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]>