Tony Duggan posted a London Times article:

>Where are such towering maestros today?  This is the question that
>anybody who loves classical music, and who regrets its incresingly
>marginalised status, urgently wants to know.  For there is no doubt
>that the absence of compelling personalities from the world's podiums is
>one big reason why attempts to sell orchestras to a wider public so often
>fail.

I agree with the impact of the lack of charisma, but I'm not so sure it's
a bad thing.  Charisma is basically a marketing tool, a non-musical attempt
to enhance market appeal.  As such, it's not really connected to the
results of a musical performance.

Also, we tend to exaggerate the "legends" of the past.  Further, sometimes
I consider the charisma to be nothing more than obnoxiousness.  I, and a
few others, found Bernstein totally obnoxious and pompous; we would have
much preferred that he keep his mouth closed and his hands at his side and
just conduct the music.

Used-car sales persons often are highly charasmatic.  I'm just trying to
indicate that charisma is not always "favorable".  Personally, I concern
myself with the results of performance, not the degree of hype preceding
it.

Don Satz
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