In the wake of the success of Gustavo Dudamel, or maybe more accurately in the wake of the work of El Sistema scion Jose Antonio Abreu, there has been an explosion in the number of top appointments going to Spanish or Latin American conductors. Whether this matters, whether any kind of cultural movement or school or schools of interpretation can be discerned, is an arguable point. Possibly one that will only be clear in many years' time.
But it's worth casting an eye over the class of 2014.
So, we have Dudamel at the Los Angeles Philharmonic (not to mention his own Simon Bolivar Orchestra, whose star has been linked to his and vice versa). The New York Phil may have local boy Alan Gilbert, but the same city's Orchestra of St. Luke's has the very fine Spaniard Pablo Heras-Casado, named Conductor of the Year in 2013 by Musical America. Across the country at the Houston Symphony they have welcomed Andres Orozco-Estrada, the brilliant Columbian who has also pitched up at the London Philharmonic as Chief Guest Conductor.
Venezuelan Diego Mattheuz is Principal Conductor of La Fenice in Florence, while his compatriot Rafael Payare has just been named the new chief baton at Ireland's Ulster Orchestra. Not a million miles away a Spaniard, Juanjo Mena, is chief conductor of the BBC Philharmonic - though that is slightly cheating on our part as he has been prominent in European orchestras for some years, as has Carlos Kalmar (head honcho at the Oregon Symphony) in the US.
And, lest we forget, Sonia Marie De Leon de Vega bringing classical music to Los Angelinos...one family at a time.
Who have we missed? There must be more.
It's always exciting when we get the chance to explore other cultures through their artists, and we're starting to learn how to hum in Spanish.
