve ever had as music director (certainly the one with the most illustrious career prior to coming here). In fact we have rarely had conductors of his stature even as guests. And the orchestra reacted very positively to him when he was here in December. People were also relieved that the orchestra would be able to avoid being without a music director for a season or two, which is always death for ticket sales.
Will it “work� It shows all the makings of working musically. As I said, the orchestra was very happy about what they saw in December. And while his public words of praise for the orchestra were what one would expect, I though I saw genuine surprise and pleasure about the quality of the orchestra from him when he was here in December – a reaction I’ve seen many times before from first-time visitors to the MSO. Perhaps they’ve seen too many “LaVerne and Shirley†re-runs, but the quality of this orchestra does seem to be a closely-guarded secret in the business.