Christoph Eschenbach
Encyclopedia
Christoph Eschenbach (ˈkʁɪstɔf ˈɛʃn̩bax), born February 20, 1940, Breslau, Germany
(now Wrocław, Poland
) is a German-born pianist
and conductor
. He currently holds positions in Washington, D.C.
as music director of the National Symphony Orchestra and music director of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
.
. His mother died giving birth to him; his father, a politically active anti-Nazi, was sent to the Eastern front as part of a Nazi punishment battalion where he was killed. As a result of this trauma, Eschenbach did not speak for a year, until he was asked if he wanted to play music. Wallydore Eschenbach (née Jaross), his mother's cousin, adopted him in 1946 and began to teach him to play the piano. At age 11, he attended a concert conducted by Wilhelm Furtwängler
which had a great impact on the youngster. In 1955 Eschenbach enrolled at the Musikhochschule in Cologne
, studying piano with Hans-Otto Schmidt-Neuhaus and conducting with Wilhelm Brückner-Rüggeberg.
Competition in Vevey
, Switzerland
in 1965. In 1964, he made his first recording (of Mozart) for Deutsche Grammophon
and signed a contract with the label. Eschenbach continued to study conducting with George Szell
, with whom he worked for more than three years. In addition, Herbert von Karajan
was his mentor for nearly twenty-five years.
In 1981, Eschenbach became principal guest conductor of the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich
, and was chief conductor from 1982 to 1986. Other posts have included Music Director of the Houston Symphony Orchestra
(1988–1999), where he now holds the title of Conductor Laureate; co-artistic director of the Pacific Music Festival, from 1992 to 1998; chief conductor of the NDR Symphony Orchestra, Hamburg
(1998–2004); and music director of the Ravinia Festival, summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
(1994–2005). In addition, he was artistic director of the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival
from 1999 until 2003. Since 2000, Eschenbach has been the Music Director of the Orchestre de Paris
; in May 2007, it was announced that Eschenbach would conclude his tenure with the Orchestre de Paris in 2010. In addition, from 2003 till 2008 Eschenbach was the Music Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra
. In 2010 he assumed his position as Music Director of both the National Symphony Orchestra
and the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
Christoph Eschenbach has made more than 80 recordings as piano soloist, conductor, or both, has appeared in several television documentaries, and has made many concert broadcasts for different European, Japanese and U.S. networks.
Having received great mentoring guidance in his early years as a conductor through both Herbert von Karajan
and George Szell
, Eschenbach is credited with helping and supporting talented young musicians in their career development, including soprano Renée Fleming
, pianists Tzimon Barto and Lang Lang
, cellists Claudio Bohórquez, and Daniel Müller-Schott
, and soprano Marisol Montalvo.
In honor of his many achievements and tenure with the Houston Symphony, the City of Houston placed a bronze commemorative star with his name in front of Jones Hall, the performance home of the Houston Symphony.
, effective as of 2003. Some considered this a controversial appointment because, at the time of the announcement, Eschenbach had not conducted the orchestra in over 4 years and there was a perceived lack of personal chemistry between him and the musicians prior to the appointment. One musician from the orchestra had stated, after the announcement:
In a 2004 article, Eschenbach tried to downplay such statements, and noted his own particular style of interpretation:
Partway into his tenure, his initial 3-year contract was renewed to 2008.
However, in October 2006, the orchestra and Eschenbach announced that he would conclude his tenure in Philadelphia at the close of the 2007-2008 season. In the weeks prior to his departure, Philadelphia Inquirer music critics Peter Dobrin and David Patrick Stearns had contrasting articles whether or not he should be retained, with Dobrin suggesting that Eschenbach should move on and Stearns arguing that Eschenbach should remain. Other harsh criticism of Eschenbach's tenure in Philadelphia has been aired.
Following the announcement, Dobrin in the Inquirer wrote that Eschenbach's tenure in Philadelphia has been difficult for many musicians:
The paper also cited a number of accomplishments including a new recording contract and the appointment of nine musicians, four of whom were principals. In addition, Eschenbach has received praise for his work in fund-raising for the orchestra.
Following the announcement and Dobrin's Inquirer article, The Philadelphia Orchestra Association posted a letter on its website, dated 27 October 2006, which also was sent by e-mail to orchestra patrons. A quote from this letter condemned Dobrin's criticism:
Dobrin, in turn, responded in a 29 October 2006 Philadelphia Inquirer article by quoting one of his 2001 Inquirer articles around the time of the Eschenbach announcement:
This contrasts with earlier reports of how the musicians "had input" in the choice of the previous Philadelphia music director, Wolfgang Sawallisch
. In addition, the new orchestra president (as of 2006), James Undercofler, had spoken with orchestra musicians, and had told Eschenbach this summary of his discussions with them:
In an article by Cragg Hines in the newspaper The Washingtonian
on December 1, 2009 Eschenbach was quoted:
In a 2007 article, Mark Swed of the Los Angeles Times has written about the Eschenbach/Philadelphia Orchestra situation:
In a June 2007 article, Stearns reported Eschenbach as commenting on the Philadelphia Orchestra management as follows:
In a July 2007 article, Dobrin emphasized that the problems in the Eschenbach/Philadelphia Orchestra relationship were not related to personality, but rather to musical quality:
In August 2007, the orchestra announced extended guest-conducting periods for Eschenbach with the ensemble in the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 seasons, after the scheduled conclusion of his tenure as music director.
(knight) of the French
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
, presented by French Culture Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres
in June 2006; in October 2002, he was present with the Legion d'honneur
by French President Jacques Chirac
; and in August 2002, the Officer's Cross with Star and Ribbon of the Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, and the Commander's Cross in 1993. He received the Leonard Bernstein Award (1993) presented to him by the Pacific Music Festival, where he served as co-artistic director from 1992 to 1998.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(now Wrocław, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
) is a German-born pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
and conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
. He currently holds positions in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
as music director of the National Symphony Orchestra and music director of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts center located on the Potomac River, adjacent to the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C...
.
Early life
Eschenbach's parents were Margarethe (née Jaross) and Heribert Ringmann. He was orphaned during World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. His mother died giving birth to him; his father, a politically active anti-Nazi, was sent to the Eastern front as part of a Nazi punishment battalion where he was killed. As a result of this trauma, Eschenbach did not speak for a year, until he was asked if he wanted to play music. Wallydore Eschenbach (née Jaross), his mother's cousin, adopted him in 1946 and began to teach him to play the piano. At age 11, he attended a concert conducted by Wilhelm Furtwängler
Wilhelm Furtwängler
Wilhelm Furtwängler was a German conductor and composer. He is widely considered to have been one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. By the 1930s he had built a reputation as one of the leading conductors in Europe, and he was the leading conductor who remained...
which had a great impact on the youngster. In 1955 Eschenbach enrolled at the Musikhochschule in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, studying piano with Hans-Otto Schmidt-Neuhaus and conducting with Wilhelm Brückner-Rüggeberg.
Musical career
As a pianist, Eschenbach has won numerous first-place piano competition prizes, including first prize in the Clara HaskilClara Haskil
Clara Haskil was a Romanian classical pianist, renowned as an interpreter of the classical and early romantic repertoire....
Competition in Vevey
Vevey
Vevey is a town in Switzerland in the canton Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Geneva, near Lausanne.It was the seat of the district of the same name until 2006, and is now part of the Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut District...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
in 1965. In 1964, he made his first recording (of Mozart) for Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
and signed a contract with the label. Eschenbach continued to study conducting with George Szell
George Szell
George Szell , originally György Széll, György Endre Szél, or Georg Szell, was a Hungarian-born American conductor and composer...
, with whom he worked for more than three years. In addition, Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor. To the wider world he was perhaps most famously associated with the Berlin Philharmonic, of which he was principal conductor for 35 years...
was his mentor for nearly twenty-five years.
In 1981, Eschenbach became principal guest conductor of the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
, and was chief conductor from 1982 to 1986. Other posts have included Music Director of the Houston Symphony Orchestra
Houston Symphony Orchestra
The Houston Symphony is an American orchestra based in Houston, Texas. Since 1966, it has performed at the Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts in downtown Houston....
(1988–1999), where he now holds the title of Conductor Laureate; co-artistic director of the Pacific Music Festival, from 1992 to 1998; chief conductor of the NDR Symphony Orchestra, Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
(1998–2004); and music director of the Ravinia Festival, summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1891, the Symphony makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival...
(1994–2005). In addition, he was artistic director of the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival
Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival
The Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival is a classical music festival held every year in summer time all over the state of Schleswig-Holstein in Northern Germany....
from 1999 until 2003. Since 2000, Eschenbach has been the Music Director of the Orchestre de Paris
Orchestre de Paris
The Orchestre de Paris is a French orchestra based in Paris. The orchestra performs most of its concerts at the Salle Pleyel.-History:In 1967, following the dissolution of the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, conductor Charles Munch was called on by the Minister of Culture,...
; in May 2007, it was announced that Eschenbach would conclude his tenure with the Orchestre de Paris in 2010. In addition, from 2003 till 2008 Eschenbach was the Music Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
. In 2010 he assumed his position as Music Director of both the National Symphony Orchestra
National Symphony Orchestra
The National Symphony Orchestra , founded in 1931, is an American symphony orchestra that performs at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.-History:...
and the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
Christoph Eschenbach has made more than 80 recordings as piano soloist, conductor, or both, has appeared in several television documentaries, and has made many concert broadcasts for different European, Japanese and U.S. networks.
Having received great mentoring guidance in his early years as a conductor through both Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor. To the wider world he was perhaps most famously associated with the Berlin Philharmonic, of which he was principal conductor for 35 years...
and George Szell
George Szell
George Szell , originally György Széll, György Endre Szél, or Georg Szell, was a Hungarian-born American conductor and composer...
, Eschenbach is credited with helping and supporting talented young musicians in their career development, including soprano Renée Fleming
Renée Fleming
Renée Fleming is an American soprano specializing in opera and lieder. Fleming has a full lyric soprano voice.Fleming has performed coloratura, lyric, and lighter spinto soprano repertoires. She has sung roles in Italian, German, French, Czech, and Russian, aside from her native English. She also...
, pianists Tzimon Barto and Lang Lang
Lang Lang (pianist)
Lang Lang , born June 14, 1982, in Shenyang, Liaoning, China, is a Chinese concert pianist, currently residing in New York, who has performed with leading orchestras in Europe, the United States and his native China. He is increasingly well known around the world for his concert performances,...
, cellists Claudio Bohórquez, and Daniel Müller-Schott
Daniel Müller-Schott
Daniel Müller-Schott is a German cellist. He has worked with world-renowned conductors such as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Charles Dutoit, Christoph Eschenbach, Kurt Masur, Sakari Oramo and André Previn. He recorded and released the Mozart Piano Trios in 2006 with Anne-Sophie Mutter and André Previn...
, and soprano Marisol Montalvo.
Houston Symphony
Eschenbach was music director of the Houston Symphony from 1988 to 1999. In that period, he has been credited with enhancing the symphony's both in terms of national and international prominence and well as musical quality. The orchestra toured Japan and Europe under his tenure as well made several recordings with Koch International Classics and RCA. Eschenbach's era was marked by a strong relationship with the musicians, who admired him on and off the stage.
Yet the most pronounced characteristic of Eschenbach's tenure has been the continuing worship of him by the orchestra's musicians. "He's the kind of person who inspires absolute loyalty," said Fliegel, who ticked off some of the things that have made Eschenbach so unusual. "With him all rehearsals are special. They're so instructive." Eschenbach always seems to find a new detail to emphasize or a new insight to impart, even with pieces everyone has played many times.
The musicians have also adored Eschenbach's sensitivity to them as human beings. In the months before Fliegel retired in September 1995, for example, his wife was seriously ill; Eschenbach showed great sensitivity to Fliegel's schedule in caring for her.
...
The Houston Symphony has had an extraordinary list of music directors during Fliegel's association with the orchestra, but Fliegel ranks Eschenbach first.
In honor of his many achievements and tenure with the Houston Symphony, the City of Houston placed a bronze commemorative star with his name in front of Jones Hall, the performance home of the Houston Symphony.
Philadelphia Orchestra
Eschenbach was named the seventh Music Director of The Philadelphia OrchestraPhiladelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
, effective as of 2003. Some considered this a controversial appointment because, at the time of the announcement, Eschenbach had not conducted the orchestra in over 4 years and there was a perceived lack of personal chemistry between him and the musicians prior to the appointment. One musician from the orchestra had stated, after the announcement:
"'When this announcement was proclaimed after a half-hour meeting with us, there wasn't applause; there was criticism,' recalled a musician with the Philadelphia Orchestra. 'One member of the search committee got up and said, "You'll see, you'll like him."
'The orchestra was taken aback by the attitude because there was no meeting to verify what we thought,' the musician said. 'There was no chemistry with Eschenbach. He hasn't conducted us in four or five years and 20 to 30 persons had never played with him.'"
In a 2004 article, Eschenbach tried to downplay such statements, and noted his own particular style of interpretation:
"I prefer to have flexible tempos and not be fixed. Quicker tempos tend to court superficiality."
Partway into his tenure, his initial 3-year contract was renewed to 2008.
However, in October 2006, the orchestra and Eschenbach announced that he would conclude his tenure in Philadelphia at the close of the 2007-2008 season. In the weeks prior to his departure, Philadelphia Inquirer music critics Peter Dobrin and David Patrick Stearns had contrasting articles whether or not he should be retained, with Dobrin suggesting that Eschenbach should move on and Stearns arguing that Eschenbach should remain. Other harsh criticism of Eschenbach's tenure in Philadelphia has been aired.
Following the announcement, Dobrin in the Inquirer wrote that Eschenbach's tenure in Philadelphia has been difficult for many musicians:
"In three seasons, Eschenbach and the orchestra have produced a handful of brilliant concerts. More often, though, his rehearsals and performances have elicited a long list of complaints from musicians: getting lost in the score at concerts; leading disorganized rehearsals and then asking for overtime; and insisting on a peculiar rushing and slowing of tempos."
The paper also cited a number of accomplishments including a new recording contract and the appointment of nine musicians, four of whom were principals. In addition, Eschenbach has received praise for his work in fund-raising for the orchestra.
Following the announcement and Dobrin's Inquirer article, The Philadelphia Orchestra Association posted a letter on its website, dated 27 October 2006, which also was sent by e-mail to orchestra patrons. A quote from this letter condemned Dobrin's criticism:
"We, and many in the community, feel that in recent press coverage there have been personal attacks on Maestro Eschenbach, along with negative innuendo about his relationship with The Philadelphia Orchestra. ...These types of comments about Maestro Eschenbach and our orchestra are ridiculous, offensive and defamatory. Our entire orchestra family is profoundly disappointed when reporters report the news in such an ungracious way."
Dobrin, in turn, responded in a 29 October 2006 Philadelphia Inquirer article by quoting one of his 2001 Inquirer articles around the time of the Eschenbach announcement:
"....let me quote from something I wrote in March 2001 that might be an important reminder about how we got to this dangerous place:
It hit many musicians like the dull thud of pragmatism, this decision in January to hire Eschenbach as the orchestra's seventh music director, starting in September 2003. At a meeting announcing the decision, players responded with silence. No applause, no excited stamping of feet. Silence. And then the resentment poured forth.
One musician used the word "underwhelmed." Another said he felt "betrayed."...
This contrasts with earlier reports of how the musicians "had input" in the choice of the previous Philadelphia music director, Wolfgang Sawallisch
Wolfgang Sawallisch
Wolfgang Sawallisch is a retired German conductor and pianist.-Biography:Sawallisch was born in Munich, and studied composition and pianoforte there privately: at the conclusion of the war, in 1946 he continued his studies at the Munich High School for Music and passed his final examination for...
. In addition, the new orchestra president (as of 2006), James Undercofler, had spoken with orchestra musicians, and had told Eschenbach this summary of his discussions with them:
"-that 80 percent of the musicians did not agree with his artistic interpretations;
-that 80 percent of the musicians left concerts feeling great anger;
-and that the orchestra was a "ticking time bomb."
In an article by Cragg Hines in the newspaper The Washingtonian
Washingtonian (magazine)
Washingtonian is a monthly magazine distributed in the Washington, DC area since 1965. The magazine describes itself as "the magazine Washington lives by." The magazine's core focuses are local feature journalism, guide book-style articles, and real estate advice.-Editorial Content:Washingtonian...
on December 1, 2009 Eschenbach was quoted:
"They said there was a survey of the whole orchestra and more than 80 percent of the orchestra was against me. I asked the management 'was that true?' and was told, ‘Yes, it's true.' It was not true at all. As I found out a little later, this survey never happened [...] All of the musicians regretted very, very much that [it] was reported like this."
In a 2007 article, Mark Swed of the Los Angeles Times has written about the Eschenbach/Philadelphia Orchestra situation:
"{Eschenbach} is one of the world's finest musicians and widely recognized as such. He has ideas. He has sophisticated tastes. He is cosmopolitan. He is an exciting interpreter. Colleagues speak of him warmly, and he is a favorite accompanist for singers.....So what's wrong? Just about everything. It is well known that the orchestra opposed the hiring of Eschenbach. He hadn't conducted in Philadelphia for five years when the appointment was made, and a memo was leaked to the press with 75 players' signatures asking management to hold off any decision until the orchestra got a chance to work with him. From the beginning, the relationship started off on the wrong foot...But the Philadelphia orchestra has not been exactly transformed by Eschenbach. I've been hearing reports of players looking bored onstage. Audiences walk out during performances. Even two years ago, at my last visit to Verizon Hall, the atmosphere was palpably unpleasant."
In a June 2007 article, Stearns reported Eschenbach as commenting on the Philadelphia Orchestra management as follows:
"The management in both cases [Paris and Philadelphia], I'm sorry to say, is amateurish"...."The management knows what I think ... it's not a secret".
In a July 2007 article, Dobrin emphasized that the problems in the Eschenbach/Philadelphia Orchestra relationship were not related to personality, but rather to musical quality:
"While many refuse to believe it, the factor that has undermined Christoph Eschenbach's tenure is not personality. He's a lovely guy; he and the players have a cordial off-stage relationship. The problem is the music. If 80 percent of the musicians leave concerts angry - as Eschenbach told players that president James Undercofler had told him - that's corrosive to the music and the institution."
In August 2007, the orchestra announced extended guest-conducting periods for Eschenbach with the ensemble in the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 seasons, after the scheduled conclusion of his tenure as music director.
Philadelphia Orchestra European tour
Prior to the announcement of Eschenbach's departure from Philadelphia, Eschenbach and the Philadelphia Orchestra received both positive and negative reviews during the Orchestra's European Festivals Tour in 2006.
"The members of The Philadelphia Orchestra played as though their lives depended on it. The strings are both sturdy and responsively supple to Eschenbach's calculated spontaneity; their woodwind soloists, particularly the liquid-amber principal clarinet, are to die for."
"[In Hamburg, Eschenbach] was in what might be called Leopold Stokowski mode, drawing out climaxes with apparent spontaneity, sometimes reaching a nearly unbearable state of tension, and handling the tricky transitions with a daring that bordered on brinksmanship."
"The Philadelphia Orchestra, under its Music Director, Christoph Eschenbach, commended itself completely unostentatiously as one of the leading orchestras not only of America, but of the world... One listens to this masterfully delicate playing in near amazement... They are masters of sound."
"Christoph Eschenbach's monumentally slick account of Beethoven's Fifth took the shock of the new out of the shock of the old...The sense of striving in the piece was nowhere. It sat smugly, contentedly, in a comfort zone of its own making.....{Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5} was rendered merely showy by Eschenbach's portentousness."
"Christoph Eschenbach....evinced a passion that was communicated through the orchestral playing as well. In Tchaikovsky's Fifth, there was a mellifluous continuity of thought....In Beethoven's Fifth, Eschenbach exercised similarly good judgment."
"Christoph Eschenbach...gave this over-familiar classic {Beethoven's Symphony No. 5} newly minted status in a reading that never overstepped the line between vehemence and exaggeration.....Tchaikovsky's Fifth followed: the playing reinforced the Philadelphia's reputation as a virtuoso ensemble, with a particularly fine exposition of the second movement's famous horn solo. But Eschenbach's interpretation was less secure, inconsistently maintaining the level of nervous energy needed to fire the symphony's momentum and motivate its grand rhetoric."
"The sound this orchestra makes is legendary...Whether the results are so convincing interpretatively is another matter. The articulation in Beethoven's Fifth Symphony was vigorous, if not downright oppressive....A predilection for idiosyncratic gestures became even more pronounced in Eschenbach's reading of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 in E minor.....Such idiosyncrasies are unexceptionable, even welcome, when well motivated and provoke reappraisal. Here they seemed perverse....Great sound. Shame about the rest."
National Symphony Orchestra (United States)
On September 25, 2008, the National Symphony Orchestra announced that Eschenbach would become the orchestra's sixth music director in the 2010-11 season, though he is scheduled to conduct subscription concerts and auditions earlier. He was also named to the newly created post of music director of the Kennedy Center. In September 2011, the National Symphony Orchestra and the Kennedy Center announced the extension of Eschenbach's contract through the 2014-2015 season.Honours and awards
Eschenbach was made a ChevalierKnight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
(knight) of the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
The Ordre des Arts et des Lettres is an Order of France, established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture, and confirmed as part of the Ordre national du Mérite by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963...
, presented by French Culture Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres
Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres
Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres , often known as RDDV, is a French politician, France's Minister of Culture from 2004 to 2007...
in June 2006; in October 2002, he was present with the Legion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
by French President Jacques Chirac
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
; and in August 2002, the Officer's Cross with Star and Ribbon of the Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, and the Commander's Cross in 1993. He received the Leonard Bernstein Award (1993) presented to him by the Pacific Music Festival, where he served as co-artistic director from 1992 to 1998.
Further reading
- Hines, Cragg. "Making Musicians Play Like Devils & Angels", Washingtonian, December 1, 2009.