Denis Fodor disputes my delphic oracle interpretation that Spano is coming.
The Brookyn message refers, he says, to a figure of Durocher like toughness
and nastiness.  Abbado is a fine conductor, but is he nasty enough to fit
the Durocher mold? A contributor who actually played under his direction
has characterized him as Nice on this very list!!  Will he tell a bland
soloist that Nice Pianists finish last? Will he kick dirt on a critics
shoes? Will turn to the (in)famous Friday afternoon audience and tell them
to stop snoring? Will he bring in bouncers to toss out the glass clinkers
during Boston Pops concerts? Further, although I am of an age when ageism
hits very close to home, I believe that it is fitting that the BSO should
think of the long run - but not 25 years, necessarily.  And finally- Spano
is conducting the Handel and Haydn Society in the Fall some time, and that
concert is very nearly sold out.  What does THAT tell you?

Professor Bernard Chasan
Physics Department, Boston University