In Thursday’s (1/6) Washington Post, Keith Loria writes, “It’s never easy being the new guy, and when you’re replacing someone popular, it can be even harder. That’s the situation Christopher Zimmerman was in last year when he was chosen to succeed William Hudson as musical director of the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, when the much-beloved maestro hung up his baton after 36 years. … In his first season, Zimmerman went to work to put his stamp on the FSO, which begins each season in mid-September and wraps up in May. ‘We are playing more pieces which are not the old warhorses,’ Zimmerman said. ‘The repertoire for the orchestra was late romantic period, and while I hope to still do this, we are broadening to pieces that are less familiar to the standard audience and including pieces from different eras.’ The orchestra has never before played 80 percent of the music it is performing this season, according to the orchestra’s archives, a change the musicians have found appealing. … Everyone, including Zimmerman, credits Hudson with making the orchestra something special. But now Zimmerman is trying to take that next step.”
Posted January 6, 2011
