In Thursday’s (10/24) San Francisco Chronicle, Joshua Kosman interviews Edwin Outwater, “fondly remembered in San Francisco from his stint as resident conductor of the San Francisco Symphony, a period during which he led the Youth Orchestra, conducted family concerts and served as Michael Tilson Thomas‘ musical right-hand man. Since leaving here in 2006, Outwater has established a lively outpost in Ontario as music director of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, in addition to pursuing a busy guest-conducting schedule. This week, Outwater, 42, returns to Davies Symphony Hall to lead the Symphony in music of Ligeti, Prokofiev, Dvorák and Lutoslawski.… Outwater: There’s no reason to apologize or change the music, but the way it’s presented is still back in the Industrial Age. There are class issues that are related to how this worked in 1920s and 1930s. If you’re coming to a concert for the first time, there are rituals that people know, and to be in the club you have to learn them. But in the 21st century we have a much more eclectic group of people who are interested in the music, and who came across it in different ways. So I think we have to be great musicians and create great performances, but we also have to be great communicators.”
Posted October 24, 2013
