😅He is a great conductor and musician. My family and I have watched him many times from the Conductor’s circle seats (over the tympani) when Mr. Eschenbach was in Philadelphia. We were so sorry when he left. We know about the politics in Philadelphia!
I used to take my young daughter up to the Kimmel to see you on Sundays until she went to the Manhattan School of Music’s pre college program. She is a vocal major. She would count all of the musicians and say “There are 108 musicians and they sound like one”. Thank you for the wonderful Sunday’s we spent with you.
Regarding the epening bars of the concerto, have you ever seen such effeminate, "gracefulissimo" arm and hand motions? Is he unaware of this painfully obvious mannerism, or would he not care a hoot if this were brought to his attention?
Your piano recordings, for me, are some of the 'definitive' ones. Your early seventies, DG "Hammerklavier" is the one I would choose, above all, for example. You make the Tchaikovsky piano pieces (of all things) beyond sublime on the Philadelphia Orchestra label. (Ondine?) You're the deepest and most sensitive pianist I know of... And when you conducted our (Philadelphia) orchestra, that's when we got to hear relevant living composers. You brought programming (and musical) truth to my town.
Eschenbach's Brahms Two with NHK was amongst the best I've experienced..... Guest oboist Mizuho Yoshii's solo in the Third Movement was phenomenal, almost comparable to the great John Mack..... (She was briefly seen in this video.) Too bad the YT video of this performance was taken down.
Thank you very much! I'm listening to your third Beethoven Concerto with Henze again, wonderful. I'd like to find your cd Virgins with Brahms Symphonies, but it's very rare!