Last night, the New York Philharmonics played works by Liszt, Elgar and Prokofiev. Right in the brief silence between two movements in the work by Prokofiev, a cell phone started to ring. The sound was clearly heard in the packed hall – a bell-like, sad little melody. Conductor Riccardo Muti said out loud, rather annoyed:
“That didn’t sound like Prokofiev.”
In the intermission, I talked to a lady who’s a regular at Lincoln Center. Recently, conductor Alan Gilbert was appointed new musical director, coming straight from several years as chief conductor at Stockholm’s Royal Philharmonics. When I asked her about the general opinion of Gilbert, she said:
“Do you want me to tell you like a New Yorker?”
“Please do”, I said.
“He sucks.”
