This is a great article from Henry Fogel.

by
Henry Fogel

I am old enough to remember a time when conductors were thought to be still growing artistically when they were in their fifties; those under 45 were considered young. At the age of 42 Herbert von Karajan was still music director of the orchestra in Aachen, Germany. Everyone considered that the New York Philharmonic took an enormous chance (certainly one that worked out) in hiring Leonard Bernstein as Music Director in 1958. His youth was talked about constantly in music circles. He was 40! It used to be true that conductors learned their craft over many years, in small provincial orchestras and opera houses, and then when they hit the age of perhaps 50 they began the “golden age” of their careers. There was time to learn scores, time to mature artistically, time to read and learn the literature and the culture of the eras in which the great masterworks were composed. There was time to learn about life and gain wisdom. For better or worse, three conductors really changed the landscape, though I doubt they even knew at the time that they were doing so. All three achieved superstardom in their twenties, during the 1960s and early 1970s. They were conducting virtually nothing but the biggest and most famous orchestras and opera houses in the world by the time they were 30 – that is, ten or more years younger than Leonard Bernstein when he was identified as riskily young at 40! These three conductors are James Levine, Seiji Ozawa, and Zubin Mehta. Levine made his Metropolitan Opera debut just before his 28th birthday and was named principal conductor two years later, when he also became Music Director of the Ravinia Festival, summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Ozawa became music director of the San Francisco Symphony at 35, and of the Boston Symphony Orchestra at 38. Zubin Mehta, before his 30th birthday, was leading the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and was guest conducting and recording with the Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, and all of the world’s leading opera houses. None of these conductors spent years as apprentices in any place like Aachen, or Wiesbaden, or Grand Rapids. I mean to make no judgment about the careers ofLevine, Ozawa, or Mehta. Clearly each has been an enormous success, and each has made major contributions to the music world. But there can be no question that their careers, when combined with the effects of publicity and television and instant gratification that came into being in the 1960s and 70s, changed the expectations of both conductors and music administrators, as well as those of the public. Somehow, the idea of superb conductors developing their careers in smaller orchestras, either in the U.S. or in Europe, was lost. An excellent conductor at the age of 45, but one who had not yet achieved “stardom,” came to be seen as passé. An attitude of “well, if he were any good, wouldn’t he be further along by now?” tended to stick to that conductor. We must rethink this. Surely there will always be those who have the musical talent and personal maturity to be important music makers in their twenties; Gustavo Dudamel would seem to be that person now. But for every Dudamel, there are probably many other conductors who will reach the height of their artistry in their 40s or 50s. We do a lot of damage to our art form if we consider them “has beens” before they ever were.
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Recently appointed Dean of the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, Henry Fogel has been a Senior Advisor to the League of American Orchestras and an independent consultant to arts organizations. He was President and CEO of the League from 2003 2008 and President of the Chicago Symphony from 1985-2003.

Filed under: writings about conducting