Alexandros writes:

>I think that in Boston it is the right time for changes...

As one of the few "defenders" of Ozawa on this list I speak from first hand
experience with his conducting in Boston for over 25 years.  I attempt to
be as objective as possible in a field where "taste" is a major driver to
individual preferences.  Many Boston Symphony subscribers seem to have a
love/hate relationship to Ozawa conducting.  My experience is that he is
perhaps unmatched in conducting 20th century music, especially his late
friend Takemitsu.  His conducting of traditional classical material of
Brahms, Beethoven and Mozart has evolved from poor 25 years ago to
acceptable to good today.

The music performed by the musicians of the orchestra teamed with Ozawa
as a conductor has sometime suffered due to a very complicated relationship
he has with the musicians.  This is made more compex by the fact that he
conducts the BSO only about 20 percent of the time.  He is an international
figure in music making seeming to make his relationship with the orchestra
unsteady.  Although he conducts without score, he has not always mastered
the repertory in the eyes of the musicians.  Regular BSO subscribers
generally percieve that the orchestra plays better for guest conductors
than Ozawa although I have frequently heard the home team work well
together as in the recent performance of Puccini's "Madame Butterfly."

As everything in life, Ozawa and the BSO's music making can not be reduced
to broad brush characterization, in my opinion.  Happy listenning!

Bernard Gregoire
Hingham, MA