Without a regular orchestra since leaving Baltimore last summer, conductor Marin Alsop is courted by major American ensembles. His name comes back insistently to succeed Riccardo Muti in 2023 at the head of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and in New York, his native city, where Jaap van Zweden will leave the musical direction of the Philharmonic Orchestra at the end of the 2023/2024 season. .
Marin Alsop’s term as head of the Ravinia Festival has been extended until 2025
We left Marin Alsop on June 19 for her last concert with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, of which she had been the musical director for 14 years and where James Conlon succeeded her. The 65-year-old American chef then devoted herself to the direction of the Ravinia Festival, which she has held for 2 years (her mandate has just been extended until 2025). A music festival that takes place every summer in the northern suburbs of… Chicago.
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Chicago precisely, where the name of Marin Alsop is quoted at the head of the « short list » conductors considered to succeed Riccardo Muti who will leave the musical direction of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) in 2023. A list of contenders which also includes, according to the site Chicago Classical Review, the names of Manfred Honeck, Jakub Hrusa, Susanna Malkki but also Esa-Pekka Salonen and Simon Rattle. To the persistent rumor circulating concerning a potential appointment of Marin Alsop in Chicago, the president of the CSO, Jeff Alexander responded in a press release that the selection committee “ has not made a recommendation yet”.
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra congratulates @marinalsop on the extension of her contract as @RaviniaFestival’s Chief Conductor! She leads the CSO in a residency at Ravinia in July, which culminates in the inaugural Breaking Barriers Festival curated by Alsop. https://t.co/SlIfAeWauJ
— Chicago Symphony Orchestra (@chicagosymphony) February 10, 2022
Marine Alsop was a student of Leonard Bernstein in New York
The other stumbling block concerning a possible appointment of Marin Alsop as head of the CSO is due to the fact that, according to the Chicago Tribune, the Illinois institution and its neighbour, the Ravinia Festival, have tacitly decided since the 1950s to rely on two distinct musical directors. This is where the New York track, mentioned concerning the future of Marin Alsop, takes on consistency. We know, in fact, that Jaap van Zweden will leave the musical direction of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYP) at the end of the 2023/2024 season, that it is the birthplace of the American conductor and that she was the pupil of his model Leonard Bernstein who conducted, from 1958 to 1969, the… New York Philharmonic.
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Asked about her future by the Chicago TribuneMarin Alsop remains evasive and declares: “I really think what I need is a communicative partner, capable of discussing, reflecting and saying: What are our priorities? Let’s get them and make them happen”.
Philippe Gault
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