What’s next for Pittsburgh’s symphony?
Top conductors are making big moves
It’s all about the Finns, lately.
There has been big news in the rarefied world of orchestral conducting in recent weeks.
First, Esa-Pekka Salonen, a name spoken with reverent enthusiasm by most orchestral musicians, abruptly announced he’d be stepping down from his post as music director of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. San Francisco is one of the top orchestras in the country — this is extremely unusual and a sign of some intense financial turmoilat the organization.
Next, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, another of America’s greatest ensembles, announced that it had snared wunderkind Klaus Makela, a 28-year-old phenom, as its next music director. He replaces 82-year-old Italian Riccardo Muti, whose salary was reported to be more than $3 million at one time. (Conductor salaries haven’t outstripped musician salaries at the same pace as CEO salaries vs. corporate employees, but it’s tough not to draw comparisons at times.)
Absent leaders
His appointment has prompted a flurry of articles, including a particularly thought-provoking piece by Alex Ross in The New Yorker questioning America’s music directorship system, which seems to prioritize foreign talent over American, pays often exorbitant salaries and doesn’t actually require directors to participate in the civic fabric of the city.
That’s true in Pittsburgh, too. Manfred Honeck, our impish Austrian, who reportedly earns in the neighborhood of a paltry $1 million in Pittsburgh alone, doesn’t actually live in the city. It’s worth wondering whether a more consistent presence by the face of our orchestra could be beneficial. Fodder for future thoughts. His contract is up in 2028, and some musicians are already beginning to speculate and fret.
Music directors only conduct a handful of concerts in their home cities, with guest conductors jetting in to handle the remainder. On Friday in Pittsburgh it was yet another Finn, Osmo Vanska, famous for his recordings of Sibelius symphonies and his long leadership of the Minnesota Orchestra.
He has visited before.
The music
I’ve yet to be impressed by his work with the orchestra, much as I respect his recordings. Friday’s program opened with an orchestral arrangement of Johann Sebastian Bach’s famous Toccata and Fugue in D minor, a favorite on Halloween playlists. The arrangement by composer Stanislaw Skrowaczewski is subtle, and the orchestra handled the work’s layered timbres with excellent balance, no easy feat. But there was no urgencyto the performance, no rhythmic intensity — Mr. Vanska seemed to prioritize sound and blend at the expense of fire and drive.
The meat of the program, Nielsen’s Symphony No. 4, didn’t land for me. The piece is a restless collection of contrasting episodes, flowing from one idea into the next without pause. There’s great excitement and terror and more leisurely bits for contrast, and all builds toward a great showdown between timpani and the orchestra in the finale. There was great drama in Friday’s performance, but entrances were mushy at times, and grand passages sounded more loud than powerful at times. It was a bit cold.
The evening’s concerto was a bright spot, with pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet dancing his way through Saint-Saens’ fifth concerto. The concerto isn’t especially serious in its tunes, but its good-natured lightheartedness was a breath of fresh air. Mr. Thibaudet’s rapport with the orchestra was tight and especially breezy in the opening movement.
Wishful thinking
Pittsburgh’s musicians provide feedback forms for each guest conductor when they visit. It isn’t too soon to begin wondering who may take the podium next. Keep an ear out.
I’d be delighted at the prospect of someone who might make the Steel City a more permanent residence, but the classical music system isn’t really geared that way. Most music directors at the higher echelons of the orchestra world maintain multiple directorships at once. Perhaps it’s time for boards to reconsider this model.
Maybe our next director can throw out the home opener first pitch in 2029.
The program repeats at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.