From the mouth of Norman Lebrecht and "several trustworthy sources," the Berlin Philharmonic, apparently, wants to get on with making an appointment. Simon Rattle, though, will remain music director until the summer of 2018.
Who knows what the separation between Rattle and the BPO entails, perhaps its his expected newborn or maybe a London Symphony Orchestra appointment. What ever the reasons, the players want to end speculation and plan to announce a decision come May.
For the orchestra, a short-term appointment could be issued, which brings to mind Daniel Barenboim, who has indicated he would be able to join for three or four years.
Per Slipped Disc, some of the favorites include:
1 Andris Nelsons, newly signed with Boston.
2 Riccardo Chailly, who is committed to Leipzig and La Scala
3 Yannick Nezet-Seguin, under contract with Philadelphia, Rotterdam and Montreal.
4 Kirill Petrenko, Bavarian State Opera
5 Christian Thielemann, Dresden
6 Others including Semyon Bychkov, Ivan Fischer, Paavo Järvi, Gustavo Dudamel.
Dudamel could be a pretty interesting choice if he accepts.
Regardless, they are on the prowl and an update should come middle of May next year.
Until then, here's some Rattle for now.
