The Score

Seattle Symphony conductor and music director Gerard Schwarz begins his 25th season with a “Beethoven & Wine” festival (Sept
9–11, Benaroya Hall, 7:30 pm, $9–$69) that couples
Beethoven’s hit symphonies (Third, Fifth, and the bacchic Seventh) with
a generous ($5 for four pours) preconcert wine tasting.

It may seem premature, but I’m sobered by the notion that Schwarz
will depart two years hence, at the end of the 2010–2011
season. In classical music, schedules get set years ahead: Now is the
time to ponder who might continue Schwarz’s strengths in big-boned
symphonic repertory (think Beethoven, Mahler,
Shostakovich), virtuosic fundraising, and commitment to
overlooked antique repertory.

I hope Schwarz’s successor will remedy the maestro’s weaknesses,
too, notably the uneven morale among Symphony players and the
tangible absence of post–World War II innovators Ligeti,
Boulez, Berio, Nono, Stockhausen, and Xenakis from the Symphony’s
concerts. The lack of these icons in the repertory leaves the
Symphony—and its audience—at a disadvantage to grasp works
by living masters, including Helmut Lachenmann, Kaija
Saariaho, and John Adams. Of course, brave newer voices such
as Olga Neuwirth and Thomas Adès as well as local
composers like Tom Baker, Gavin Borchert, the Degenerate
Art Ensemble’s Joshua Kohl, and Eyvind Kang barely
register on the radar.

Catching up on a half-century’s worth of music takes time,
but David Robertson might be up to the task. Visiting the
Seattle Symphony last June, Robertson proved himself a fine conductor
of the Adès violin concerto and Stravinky’s lushly romantic
Firebird. When I caught Robertson leading the Paris-based
Ensemble Intercontemporain a decade ago, he explained the intricacies
of Ligeti’s Piano Concerto to the audience with friendly
aplomb.

Robertson already has a sizable discography and could continue the
Symphony’s legacy of superb recordings. His latest disc, Doctor
Atomic Symphony (Nonesuch), shows him and the Saint Louis
Symphony Orchestra as virtuosic advocates for the rhythmically tensile
music of composer John Adams. Derived from the opera Doctor
Atomic, the Symphony sizzles and struts; the companion
piece, Guide to Strange Places, brilliantly scrambles
motifs from Petrushka. It’s my favorite orchestral work of
this decade.

Although Schwarz’s tenure concludes in 2011, it’s not too early to
romance Robertson. Several anonymous sources tell me that Robertson
harbors an interest in the Symphony in Seattle or San Francisco (should
Michael Tilson Thomas retire) when his contract with the Saint Louis
Symphony Orchestra expires in 2010.

The timing might work out: Schwarz along with the Symphony
management and board could use the 2010–2011 season to introduce
a new music director. A smooth transition would help the financial
health of the Symphony, enabling Schwarz’s successor to meet, charm,
and cajole those deep-pocketed donors who underwrite guest artists,
recordings, and festivals. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.