Art Chowder September | October, Issue 17 | Page 47

So getting to your 30th performance of a piece takes a long time. These days,
conducting is reduced to young energetic conductors, but it takes wisdom. That’s
why all conductors used to be old. Not because they were lame, but because they
were wise.
As for leaving, it’s really hard to leave. The average tenure, I think, for a music
director in the United States is approximately six years, and for an organization
as big as an orchestra it is beneficial to get new ideas. As I said, you constantly
have to come up with new ideas, so it’s good to have a fresh perspective from
time to time. That’s the renewal process an orchestra must go through.
There IS a benefit to having a music director for 25 years or so, but usually it
doesn’t end well. No matter how good you are. But it’s hard to quit when there’s
no obvious reason, you know? The music business is an odd business. It’s like
a marriage while we’re together, then it becomes, “It’s going so good, let’s get a
divorce!” It’s weird, but I think you need to give the organization an opportunity
to renew itself and not get settled, even though the trajectory is still going
upward. You need to give it an opportunity to change itself.
September |October 2018
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