Many people, both within the Oregon Symphony ‘family’ and in the public at large have commented both publicly and privately that they were mystified by a paragraph in the otherwise glowing review of the Oregon Symphony’s Carnegie Hall debut in today’s New York Times. Music critic Allan Kozinn wrote the following:
The orchestra was formed in 1896, and its international reputation has grown since 1987, when it began recording big, opulent works and sonic spectacular CDs for the Delos label. Many of these discs, conducted by James DePreist, the orchestra’s music director at the time (and now emeritus), remain in print and show the ensemble to be a highly polished precision instrument. Since 2003 it has been directed by Carlos Kalmar, a Uruguayan conductor who has maintained it admirably.