Bringuier is, of course, neither the first, nor the youngest, to ascend a high-visibility rostrum. Simon Rattle was 25 when he was made principal conductor in Birmingham, Franz Welser-Möst 29 when he became music director of the London Philharmonic. Dudamel, at 26, was the youngest ever maestro of a leading US orchestra. Today the first two bestride the twin capitals of European music, Berlin and Vienna, and none can predict how high the Venezuelan will fly.
Such early starts, however—while common before the media age (Volkmar Andreae, the Tonhalle’s formative chief, was 27 on ascension in 1906 and still giving the beat in 1949)—are rare in modern times.
The legacy of many maestro myths has led audiences and musicians alike to prize competence above potential, experience above exhilaration. Conducting is one of the few occupations where advanced age is a positive advantage. Munich this year installed a music director in his eighties, Lorin Maazel. The Lucerne Festival is powered by two eminences of equal vintage. Fame, acquired over decades, pays off at the box-office, at least among the older patrons. And that’s just one of three anti-youth disincentives.
Financiers, who provide the bulk of orchestral funding, are risk-averse. They look for track record in a music director, amplified by a large recorded catalogue. Anything less they regard as a disqualification. Orchestral managers, who run the day-to-day business, expect a music director to know the complete core repertoire to ensure that subscribers never have to complain of missing their favourite symphonies.
Conservatism, hyper-caution and endless repetition are the three wicked witches that brought classical music to its knees. The Tonhalle knows all about energy loss. Its early honeymoon with the American conductor David Zinman settled into marital routine. After 17 years, players wondered why the audience was disappearing and the deficit deepening. In choosing Lionel Bringuier, they have effectively rewritten the job description of music director across the classical industry.
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