By Sedgwick Clark
I just received the press kit for the Philadelphia Orchestra’s 2010-11 season, announced today, and it’s a humdinger (haven’t used that word since I was in Muncie). The veteran Charles Dutoit, now 73, whose association with the orchestra dates back to 1980, is currently in his second of a four-year appointment as chief conductor while a new music director is being sought, and the new season’s programs glisten with his French-Russian specialties. Most encouragingly, the usual standards are balanced by the music of 12 living composers, including Osvaldo Golijov, Christopher Rouse, Magnus Lindberg, Arvo Pärt, Tan Dun, James MacMillan, and three works by Henri Dutillieux, which seems extraordinary for this conservative organization. The complete 2010-2011 season announcement press kit materials can be viewed online here.
It’s no industry secret that the orchestra is in parlous shape these days due to disastrous decisions from a dusty Board of Directors on down, capped off by the appointment of former music director Christoph Eschenbach, who lacked the support of the players. The orchestra’s “new” home at the Kimmel Center seems never to have recovered from a premature opening at which the acoustician, the late Russell Johnson, let everyone know that Verizon Hall was not ready for prime time. (Nevertheless, while not perfect, Verizon is incomparably superior to the unmusical Academy of Music in which the orchestra labored for nearly a century.) Whatever the reason, the Center hasn’t been sufficiently embraced by Philadelphia audiences and recently cut back on its programs and personnel. After hiring and quickly dispensing with an executive director who had no prior experience running an orchestra, the Board lured Alison Vulgamore—a savvy, hands-on exec with a proven track record—away from the Atlanta Symphony. (Do I hear Robert Spano, anyone?)
She has her hands full: balancing the budget, spearheading the search for a new music director, rebuilding the audience at home, and re-educating the world that this orchestra remains one of the foremost in the world. Which brings me to an infamous article in the December 2008 issue of Gramophone that rated “The World’s 20 Greatest Orchestras.” Not only was the Philadelphia Orchestra not included among the top 20, it was listed with the NBC Symphony—an orchestra that last played in 1954—under a sidebar headed “Past Glories”! I wonder how many of Gramophone‘s critics had heard the orchestra in concert before they voted? Eschenbach took Philly on a European tour last year, the final year of his tenure, but it was too late and, moreover, he was the wrong man in every way. An international tour is crucial as soon as possible after a new (presumably younger) maestro is chosen and the economy allows.
From my vantage point at the orchestra’s Carnegie Hall outings, the Philadelphians remain fabulous. Their corporate sound is intact, and their concerts display nothing of management fumbling. Indeed, the most memorable concert I heard last season was when André Previn led the orchestra in April in one of his typically laid back Mozart concerto performances. It was the 24th, and it sang from first note to last. When I was younger I thought his Mozart twee, but on that evening his autumnal expressiveness was a balm to the soul, reminiscent of Curzon in the 27th. The 80-year-old Previn is frail these days but has lost none of his musical powers. After intermission he led, with minimal gestures, a Philadelphia specialty from the Sawallisch days, Strauss’s Sinfonia domestica. One would have thought this oft-maligned work was Strauss’s greatest tone poem. Rarely have I seen such a chorus of smiles from orchestral players as they responded with affection and power, always wrapped in what Stravinsky called a “chinchilla echo.”
Here’s hoping that Dutoit’s well-chosen repertoire for the new season may be the first step to restoring the Philadelphia reputation.