Actually what Maazel is known for in this country is building orchestras and having exemplary technical chops. All orchestras go through love affairs and discord with Music Directors. What I find most interesting about the article is that Maazel hired many of the wind and brass players that the reviewer loves but gets no credit for it.
Just to add a touch of perspective, I have lived in NY for a long time and until I saw the article on the front page of the Sun while waiting for a train had never bought the paper. Now he called the CSO an orchestra on the edge but in a review of a recent CSO concert loved the winds and brass with the exception of a few shrill high notes in the trumpet (Mahler 7). The other newspaper in town (NY Times) called the CSO winds some of the best they had heard. Reviewers are paid to express their opinions and they are just that opinions. I would also say that the visiting orchestras he lists play in Carnegie and the NY Phil plays in Avery Fischer. An important distinction that he neglects to mention in an article that implies he is comparing apples when you put the hall into the picture it becomes apples and oranges. Debbie Schmidt Tisch Center for the Arts _______________________________________________ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
