I was all set to write a piece about the Berlin Philharmonic electing a new chief conductor, and how the man who gets this post is like the “Pope of classical music.” (The Berlin Philharmonic’s importance in European concert music is rivalled by the Vienna Philharmonic, but the Vienna Philharmonic doesn’t have a regular conductor, so the Berlin job is the one maestros fight over.) Then the self-governing orchestra failed to elect anyone, with no clear timetable for when they’ll have a chance to meet again. Thanks a lot, guys. I think you did this just to spite me. But let me see if I can write something about this anyway.
My colleague Paul Wells wrote a Twitter essay about the possible causes of the deadlock. There haven’t been a lot of leaks, so a lot of this is guesswork, but it seems like it comes down to a core question of what the Berlin Philharmonic should be and what it should specialize in playing (SOURCE: MACLEANS).
Solfarid 