Abbado is getting 3 weeks in Philadelphia next season (tied for 2nd with
Simon Rattle in total weeks), and in two separate doses, with one of the
weeks including a Carnegie Hall appearance. This suggests some kind of
long term, substantial commitment by both parties. During the director
search Abbado seemed to provoke deep divisions, with some orchestra members
loving him and others running to the press with accusations of shallowness.
I sense the PO management is keeping him around partly to satisfy the
fantasies of the Main Line matrons who miss various parts of Muti's anatomy
(with the bonus that Abbado's a whole lot more fun in the concert hall).
Abbado has been the most charismatic figure to mount the Academy podium
since Tennstedt retired.

I'll be curious to see how he develops; his work here has been either
magnificent (a Mahler 7) or awful (a Brahms 2). But he's still on the young
side. What he needs, I think, is to take one of the second tier groups
still looking for a director (Minnesota, for example) and develop. He
certainly conducts a wide range of music, some of it very well. Soloists
love him. If he develops and the Eschenbach chemistry doesn't work, the
musical politics will get VERY interesting.

Robin Mitchell-Boyask <[log in to unmask]>