Friday (8/3) on Crosscut (Seattle, Washington), Thomas May writes, “Conductor Ludovic Morlot, who recently concluded his first season as the Seattle Symphony’s new music director, has proved beyond any doubt to this critic that he has the charisma and the musical intelligence to recharge the players with a fresh sense of shared purpose and commitment. … The players’ revitalized demeanor comes through on several crucial levels. …Their core sound has become more refined and alert, teeming with the kind of attention to the inner details of a score that make a performance more than a routine ‘traversal’ of a piece of repertory. … Well-thought-out programming has encouraged the musicians to stretch themselves and aim for a greater variety of expressive, nuanced gestures.” Wednesday’s (8/1) Seattle Weekly voted Morlot “Best Arts Newcomer 2012,” stating that he “turned out to be just what everyone was hoping for to take the organization beyond the Gerard Schwarz era, bringing a boyish, energetic podium manner, a sprucing-up of the orchestra’s sound, and forward-looking, buzzworthy programming. In his debut season, music by composers as diverse as Beethoven, Gershwin, and Varèse combusted under his direction, and his vision for next season—a 10 p.m. new-music concert series, a few premieres, and big-event pieces by Messiaen and Britten—makes it the most mouthwatering in memory.”
Posted August 3, 2012
