Changes are long overdue at Utah Symphony & Opera

Who will replace Lockhart is anybody's guess. The search committee has been conspicuously tight lipped about it. At the last music director search a decade ago, prospective candidates to replace outgoing Joseph Silverstein were touted as such when they came to Abravanel Hall to conduct the Utah Symphony. This time around, it's being done behind closed doors. Ostensibly, every guest conductor appearing before the Utah Symphony this season and next is a potential candidate. But which ones are seriously being considered is open to speculation.

Among those who were candidates for the job 10 years ago, Pavel Kogan, Matthias Bamert and Graeme Jenkins would make extraordinary music directors. Their knowledge of — and insight into — the symphonic repertoire is impressive, they are firmly grounded in the romantic repertoire, they bring out the best in the orchestra, and they ignite the audience's enthusiasm.

Other conductors who have appeared here recently and who would make wonderful music directors are Andrew Litton, Thierry Fischer, Stefan Sanderling and Gerard Schwarz, although Schwarz has always had troubled relationships with his orchestras and his tenure here would probably be short term.

One thing needs to be clear — artistic criteria must be used to select Lockhart's replacement. The candidate's age, nationality and marketability should not be a factor in determining the symphony's new director. The orchestra (and concertgoers) needs a director who has a solid understanding of the standard repertoire, but also one who is not afraid to forge ahead and include neglected works as well as new music into the symphony's programs.

Under Lockhart, the Utah Symphony has developed a negative reputation outside the state as being an orchestra that focuses too much on the music of Gershwin and Bernstein and not enough on the major symphonic repertoire — to the detriment of its national and international standing. With a new director, this perception must be replaced with one in which the symphony's true artistic merits are brought out.

The Utah Symphony is a marvelous orchestra — as great as any in this country. With the right music director, the symphony's reputation as a proponent of progress and innovation, as pioneered by music director Maurice Abravanel and continued by Joseph Silverstein, will be restored and its future as a major performing arts organization ensured.

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E-mail: ereichel@desnews.com