Stirling Newberry ends a long and very interesting essay on Ben Zander:

>Ozawa has shrunk over the years, becoming a fixture through which poured
>money. Zander has grown. He has aquired the baton technique he lacked, he
>has learned some finesse that he should have aquired from his mentors, he
>has polished his ability to accept just compliments gracefully. Perhaps he
>makes other uneasy because of his abundant messiah complex.
>
>But then perhaps we are in need of someone willing to bear some thorns so
>as to rise to that higher station.

I have been familiar with Zander's work since the mid seventies.  For
one year my daughter played viola in the Youth Orchestra and I still
remember a great performance of Haydn's 88 th Symphony.  And over the
years I have attended many concerts with the "adult" orchestras he has
conducted- mixtures of students, amateurs, and (for want of a better word)
ringers.  Zander's modus operandi is so different from that of a conductor
responsible for an extended and busy schedule that it is not clear (to me)
that he can switch his approach or that he would want to switch.  He gives
a relatively small number of concerts a year, and spends large amounts of
rehearsal time on each.  Teaching is clearly important to him.  I assume
that the conductor of the BSO cannot work that way, but it sure would be an
interesting experiment.  I must admit, incidentally, that Zander as prophet
and guru gets on my nerves a bit.  He can use a sabbatical from Mahler.
And I also must admit IMHO that Ozawa is better than he was a few years
ago.

Professor Bernard Chasan
Physics Department, Boston University