Archive for October, 2009

Parade of Guest Conductors at the Symphony Is Well Under Way

Ludovic Morlot is in town this week guest conducting the Seattle Symphony.  It is the first time the young, French conductor has conducted the Seattle Symphony, but not the first time he has conducted a major American orchestra. In fact, while Morlot may not be on the tip of many Seattleite tongues, Morlot has been winning over audiences and critics across the country.  He has guest conducted at the United States’s top orchestras — Boston, Chicago, and New York — while also maintaining a robust European career.

Morlot has also been winning over musicians as well with his podium temperament and clear sense of the music.  This isn’t always the case with conductors as young as Morlot.  Morlot is in his mid thirties.  Older than Gustavo Dudamel in Los Angeles but younger than Alan Gilbert in New York.

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Guest conductor Ludovic Morlot led the Seattle Symphony in an energetic performance

By Melinda Bargreen – Special to The Seattle Times

Music lovers are always intrigued to find a new guest conductor on their orchestra’s podium: Will this herald a fresh approach, an intriguing style, a real connection with the orchestra musicians?

These and other related questions have more weight, however, now and in the months to come. That’s because a succession of guest conductors this season and next will include candidates for the Seattle Symphony’s future music directorship, when current director Gerard Schwarz leaves that post at the end of next season (2010-11). The summer of 2011 sounds like a long way off, but in the symphonic world, it’s almost tomorrow. It typically takes a long time to find a first-rate music director who meets all the desired criteria and is also free to accept the offered job.

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In BSO’s Thomas premiere, rugged lyricism for imagined dancers

By Jeremy Eichler

It was a homecoming of sorts last night in Symphony Hall as the BSO’s former assistant conductor Ludovic Morlot returned to lead the orchestra for the first time since concluding his three-year appointment in 2007. In the intervening years, Morlot’s career has flourished and these days he makes guest appearances with many top-tier orchestras in this country and abroad.

It is not difficult to see why: From the podium he exudes a crisp incisive musicality and a vibrant energy without resorting to theatrics. He can also put together a distinctive program, at least judging from last night’s thoughtful grouping of Martinu’s “Frescoes of Piero Della Francesca” with Stravinsky’s “Capriccio” and Tchaikovsky’s symphonic fantasy “Francesca da Rimini.”

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Peter Serkin playing Igor, premiere of Thomas Helios Choros II, highlights at BSO

By Peter Van Zandt Lane

The Boston Symphony Orchestra performed an exceptionally energetic program on Thursday night, October 15, under the baton of former BSO assistant conductor Ludovic Morlot. Morlot, who last appeared with the BSO in 2007, seemed to have retained a strong rapport with the musicians, as the fluidity between the conductor and orchestra demonstrated none of the compromise that often occurs with guest conductors. The evening featured pianist Peter Serkin, performing Stravinsky’s Capriccio for piano and orchestra, as well as Helios Choros II, a new work by Augusta Read Thomas co-commissioned by the BSO and the London Symphony Orchestra. After a rough start, the BSO performed a magnificent program with nearly unremitting energetic force. The concert closed with Tchaikovsky’s Symphonic Fantasy Francesca da Rimini, which demonstrated Morlot’s ability to add momentum and life to a fairly square piece of music.

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By Tom Keogh, Special to The Seattle Times

The search for Gerard Schwarz’s replacement as music director and principal conductor of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra kicks into high gear next week with the debut of Ludovic Morlot in Benaroya Hall.

Morlot will lead a program Thursday-Saturday, of Prokofiev, Dvorák and Haydn. Martinù’s Oboe Concerto will feature Seattle Symphony Principal Oboe Ben Hausmann.

An international search is under way to find the orchestra’s next artistic leader, and guest conductors such as Morlot could be under consideration, both this season and next.

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