Rachel Lee wrote:

>I have not heard Franz Wesler-Moest in concert and am aware of some
>derision of his work, what are the current opinions of his ability to be a
>major conductor?

The "Frankly Worse than Most" tag is not an insult but an example of London
musicians' sense of humour.  If it were true it wouldn't be funny - unless
he was totally incompetent, which he clearly isn't.

He did get on badly with several London establishment critics and some
orchestral managements.  That doesn't necessarily count against him in my
book.  As others have pointed out, he's young and will probably learn the
arts of getting along with idiots.

I heard him conduct Bruckner 8 at the Edinburgh Festival some years
ago.  It was the best live Bruckner performance I have ever heard, and my
experience of live Bruckner 8s includes Haitink, Wand and a number of other
considerable Brucknerians.  His recording of Mahler 4 is highly rated by
many who know their Mahler well.

He *is* a major conductor. If I had to predict the world's top ten
conductors in twenty years time, his name would be on my list.

Ian Crisp
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