BBC NOW announces new Principal Conductor

[french frank]

Press release today. So Thierry Fischer is leaving in 2012 - is this after a single stint?

And Thomas Søndergård ....?


Edit: More on the Radio 3 blog.

[Curalach]

I have been hugely impressed with Thomas Søndergård in his guest appearances with the RSNO over the last few seasons. I know that he was on the short list for the RSNO MD position. I think that the BBC NOW have made a very sound appointment.

[Richard Tarleton]

So Thierry Fischer is leaving in 2012 - is this after a single stint?

And Thomas Søndergård ....?

I greatly enjoyed his concert just now. I'm looking forward to seeing him with the orchestra in Cardiff and Swansea.

I thought Catrin Finch's platform interviews with conductor and soloist hit a new low for the genre. I think interviewing the concerto soloist just before the performance is barbaric...I'm convinced she was using the same set of questions Sue Barker used at Wimbledon for the on-court interviews with the finalists, they were largely interchangeable.

[french frank]

And he made his first outing as PC Designate this evening on R3 :doh:.

Sibelius: En saga
Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No 1
Dvořák: Symphony No 9 'From the New World'
Baiba Skride, Violin
Conducted by Thomas Søndergård.

Still I suppose that dictated the date of the announcement. I daresay that will have added a bit of excitement - in all quarters - to the performance.

More from Askonas Holt.

Edit: Forestalled by RT!

PS Didn't mean forestalled, I meant that other word

[Richard Tarleton]

It was jolly good, anyway!

[tophat]

Søndergård was the fine conductor in the wonderful new EMI CD recording of the Sibelius Violin Concerto, featuring the brilliant violinst Vilma Frang. A fine performance with a strikingly different opening tempo. The extras are three of Sibelius' lovely Humoresqes and the stunning 1st Violin Concerto of Prokofiev.

[bluestateprommer]

Press release today. So Thierry Fischer is leaving in 2012 - is this after a single stint?

And Thomas Søndergård ....?

My guess is probably it was one initial stint and one contract extension, since initial appointments to orchestras would be more for something like 3 or 4 years initially, from what I can tell. The two most probable situations would be either a first stint of 3 years, with a later 3-year extension, or an initial 4 year contract with a later 2-year extension.

Søndergård's initial BBC NOW contract is for 4 years, per the press announcement, of course. It's interesting to read Curalach's note that Søndergård was on the RSNO's short list, which ended there with Peter Oundjian's appointment instead.

[Curalach]

It's interesting to read Curalach's note that Søndergård was on the RSNO's short list, which ended there with Peter Oundjian's appointment instead.

I wasn't too far out! Today it was announced that Thomas Søndergård has been appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the RSNO from next year. http://www.rsno.org.uk/index.php
He is conducting the orchestra this week in Prokofiev 5.