Stealth S H Syndrome

March 18, 2006

[Mycoplasma hits the right notes!]

Stealth Symphony Hall Syndrome strikes maestros

By T.J. Medrek

Saturday, March 11, 2006

Forget bird flu:

The epidemic of 2006 is - well, call it

Symphony Hall Syndrome (SHS).

First, former Boston Symphony Orchestra maestro Seiji Ozawa, 70,

decamped from his job as music director of the Vienna State Opera early

this year to recover from shingles affecting his eyes.

Then, the BSO’s current music director, 62-year-old James Levine, took

an onstage spill at the end of a March 1 Symphony Hall concert. The

resulting shoulder injury caused him to miss out on three concerts in

Boston and a national tour with the orchestra the following week.

And as one young BSO assistant conductor, Jens Georg Bachmann, filled in

for Levine here, another BSO backup, Ludovic Morlot, was in New York

replacing Christoph von Dohnanyi, 76, who dropped out of a program with

the New York Philharmonic, reportedly due to bronchitis.

Have the terrorists (or maybe a cabal of ambitious assistant conductors)

launched a stealth attack against Western classical music? I smell

fodder for another book by ”Da Vinci Code” author Dan Brown.

Not long after Ozawa went on injured reserve, renowned conductor-pianist

Daniel Barenboim, 63, was hospitalized for a reported balance problem.

He recovered in time to complete a tour with the Berlin Staatskapelle

Orchestra that came to Symphony Hall on Feb. 10. Did Levine, who shared

the stage with his pal Barenboim that night for an encore of four-hand

Mozart piano music, catch SHS from Barenboim?

Just last week, conductor Kurt Masur, 78, pulled out of a concert in

Dublin during intermission, reportedly after complaining of heart

palpitations, eventually diagnosed as a viral infection. Masur last

conducted at Symphony Hall in January (hmmmmm . . . have we found

Patient Zero?).

So far, according to the Bank of America Celebrity Series, Masur is

still scheduled to lead the London Philharmonic here on March 24.

Meanwhile, Dohnanyi is scheduled to lead the BSO at Symphony Hall next

month. I don’t know about you, but - if he shows, I wouldn’t go near his

baton.

Maestro Daniel Barenboim has also cancelled concerts due to illness.

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