“Eckart Preu succeeded Robert Moody this year as music director of the Portland Symphony Orchestra,” effective with the start of the 2019-20 season, writes Renee Cordes in Monday’s (7/22) Mainebiz (Portland, ME). “Q: What was Portland’s appeal for you? Preu: I conducted in Portland a couple of years ago, and I found it to be a wonderful orchestra. Q: Do you leave the pops concerts to guest conductors? Preu: I’m planning on doing Elvis [‘A Salute to Elvis’]. I grew up with Elvis on TV in East Germany, so I have a soft spot for him. Q: Do you enjoy that as much as conducting Beethoven or Bach? Preu: It’s a totally different ballgame. I love it…. It’s much more improvisational. Q: Do you like the business aspects of your job? Preu: I actually do. It’s like instead of just painting, you do the canvas yourself, you mix the colors, and if you have really good people in the office to work with … who make it all happen. Q: Are blind auditions for orchestra members now standard practice? Preu: In Germany we don’t have blind auditions, which is a mistake…. I’m now a big proponent of not seeing at all, even in the final round, who it is.”
Posted July 25, 2019
