April 22, 2025
Athens, GR 14 C
Expand search form
Blog

How NY Phil’s safe hands dropped the ball and ran

How NY Phil’s safe hands dropped the ball and ran

What could possibly go wrong for Gary Ginstling.

He’d worked with orchestras all his life and was ready for the ultimate challenge – running the uber-rich and self-regarding New York Philharmonic as it transitioned from an unwanted conductor to the superstar Gustavo Dudamel.

The orchestra’s outgoing president Deborah Borda had secured Dude’s autograph on the legal documents before she left and the conductor showed willingness to help put even before his start date.

But the Dude and Gary show never got on the road.

The chemistry stank and the lines of authority blurred. Ginstling found Dude was not taking all his calls. Dude kept talking to Borda, as he had done for half his life.

Fundraising all but stopped when Borda left.  The the players cleared their throats, preparatory to a tough wage round. Ginstling eyeballed them, and blinked first.

A sordid case of historic rape led to two musicians being suspended and the atmosphere going sour.

Why Ginstlling chose today to quit is not clear (the NY Times hasn’t a clue), but our sources have been saying all year that he won’t see Dude in as music director, and that eventuality has no comes to pass.

The big question is, will Dude stay? Or will he join ex-LA Phil pal Chad Smith in Boston?

Watch this space.

The post How NY Phil’s safe hands dropped the ball and ran appeared first on Slippedisc.

Previous Article

Breaking: NY Philharmonic chief quits

Next Article

Repost: Wagner Parsifal with Jonas Kaufmann and Elīna Garanča

You might be interested in …

Music director calls time on Washington DC

Music director calls time on Washington DC

Washington National Cathedral has been shaken by the unforseen departure of its British director of music, Michael McCarthy. Mike writes: Having nearly completed my 21st year at the National Cathedral and having had the benefit […]

Behind the Netrebko breakup

Behind the Netrebko breakup

A couple of weeks ago, Yusif Eyvazov changed managements. Nothing earth-shattering about that except that it was a move he made alone, independently of his powerful wife, the soprano Anna Netrebko. Today, the couple announced […]

Violin double-act breaks up

Violin double-act breaks up

Months after signing on for an orchestral tour with German management firm K D Schmid, the Australian comedy duo TwoSet Violin has split up, taking down all their videos on social media. Their parting message […]