Word: mehtas
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...musicians are equally happy. Says Concertmaster Rodney Friend: "There's a feeling in the orchestra of the beginning of a very exciting and productive period." Others feel that Mehta is an antidote to Boulez's astringency, and that he will bring back some of the fire of the Bernstein days. "Boulez was not trying to reach the audience with spontaneous feeling, or luscious phrasing," says Violinist Oscar Ravina. "We'll be coming closer to that kind of thing with Mehta...
That positive start shows in Mehta's first rehearsals. He radiates pent-up emotion that electrifies the orchestra. In certain lyrical passages, as in Prokofiev's Suite from "Romeo and Juliet, " he almost stops conducting, falling into a dreamy, swimming motion. At more dramatic moments, however, he will step smartly forward, as if charging directly into the music. Startled, the players give him the taut line that he wants...
...Mehta, born in Bombay, studied conducting at the Vienna Music Academy. He took over the Los Angeles Philharmonic at 26, the youngest man at that time to lead a major American ensemble. In his 16-year tenure there, Mehta made a few memorable mistakes, one an embarrassing rock-classical concert. But Mehta's star quality and hard work helped to I mold his musicians into one of the country's top orchestras...
...Angeles musicians will miss Mehta, but they can't seem to lose these days. They have inherited an unsurpassed replacement: Giulini, whose mystical readings of music sometimes seem inspired by communion with the composer. Says one Los Angeles Philharmonic staffer: "You could say that we've lost a Hercules, but we're getting...
...plans one major innovation for Los Angeles: additional chamber music. Modern music will be left to guest conductors. Says he: "I don't feel at ease with music I don't understand." Giulini and his wife Marcella will live in Beverly Hills; there will be none of Mehta's social panache. Says Giulini: "I have lived like a bear for years, isolated with my music...