The Orchester Métropolitain welcomes Yannick Nézet-Séguin and his Philadelphia Orchestra on Friday, at the Maison symphonique, in a program combining the 4e Symphony by Florence Price and 2e Symphony by Rachmaninov. A member of the exclusive club of the famous “Big Five” American orchestras, the Philadelphia Orchestra is doing well under the direction of the Quebec conductor, in office since 2012.
Where are the American orchestras, particularly those grouped under the banner of the Big Five: Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, New York and Philadelphia? Classical music rankings, always perilous, generally give rise to sarcasm and jokes. Comments are coming from both those who know and those who think they know. This last category could, for example, raise the following question: why are we still talking about the Big Five, when it is common knowledge that the Los Angeles Philharmonic, under the direction of the great Gustavo Dudamel, should to be a part of ?
The hidden gem
The question is doubly relevant. On the one hand, the list seems even more solid than the 1855 classification of Bordeaux wines. On the other hand, “public notoriety” is indeed the worst thing. In terms of the “coefficient of buzz in the general public”, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, an excellent orchestra incidentally, achieved exceptional scores. But you will hardly find conductors who will not place several of the so-called “B” orchestras above the Los Angeles Philharmonic, such as those of San Francisco, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Saint-Louis, Atlanta, Dallas, Washington… (and we’re not even talking about the Met Orchestra, whose functionality is other than its major quality).
Within the top-5, we are experiencing a similar “anti-buzz” reality, with an orchestra that we almost never talk about, but before which conductors swoon: the Cleveland Orchestra. This set is a rock. Since 1946, its conductors have been Georges Szell (1946-1970), Lorin Maazel (1972-1982), Christoph von Dohnányi (1984-2002) and Franz Welser-Möst (since 2002). The rough diamond cutting, carried out in the same aesthetic line by Szell and Dohnányi, continues, as does the reputation “Cleveland, Szell’s orchestra”. Welser-Möst, who is not a flamboyant personality but has stayed the course, is treating cancer and will leave his post in June 2027. This succession will have to ignore the effects of marketing and fashion.
The Philadelphia Orchestra is Cleveland with another personality, more “rounded” and with, now, the advantage of stability. Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who spectacularly straightened out an orchestra bogged down by Christoph Eschenbach, is in the saddle until 2030, at least. Like its musical director, who embraces current trends much more than the Austrian Welser-Möst, the Philadelphia Orchestra is at the forefront of the diversity and inclusion movement, going so far as to bring the music of Florence Price on tour. It is certain that Yannick Nézet-Séguin will keep this line, and it is interesting to have such a well-drawn dichotomy between the two leading lights of the moment, in our eyes.
The disruptor
Riccardo Muti has been playing the endocrine disruptor of American musical life for 15 years now. He gives moral lessons to everyone, but when he returns to his native Italy in 2025, his musical legacy on the continent will be zero. Disruptive, because, in 2009, he was the candidate of choice of the New York Philharmonic for the succession of Lorin Maazel. At the last moment, he threw himself into the arms of Chicago.
In Chicago, he crusted and starched the Chicago Symphony, fortunately still very solid, which will try to wake up and reestablish itself in the media orbit with Klaus Mäkelä from 2027. New York, taken by surprise by his defection, hurriedly appointed the man who was to be his right-hand man, Alan Gilbert, who did not have the right stuff for the job, and made a mistake 2e time, in 2018, by appointing Jaap van Zweden, whose departure we are impatiently awaiting. Continuation with Gustavo Dudamel, hoping that some internal issues will be resolved which are poisoning the serenity of the moment, notably two musicians suspended for sexual assault then reinstated by union pressure then resuspended, and a prominent member of the board of directors questioned for possession of child pornography . With their new star chefs, Chicago and New York will have to get back on track, in close ranks, and reformat an image.
There remains the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which has appointed Andris Nelsons for life, which can be seen as an absolute guarantee of confidence, but also as the formula of a contract without term allowing the two parties to separate with more flexibility. As long as everyone benefits from it… Despite the Latvian conductor’s media profile, no musical achievement attracts attention, and the “French” image of the orchestra is diluted.
The luminous granite of Cleveland and the velvet of Philadelphia have a bright future ahead of them for at least three or four years.