{"id":16207,"date":"2025-01-28T12:46:54","date_gmt":"2025-01-28T17:46:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/?p=16207"},"modified":"2025-05-09T12:48:50","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T16:48:50","slug":"at-85-this-maestro-finally-has-his-philharmonic-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/at-85-this-maestro-finally-has-his-philharmonic-debut\/","title":{"rendered":"At 85, This Maestro Finally Has His Philharmonic Debut"},"content":{"rendered":"

The renowned conductor Marek Janowski long ago gave up hope that he might conduct the New York Philharmonic. Then the orchestra came knocking.<\/strong><\/p>\n

From The New York Times<\/a><\/p>\n

By Javier C. Hern\u00e1ndez<\/p>\n

Before a rehearsal with the New York Philharmonic on Monday morning, the conductor Marek Janowski paused to say a few words.<\/p>\n

\u201cFinally, I have the chance to meet you and to work with you,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve waited more than 85 years for this moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Janowski has led many of the world\u2019s top ensembles, but never the Philharmonic. But on Wednesday, three weeks before he turns 86, he will become one of the oldest artists to debut with the orchestra, leading a program of works by Schumann, Mendelssohn and Weber.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a very old guy, I get the chance to work with this wonderful orchestra,\u201d he said in an interview. \u201cI enjoy the atmosphere very much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Janowski attributed his belated debut to scheduling quirks and a lack of close ties to the Philharmonic. He lives in Berlin, and his career has been largely focused on Europe. He is an acclaimed opera conductor who has appeared at the renowned Bayreuth Festival in Germany. And he has held top positions at the Dresden Philharmonic and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, among other ensembles.<\/p>\n

He was finally set to make his New York Philharmonic in 2020; after the coronavirus pandemic, the engagement was rescheduled for this season. (The Philharmonic said in a statement that his debut was \u201clong overdue,\u201d and that he was \u201can artist our orchestra and audience should experience.\u201d)<\/p>\n

At the rehearsal on Monday, Janowski was in good spirits, and as he made his way offstage, the violinist Hae-Young Ham thanked him for coming to New York.<\/p>\n

\u201cBetter late than never, right?\u201d she said. He smiled and nodded.<\/p>\n

Janowski \u2014 with his scores in his hands and his conducting batons in his teeth \u2014 breezed past the elevators, opting instead to climb two flights of stairs to his dressing room. Before sitting for an interview, he asked: \u201cThe reason for this article is because I\u2019m so old? Or what is the reason?\u201d<\/p>\n

He then discussed his approach to conducting; growing up in Germany during World War II; and, yes, his longevity on the podium. Here are edited excerpts from the conversation.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve led some of the world\u2019s top orchestras. But somehow, the New York Philharmonic eluded you.<\/strong>
\nIn the 1980s and 1990s, I was very often at the Metropolitan Opera. From time to time, I would think, \u201cYou should go over to the New York Philharmonic and conduct them, too.\u201d It never worked out that way. When I was in my late 70s, I thought, \u201cSo be it: Only the Met, not the New York Philharmonic.\u201d But when the invitation came, I was quite surprised. I liked that late invitation.<\/p>\n

Some of your peers long ago made the choice to retire. Why do you keep performing?<\/strong>
\nThe moment an invitation comes from an orchestra, I still cannot resist saying yes. The temptation is always there to try to do it better than you have done before. Sometimes it\u2019s not easy, and after a week or so, you say to yourself, \u201cYou did it, but you didn\u2019t do it better than before.\u201d But sometimes the opposite is true, and that is very satisfactory.<\/p>\n

What is the secret of your vitality?<\/strong>
\nI don\u2019t know. I might even sometimes feel a bit tired before a rehearsal. But when it starts, I forget the physics. I forget about my physical feeling of getting older. I am still not faking it. I still feel I can do it. Conducting should not be a physical effort. Your arms, your gestures should follow your mind and your ear.<\/p>\n

Is there a benefit of experience in conducting?<\/strong>
\nAbsolutely. I\u2019m conducting Schumann\u2019s Symphony No. 3 in New York. I\u2019ve done it so many times \u2014 in Cologne, Berlin and Dortmund \u2014 I can\u2019t count it anymore. Each period of preparing with a different orchestra gives you new insights into the piece. You have perhaps done a phrase 20 times in a certain way. And then you listen to it now, and you think you should do it in a different way. That is always very fascinating.<\/p>\n

Do you feel in some ways you\u2019re at the peak of your powers?<\/strong>
\nI don\u2019t ask how I feel. The most important is what Richard Strauss said: \u201cThe conductor should not sweat. He should make the audience get warm.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read the full story.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The renowned conductor Marek Janowski long ago gave up hope that he might conduct the New York Philharmonic. Then the orchestra came knocking. From The New York Times By Javier C. Hern\u00e1ndez Before a rehearsal with the New York Philharmonic on Monday morning, the conductor Marek Janowski paused to say a few words. \u201cFinally, I … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1320,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3613,3706,3686],"class_list":["post-16207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-conductor","tag-marek-janowski","tag-orchestra"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16207"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16207\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16208,"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16207\/revisions\/16208"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/1320"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}