“In his 15 years as music director of the Spokane Symphony, Eckart Preu has come into his own … as a talented conductor and capable leader,” writes Azaria Podplesky in Monday’s (4/29) Spokesman-Review (Spokane, WA). When he joined the orchestra in 2004, “William Simer, the symphony’s then-board president, [said,] ‘He made a connection with the players that was extraordinary. The orchestra sounded luxurious, and the listeners went crazy. We liked him as a person and he liked Spokane.’ … Preu announced in September 2017 that the 2018-19 season would be his last with the Spokane Symphony so he could take on the position of music director of the Portland (Maine) Symphony Orchestra and continue his role as the music director of the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra…. He will lead the symphony for the final time … Saturday and Sunday [in] Joseph Boulogne’s Overture to ‘L’amant anonyme,’ Nebojša Jovan Živković’s ‘Concerto of the Mad Queen’ and Richard Strauss’ ‘Alpine’ Symphony.… ‘There’s a lot of entertainment and also education and pure soul in that concert,’ Preu said…. Though his tenure as music director has come to an end, Preu intends to live in Spokane while working in Portland, Long Beach and Cincinnati.”
Posted May 1, 2019
In photo: Music Director Eckart Preu and the Spokane Symphony in concert at Comstock Park in 2013. Photo courtesy of Spokane Symphony
