“Well, that was a short retirement,” writes Anne Midgette Wednesday (2/24) on the Washington Post blog Classical Beat. “Lorin Maazel, 79, who appeared to view his tenure at the New York Philharmonic as the culmination of an illustrious career, may be returning to Munich for a three-year, interim term as music director of the Munich Philharmonic, according to today’s Süddeutsche Zeitung (as reported by MusicalAmerica.com). He would succeed Christian Thielemann, who was unable to negotiate a contract to his liking and is leaving at the end of the 2011 season to take over the Dresden Staatskapelle. The orchestra has not officially announced the appointment, but Munich’s mayor, Christian Ude, and his press spokespeople appear to have spilled the beans.” Maazel served for nine years as music director of Munich’s Bavarian Radio Orchestra. “The Munich Philharmonic was long headed by the eccentric Sergiu Celibidache, whose quasi-mystical approach inspired a veritable cult following among some and left others unimpressed; James Levine then used it as a stepping-stone on his way to the Boston Symphony Orchestra, before Thielemann took over.”
Posted February 25, 2010
