In Wednesday’s (11/11) The Age (Melbourne, Australia), Robin Usher writes, “The Melbourne Symphony’s sell-out concerts of works by Mozart and Haydn under the baton of Germany’s expert in early music, Reinhard Goebel, were a triumph. At the conclusion of the final concert in the Melbourne Recital Centre last Saturday, the musicians joined in the audience’s applause for Goebel’s performance and at the conductor’s third bow, they were clapping as enthusiastically as the public. The concerts could be a harbinger of things to come at the MSO, with a possible move to a series of specialist conductors replacing the chief conductor. Last week’s performances came as news spread of the breakdown in relations with the MSO’s chief conductor and artistic director, Oleg Caetani, after five years in the role. … Senior MSO managers are now questioning the traditional role of a chief conductor. The orchestra’s chairman, advertising millionaire and philanthropist Harold Mitchell, wonders if the role is needed. … The MSO’s managing director, Trevor Green, does not go as far as his chairman, but he points to the success of Goebel’s visit as an indication of future developments.”
Posted November 16, 2009
