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Jurowski conducts the Orchestra
Steve Cohen
The search for Eschenbach's successor:
One vote for the 30-something candidate
STEVE COHEN
Remember the name: Jurowski. Rhymes with "Stokowski."
This young man made his second guest engagement last week with the Philadelphia Orchestra and emerged as an attractive candidate to succeed the retiring Christoph Eschenbach as music director.
You could call Vladimir Jurowski the Barack Obama of symphonic music. At the tender age of 34, Jurowski has emerged rapidly on the scene with a fresh, appealing personality.
Until a year ago Jurowski was known, if at all, for his work conducting opera. Then he was appointed principal conductor of the London Philharmonic, beginning in the fall of 2007. His symphonic conducting appearances in America have been few.
A welcome attention to orchestral color
In Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy, Fantasia for the Violin and Orchestra with the Philadelphia, Jurowski’s rich sonorities almost swamped the slender, silvery tone of David Kim’s violin. The conductor displayed a welcome attention to orchestral color, suggesting that he would fit well with this orchestra tradition.
Rachmaninoff’s The Isle of the Dead emphasized darkness, as Jurowski used some of the doublings of lower strings and bassoons that Eugene Ormandy penciled into the score– an acknowledgment of Philadelphia Orchestra history.
The Stravinsky excerpts from The Fairy’s Kiss revealed a myriad of colors, dark and light. This piece contains tricky changes in tempo, but conductor and orchestra handled them perfectly. The Stravinsky also provided a showcase for the brass and woodwind sections, which were a pleasure to hear. Jurowski appears to have worked smoothly and efficiently in rehearsals with the Orchestra.
But these are only three pieces of music. We Philadelphians don’t know enough yet about Jurowski’s range. His recordings so far have been limited to Russian music (Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich) and operatic rarities. Still, everything I’ve heard from Jurowski sounds assured and attractive.
Jurowski is tall and slender, with a mass of black curly hair. He uses a baton not so much to give a traditional beat but more as an extension of his right hand to cue the orchestra and control its dynamics. His left hand sometimes is splayed, in the manner of Stokowski.
"A cosmopolitan Russian Jew"
Little is known here about Jurowski, who describes himself as "a cosmopolitan artist who still remains a Russian Jew.” He adds: “I take everything on board. I don't see other cultures as a threat to my roots— more an enrichment of them."
Jurowski’s fee to come to Philadelphia this season was paid by the Margaret and Eugene Ormandy Guest Conductor Fund. That’s appropriate, because Ormandy assured his own career when he came here as a guest at the age of 31; five years later, in 1936, he was named conductor. Ormandy succeeded Stokowski who had become head of the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1912 when he was only age 30.
Even without foundation grants, the Orchestra’s management should invest money in this guy. He is scheduled to return as a guest during the next two seasons. In addition to jockeying for big name guests like Rattle or Muti, management should look for fresh and young conductors— provided, of course, that they possess real musicianship. I look forward to seeing and hearing more from Jurowski.
One vote for the 30-something candidate
STEVE COHEN
Remember the name: Jurowski. Rhymes with "Stokowski."
This young man made his second guest engagement last week with the Philadelphia Orchestra and emerged as an attractive candidate to succeed the retiring Christoph Eschenbach as music director.
You could call Vladimir Jurowski the Barack Obama of symphonic music. At the tender age of 34, Jurowski has emerged rapidly on the scene with a fresh, appealing personality.
Until a year ago Jurowski was known, if at all, for his work conducting opera. Then he was appointed principal conductor of the London Philharmonic, beginning in the fall of 2007. His symphonic conducting appearances in America have been few.
A welcome attention to orchestral color
In Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy, Fantasia for the Violin and Orchestra with the Philadelphia, Jurowski’s rich sonorities almost swamped the slender, silvery tone of David Kim’s violin. The conductor displayed a welcome attention to orchestral color, suggesting that he would fit well with this orchestra tradition.
Rachmaninoff’s The Isle of the Dead emphasized darkness, as Jurowski used some of the doublings of lower strings and bassoons that Eugene Ormandy penciled into the score– an acknowledgment of Philadelphia Orchestra history.
The Stravinsky excerpts from The Fairy’s Kiss revealed a myriad of colors, dark and light. This piece contains tricky changes in tempo, but conductor and orchestra handled them perfectly. The Stravinsky also provided a showcase for the brass and woodwind sections, which were a pleasure to hear. Jurowski appears to have worked smoothly and efficiently in rehearsals with the Orchestra.
But these are only three pieces of music. We Philadelphians don’t know enough yet about Jurowski’s range. His recordings so far have been limited to Russian music (Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich) and operatic rarities. Still, everything I’ve heard from Jurowski sounds assured and attractive.
Jurowski is tall and slender, with a mass of black curly hair. He uses a baton not so much to give a traditional beat but more as an extension of his right hand to cue the orchestra and control its dynamics. His left hand sometimes is splayed, in the manner of Stokowski.
"A cosmopolitan Russian Jew"
Little is known here about Jurowski, who describes himself as "a cosmopolitan artist who still remains a Russian Jew.” He adds: “I take everything on board. I don't see other cultures as a threat to my roots— more an enrichment of them."
Jurowski’s fee to come to Philadelphia this season was paid by the Margaret and Eugene Ormandy Guest Conductor Fund. That’s appropriate, because Ormandy assured his own career when he came here as a guest at the age of 31; five years later, in 1936, he was named conductor. Ormandy succeeded Stokowski who had become head of the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1912 when he was only age 30.
Even without foundation grants, the Orchestra’s management should invest money in this guy. He is scheduled to return as a guest during the next two seasons. In addition to jockeying for big name guests like Rattle or Muti, management should look for fresh and young conductors— provided, of course, that they possess real musicianship. I look forward to seeing and hearing more from Jurowski.
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