Guest Mystery Critic

It seems that John Storgårds and  I have difficulty being in the same concert hall at the same time. The last time he was in Houston, I was living it up in New York City with the Berlin Philharmonic. And this time, I have been called away by a family emergency.

I had received so many positive reports about Storgårds' sheer ability and basic excellence that I was really looking forward to seeing him this visit. And now I won't get to review the concert unless and until it is broadcast on Classical 91.7.

But never fear, gentle reader. I have enlisted the ears and good judgment of one of the finest young musicians in our city. Our guest mystery critic will attend the concert in my stead and provide us with a close look at Mr. Storgårds.

How could I not? I really want to find out what he is like, and hearing from this guest mystery critic is this is the next best thing to being there myself.

As for you, if you attend the concert--on either side of the footlights--I invite you to share your impressions in the comments, either anonymously or as attributed to you, whichever you choose. This blog should be an interactive experience.

Because the next music director for OUR orchestra ought not be chosen without more voices being heard. Going from good to great starts with getting the right people on the bus and in the right seats. This seat, on the podium, is an important one.

John Storgårds--A Profile



John Storgårds

This weekend, John Storgårds will conduct the Houston Symphony in an all Brahms concert. In the previous post, I mentioned that that his background bore some of the indications of a potentially fine conductor.

This of course raises the question, "where do conductors come from." These days, they seem to come from everywhere and from many of the wrong places.

After the jump, a quick look at this conductor's path to the podium and some thoughts on what makes a really good conductor.

Coming Soon: My Favorite Things (By Brahms)

For a true baseball fan, life begins on opening day. I suppose it's true for an orchestra fan as well.

Although the Houston Symphony began its season a couple of weeks ago, this coming weekend is "opening day" for me. These are my first concert tickets of the season, and this weekend we'll get to see the first of the guest conductors--the first of "the contenders."

In the dock will be John Storgards, a musician about whom I have received good reports and whose background contains the marks of a conductor who could be the genuine article.

But before we post too much about him, let us focus on the music.

This weekend's program is a continuation of the orchestra's Brahms series. Two programs are available. Both feature Brahms' Second Piano Concerto, which will be combined with either the Brahms' Second or Third Symphony. After the jump is a preview of the Saturday repertoire.

The Contenders -- Now

Last spring I wrote a post on the old blog setting out the list of guest conductors for this season. These men are the presumptive contenders to be the Houston Symphony's new music director.

Since that time, one of their number spurned his engagement with the Houston Symphony for a guest conducting gig in Boston. This in turn caused a shifting in the repetoire to be covered by the remaining guests and by Hans Graf.

So after the jump, a quick look at the updated list of the contenders and their repetoire.