NYPO under Lorin Maazel

I attended the last concert of NYPO. The first half was conducted by Chang Xian. She was OK to me but I think it would be a difficult career for her to progress further in the states, simply because there is nothing special about her. The soloist was the principal oboe of NYPO, playing the Oboe Concerto of R. Strauss. This piece was quite elegant and simple by the standard of Strauss - a beautiful piece.

The second half was Brahms 4th symphony conducted by Maazel. Maazel is never my cup of tea - none of his recordings impressed me and I don't think any of them last. NYPO under his baton sounded shallow (the 1st movement sounded particularly bad), loud (even ostentatious) and without discipline. The two encores were even more so. It pissed me off so much, especially when the audience applauded as if it were a good performance.

Perhaps Maazel should really quit conducting and concentrate on composing, as he wished.