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<\/figure><\/div>\n\nMarin Alsop is looking a little tired. So am I. I\u2019ve been pursuing her since May when she was in London to give a masterclass (sic) for female conductors at the Royal Festival Hall (it was riveting), to make her debut with the Philharmonia (their Shostakovich Fifth Symphony brought the house down), and to spend a weekend recording Australian composer Amanda Lee Falkenberg\u2019s The Moons Symphony <\/em>with the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) at St Luke\u2019s \u2013 a wildly ambitious, highly cinematic, 45-minute, seven-movement piece that portrays different moons in the solar system, ending with our own. Signum Records will release the fruits of that intense weekend of recording in October \u2013 the month of Alsop\u2019s 66th birthday. <\/p>\n\n Other than a few brief snatches of conversation over lunchtime sandwiches, there was no time to talk to Alsop at the recording session, and a proposed trip to Austria to watch her rehearsing ahead of an August BBC Prom with her own ensemble, the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, had to be cancelled as I had Covid. So reluctantly we have to talk online, in an hour between rehearsals. Alsop, back in Vienna after three weeks spent curating the Ravinia Festival in Chicago, is about to head to London for the Prom, to be followed by a tour of Japan with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, then back to the UK in September for more concerts with the Philharmonia. The life of the maestro \u2013 she apparently dislikes the term \u2018maestra\u2019 \u2013 is a demanding one.<\/p>\n\n The Moons Symphony <\/em>is an off beat project. \u2018Amanda emailed me and told me about this piece she was working on,\u2019 Alsop recalls. \u2018She sounded kind of nutty, but I like nutty ideas. She sent me some samples to listen to, and there was some really interesting stuff in there. My schedule was way too busy to get involved, but then Covid happened, so I wrote to her and said because of Covid maybe there\u2019s some possibility we can team up. We read it through in Vienna during Covid and we hit it off right away; she\u2019s very smart and sincere and committed.\u2019 Alsop gave some advice on the orchestral parts, Falkenberg tweaked and a couple of years later here they are at St Luke\u2019s committing the piece to disc. \u2018This is Amanda\u2019s project 150 per cent,\u2019 says Alsop, \u2018and my goal was to be helpful in her realising this dream.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n The scale of the piece is vast: a portrait of the cosmos and a tribute to the NASA space exploration team which spent decades building up a picture of these distant moons. The term \u2018symphony\u2019 is misleading because there\u2019s also a libretto, written by Falkenberg herself and performed by London Voices. \u2018It\u2019s a huge undertaking,\u2019 says Alsop, \u2018but she\u2019s poured so much of her energy and her extramusical energy into getting interesting and creative partners involved in the project.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n Falkenberg researched the subject deeply and tried to get the facts about her seven moons \u2013 Io, Europa, Titan, Enceladus, Miranda, Ganymede and our own moon \u2013 right. She brought to the recording sessions an astronaut and a group of scientists who had been involved in space exploration, and they gave brief talks to the orchestra about the particular moon being portrayed in each movement before it was recorded. The orchestra seemed genuinely captivated. \u2018I thought it was fantastic,\u2019 says Alsop, <\/span>\u2018to see how she has shared the process along the way with these people, so they have ownership. They turned up at the recording project; they\u2019re crying \u2013 they\u2019re really feeling a connection with this. Our siloed off world can feel a little insular, and this is a project that breaks through those barriers and into this interdisciplinary place where I love to live.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n\n Alsop hates being pigeonholed. \u2018There are so many restrictions in classical music and so many rules,\u2019 she says. \u2018I remember when I had my swing band years ago. People said, \u201cYou can\u2019t do jazz and be a serious conductor.\u201d I said, \u201cOh for heaven\u2019s sake! Why not? That\u2019s so ridiculous.\u201d It starts with the musical siloing, but it also extends to the lack of vision in terms of enabling people to understand how music can convey a concept or an idea. Those are the ways we can meet a much broader public and interest people. Context to me is everything, and giving people information and sharing more of that is the only way forward for our industry.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n\n Alsop accepts the score is highly cinematic \u2013 Falkenberg\u2019s background is in film music \u2013 but hates it when that term is used negatively. \u2018That\u2019s another one of the rules, right,\u2019 she says sharply. \u2018If it\u2019s cinematic it\u2019s not good. Somehow, it\u2019s not authentic or it\u2019s not art music. But I think of some of these unbelievably brilliant scores by John Williams or Leonard Bernstein [she highlights On the Waterfront] <\/em>or Shostakovich. They\u2019re great film scores written by great composers. I don\u2019t know why \u201ccinematic\u201d has to have a pejorative connotation, but it often does. Cinematic just means pictorial and this is a piece that conjures imagery. That\u2019s exactly her intention.\u2019<\/p>\n\n The LSO had no hang-ups about the filmic nature of the score. \u2018That\u2019s what I love about the London orchestras,\u2019 says Alsop. \u2018They really dig deep and commit to whatever project they\u2019re working on. They don\u2019t look down their noses at something that is cinematic. It wasn\u2019t that easy either. It\u2019s hard music and they gave it their all.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n The choir was overlaid later, conducted by London Voices director Ben Parry, but whether the libretto adds to the picturemaking or gets in the way is a moot point. At some stage the piece may well be recast in purely orchestral form \u2013which Alsop believes would work well \u2013 and commodities trader Christopher Bake, a friend of Falkenberg\u2019s who provided the \u00a3250,000 to finance the recording (a weekend with the LSO does not come cheap), anticipates a series of immersive concerts taking listeners on a voyage through space experience. <\/p>\n\n \u2018I really don\u2019t read any of the critics. You need to be your own bellwether\u2019 <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n What will critics make of it? Are they likely to be snooty about a cinematic score? \u2018I hope she gets a fair listening,\u2019 says Alsop. \u2018I hope people don\u2019t hear \u201cThe Moons <\/em>Symphony\u201d <\/em>and say, \u201cOh come on, it\u2019s a gimmick.\u201d I hope they don\u2019t prejudge it, because I think it\u2019s a strong work. I can never tell what critics are going to say. I really don\u2019t read any. Is that a terrible thing to say? I know what I want to work on, and I know how a concert went. You need to be your own bellwether.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n As well as being the first woman conductor of international significance, Alsop is now the first woman conductor who will \u2013 and this is not meant to sound rude \u2013 have to age on the podium. Male conductors routinely go on at least into their eighties. What are her imperatives as she enters later middle age? <\/p>\n\n \u2018For me things dramatically shifted when I finished up my music directorship in Baltimore [in 2021] because I didn\u2019t have all those responsibilities anymore,\u2019 she explains. \u2018The challenge was that coming out of Covid everyone wanted to rebook everything, so there was a traffic jam in my calendar. It\u2019s been too hectic, so now I am trying to weed through and see what exactly I want to do. It\u2019s wonderful when you arrive at that place in your career where you have the luxury to do that.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n\n The Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, where she is chief conductor, is currently the centre of gravity in her musical life. \u2018My heart at the moment is really with Vienna. The orchestra is extremely versatile. It\u2019s very open, experimental in a way. It\u2019s the opposite of what you would think classical music tradition in Vienna would be, and that\u2019s kind of cool. I love the breaking expectations aspect of it.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n The great question hanging over her career is whether she will take on another US music directorship after her 14-year stint at Baltimore, where she championed outreach and tried to achieve greater diversity in both the orchestra and the audience. Two plum jobs in American musical life are currently up for grabs \u2013 the chief conductor roles at the New York Philharmonic and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. As a native New Yorker, the former would be a glorious homecoming, but because of her association with the Chicago Symphony\u2019s summer festival in Ravinia it was the latter post that seemed more likely, and indeed at one point she was warm favourite to land it. <\/p>\n\n Those hopes now seem to have receded, and there are persistent suggestions that some of the musicians in the Chicago Symphony are opposed to giving her the top job. What is undoubtedly true is that some critics are openly hostile. \u2018There is one very good reason not <\/em>to hire Alsop,\u2019 wrote Lawrence Johnson on the Chicago <\/em>Classical <\/em>Review <\/em>website in February. \u2018A world-class orchestra deserves a worldclass conductor. And, to be brutally honest, despite her occasional successful nights, Alsop is not on that level.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n Other Chicago critics are more supportive. One tells me Alsop has strong supporters in the orchestra too \u2013 \u2018Among 100 orchestral musicians you will always get 200 opinions,\u2019 one UK orchestra veteran tells me sagely \u2013 and the Chicago <\/em>Tribune\u2019s <\/em>Hannah Edgar believes she would be a groundbreaking appointment. <\/p>\n\n \u2018It would represent a really interesting shift for orchestras everywhere,\u2019 says Edgar. She believes Alsop would establish a connection with the city, encourage collegiality, take classical music out of its \u2018bubble\u2019 and resist the conservatism of musical culture in Chicago. <\/p>\n\n \u2018It\u2019s important to follow your heart in deciding which offers to accept\u2019 <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n Alsop is tight-lipped about her prospects in Chicago and New York. \u2018Let\u2019s see what happens,\u2019 she says when I ask her whether another American music directorship in on the cards. \u2018You never know in this business. I do feel quintessentially American. That\u2019s part of my DNA. It does feel funny not to have my roots or my feet planted in America, but I have to say I\u2019m really enjoying this time a lot. You have the chance to breathe and look around and experience different things.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n Would it break her heart to be passed over by the Big Two. \u2018Break my heart \u2013 Idon\u2019t know about that,\u2019 she says quietly. \u2018I\u2019m happy to have good relationships with both orchestras, and to be chief conductor at the Ravinia Festival. That gives me access to the orchestra. You just never know.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n\n Like all conductors, Alsop says she tries not to obsess about her \u2018career\u2019. \u2018Each offer and each situation is so dramatically different,\u2019 she insists. \u2018I had never anticipated going to Brazil for example [as the S\u00e3o Paulo State Symphony Orchestra\u2019s chief conductor, 2012-19]. That was so off the map for me, yet I enjoyed my tenure there tremendously. It\u2019s not just about the music-making, although that\u2019s the main draw. It\u2019s also about the community connection and the life experience. Often when my manager says, \u201cThat might not be the best career move\u201d, that\u2019s my motivation for accepting it. It\u2019s important to follow your heart in these things.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n Alsop has been a crucial agent for change in classical music. Her mentor in the 1980s was Leonard Bernstein, and she is made from the same mould in terms of her evangelising, energising, democratising mission, with the added ingredient that she has almost singlehandedly made it normal for women to conduct orchestras. But her supporters do not want her to be seen only as the pioneer who kicked open doors for other women conductors to march through. That, they say, would be to patronise her and downplay her musical talents, as some critics are wont to do.<\/span><\/p>\n\n \u2018She creates a sense of occasion and excitement for the audience,\u2019 says Gillian Moore, artistic associate at London\u2019s Southbank Centre. \u2018It\u2019s important she is seen as someone who has led the way for change, but I don\u2019t want to emphasise that too much because she should be viewed as a fantastic musician as well.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n\n \u2018She is a very collaborative conductor,\u2019 says Kira Doherty, the Philharmonia\u2019s second horn and president. \u2018She likes to speak to the musicians when she\u2019s on the podium. She\u2019s very funny, very witty, and can be very deadpan as well. That goes down well here. There\u2019s also a no nonsense style about her. You get a sense that she\u2019s confident in what she\u2019s doing, but it\u2019s not a case of \u201cI will impose this on you\u201d.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n Alsop is the antithesis of the tyrannical old maestro. \u2018Sometimes the more insecure a conductor is, the more tyrannical they become,\u2019 says Doherty. \u2018I\u2019ve had instances with other conductors where a player has been singled out and almost picked on. With Marin it\u2019s not like that at all. If she makes a mistake she says \u201cUh, I made a mistake. Let\u2019s do it again.\u201d There\u2019s no shame in that. It\u2019s a sense that we\u2019re all human and we\u2019re all working towards this, but underpinned by a clear competence in what she\u2019s doing. She knows herself and no longer has to prove herself.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n Does Alsop feel less pressure now there is a new generation of women conductors joining her on the podium? Does that make it easier to be seen as a conductor pure and simple rather than some great standard bearer for women in music? \u2018I\u2019m happy to have company,\u2019 she says laconically, \u2018and I\u2019m happy that these opportunities exist now, but it really is only the result of the #MeToo movement. Progress was incremental and painstaking for hundreds of years. Let\u2019s try to continue on this positive trajectory.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n Alsop is taking nothing for granted, and continues to promote fellow female conductors at Ravinia, London\u2019s Southbank Centre \u2013 witness that beautifully orchestrated masterclass in May \u2013 and elsewhere. She is far from assured that the battle for proper female representation is yet won. \u2018You just have to look at the numbers,\u2019 she says. \u2018The disparity is clear\u2019. The Moons Symphony is released by Signum Records on 7 October; Alsop\u2019s recording of Schumann Symphonies Nos 1 & 2 with the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra is also released on Naxos on 28 October. <\/em><\/p>\n\n Gustav Holst<\/span> The Planets <\/em><\/strong> R Strauss <\/span>Also sprach Zarathustra <\/em> Jan\u00e1\u010dek <\/span>The Excursions of Mr Brou\u010dek to the Moon and to the 15th Century <\/em><\/strong> Debussy<\/span> \u2018Clair de Lune\u2019 <\/span><\/strong> David Bowie<\/span> \u2018Space Oddity\u2019, \u2018Starman\u2019 and \u2018Life on Mars\u2019 <\/span><\/strong> Susanna M\u00e4lkki<\/span><\/strong> (left)<\/em> Oksana Lyniv<\/span><\/strong> Dalia Stasevska <\/span> Mirga Gra\u017einyt\u0117-Tyla <\/span><\/strong> Karina Canellakis<\/span><\/strong> Eva Ollikainen <\/span><\/strong> <\/p>\n\n Marin Alsop Lunar tunes As Marin Alsop records a new space-themed symphony with the London Symphony Orchestra, she speaks to Stephen Moss about leading the way for female conductors and where her career might lead next Marin Alsop is looking a little tired. So am I. I\u2019ve been pursuing her since May when she was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":19556,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ub_ctt_via":"","purple_page_number":"26","purple_custom_meta_purple_page_number":"26","purple_seq_number":"1","purple_custom_meta_purple_seq_number":"1","purple_source_article":"article_26-1.xml","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_article":"article_26-1.xml","purple_source_issue":"November-2022","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_issue":"November-2022","purple_external_id":"November-2022-26-1","purple_custom_meta_purple_external_id":"November-2022-26-1","purple_issue_code":"|0000086188||","purple_custom_meta_purple_issue_code":"|0000086188||","purple_android_product":"com.im.bbcmusic.380","purple_custom_meta_purple_android_product":"com.im.bbcmusic.380","purple_ios_product":"com.im.bbcmusic.380","purple_custom_meta_purple_ios_product":"com.im.bbcmusic.380","purple_web_product":"","purple_custom_meta_purple_web_product":"","purple_publication_id":"5b9287a1-9911-4f59-a9d7-30a805560f3d","purple_migrated":"","kt_blocks_editor_width":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2022-10-06T09:41:58Z","apple_news_article-theme":"","apple_news_api_id":"75796b75-902e-47af-8e42-f0887e0649ad","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2022-10-06T09:41:58Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AdXlrdZAuR6-OQvCIfgZJrQ","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":true,"apple_news_is_preview":true,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_article_theme":"","apple_news_sections":"[]"},"categories":[17],"tags":[22,13],"apple_news_notices":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/09\/30ebc513-e59c-40a0-9955-201cbf219d21-e1664461049334.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"15","apple_news_title":""},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/09\/30ebc513-e59c-40a0-9955-201cbf219d21-e1664461049334.jpg",1679,1126,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/09\/30ebc513-e59c-40a0-9955-201cbf219d21-e1664461049334-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/09\/30ebc513-e59c-40a0-9955-201cbf219d21-e1664461049334-300x201.jpg",300,201,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/09\/30ebc513-e59c-40a0-9955-201cbf219d21-e1664461049334-768x515.jpg",768,515,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/09\/30ebc513-e59c-40a0-9955-201cbf219d21-e1664461049334-1024x687.jpg",800,537,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/09\/30ebc513-e59c-40a0-9955-201cbf219d21-e1664461049334-1536x1030.jpg",1536,1030,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/09\/30ebc513-e59c-40a0-9955-201cbf219d21-e1664461049334.jpg",1679,1126,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Marin Alsop Lunar tunes As Marin Alsop records a new space-themed symphony with the London Symphony Orchestra, she speaks to Stephen Moss about leading the way for female conductors and where her career might lead next Marin Alsop is looking a little tired. So am I. I\u2019ve been pursuing her since May when she was…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19563"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19563"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19563\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20337,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19563\/revisions\/20337"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dj9jqhxgw9833.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/09\/2J6R6MT_alamy_cmyk-683x1024.jpg\")
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Out of this world<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Music across the universe <\/em><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
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Another suite in seven movements, each inspired by a planet in the solar system, except Pluto which was undiscovered when Holst wrote the suite during World War I. As Holst was more interested in the planets from an astrological rather than an astronomical perspective, Earth is not included. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>This portentous 1896 tone poem was originally a musical interpretation of Nietzsche\u2019s book of the same name. But the opening sunrise theme has become synonymous with space since its use by director Stanley Kubrick in his 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey <\/em>and because the BBC used it as the theme music to its coverage of the Apollo space missions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Based on the novels of Czech writer Svatopluk Cech, Jan\u00e1\u010dek\u2019s comic opera, had a troubled composition history and received only a lukewarm reception at its premier in 1920, but has now entered the repertoire. Think The Wizard of Oz <\/em>with more demanding music. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third movement of the Suite bergamasque <\/em>was inspired by Paul Verlaine\u2019s poem of the same name. Our moon is of course associated with many famous pieces of music: the \u2018Song to the Moon\u2019 in Dvo\u0159\u00e1k\u2019s Rusalka; <\/em>\u2018Blue Moon\u2019; \u2018Fly Me to the Moon\u2019; \u2018By the Light of the Silv\u2019ry Moon\u2019, and a thousand others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes, the guy was obsessed by space, but coming of age in the 1960s how could you not be? Bowie also starred in the 1976 film The Man Who Fell to Earth. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\nBreaking the glass ceiling<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Top women conductors of today <\/em><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Born in Helsinki, the 53 year-old was principal cellist with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra before developing her conducting career. In 2016 she became the first female chief conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
In July 2021 Ukrainian-born Lyniv was the first woman to conduct at Bayreuth, and this year became Teatro Comunale di Bologna\u2019s music director. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>Born 1984 in Kyiv before moving to Finland, Stasevska turned to conducting in her twenties. She became the BBC Symphony Orchestra\u2019s principal guest conductor in 2019 and the Lahti Symphony Orchestra\u2019s chief conductor in 2021. She led the Last Night of the Proms in 2020 and was set to do so again in 2022 before its cancellation. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Born in Vilnius, Lithuania, she became, aged 29, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra\u2019s first female music director in 2016. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Born in New York in 1981 to a conductor father and pianist mother, in 2019 she became the first woman to conduct the opening night of the Proms, and in 2020 was named the London Philharmonic Orchestra\u2019s principal guest conductor. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 40-year-old Finn is chief conductor of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, and made her Proms debut in August 2022. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n