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Critic's journal: Lockhart makes noise, not music

My compliments to the Deseret News for having a music critic like Ed Reichel who isn't afraid to call it like he sees it.

Give the man a raise -- or at least a Christmas bonus, for crying out loud.

Lockhart is a great asset to Utah. He's helped give them credibility as they've let other talented conductors leave for more prestiges positions. Lockhart is one-of-a-kind with a great ear for music for everyman...that's not a snob. Time to get over your dislike of pops style music. It's here to stay, and Lockhart is one of, if not, the best. The symphony will live or die on the size of the audience, not the size of the egos in the audience.

I respect music critics with decisive points of view. However, when a critic uses just two examples to argue that a conductor makes "noise, not music," something is sadly lacking. Let's just call it a sense of perspective.

The only completely wrong-headed interpretation I have heard Lockhart conduct was Beethoven's Eighth Symphony some years ago (I did not hear his Beethoven Second this summer, a performance that Mr. Reichel savaged). He has conducted fine performances of the First, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh of Beethoven's symphonies. He almost managed two bring off a completely successful performance of the Fourth symphony--no mean feat. While his first go at the Ninth some years ago failed to make a mark on me, I thought his recent performance was much improved, with a sweeping sense of architecture. His second go at the Third symphony saw similar improvements. I readily concede that guest conductor Stanislaw Skrowaczewski's interpretation of the Ninth some years ago was masterful compared to Lockhart's. However, even the greatest conductor's cannot do justice to the full range of Beethoven's symphonic genius. If Lockhart is only a good, versatile conductor, that is a far cry from noise.

I don't know you, and I've never heard Lockhart conduct live, but your review of his conducting somewhat describes your writing style. Curious...

I'm in complete agreement with Mr. Reichel on this one.

As for 'You're wrong', there's no question Mr. Lockhart has done a lot of good for the symphony and for Utah in general, but I think you're short-changing the audience. Many of us would *still* go to the symphony if Mr. Lockhart would conduct the symphony with less bombast and more subtlety, as the music should be performed.

I'm sure Mr. Reichel appreciates "pops style music" as much as the next man, but this isn't the Utah Pops. Any child can enjoy burgers and fries, but it takes a little sophistication to appreciate more delicate (not to mention healthier) foods.

If Mr. Lockhart started serving up some of the finer foods that we know this symphony is capable of producing, rather than the steady diet of burgers and fries, I think he and the rest of the audience would discover they liked it (like we used to like it under Abravanel and many of Silverstein's performances).

Even from Sarasota, FL, I can detect the "piling on" of people against Lockhart. Lay off, and, even though many seem gleeful at his leaving, at least give the guy a chance to get through his final season with some dignity. He's no slouch and better than a lot of the semi-frauds gracing the podiums of today's orchestras. Utah and Salt Lake City may deserve better, but they should also behave better, including acerbic critics.

Kudos to the Deseret News for printing a review critical of the music director. If this were Cleveland, and Mr. Reichel were writing about Welser-M�st, he could lose his job.

Gene, being reassigned is not losing one's job. The Cleveland critic in question is still writing for the newspaper, just not about the Cleveland Orchestra. There's a lot of controversy about that, to be sure, but let's keep the employment issue straight.

Mr. Lockhart is disgracefully associated with a suburban-Boston radio station that massacres works of substance by playing only single movements, and loading its playlist with forgottern 18th Century dreck. No person with any self-respect would go near WCRB-FM, but Mr. Lockhart goes on the air at its facility, and by doing so, gives the station cover for its dreadful programming.

I don't know if critic Don Rosenberg was given a fair shake in being taken off the Cleveland Orchestra beat.

I don't know if Ed Reichel is being too hard on Lockhart.

I do however know that too much fluff and 'promo-journalism' fills most local newpapers.

Hats off to Ed for risking the ire of those who feel that everything must always be called sweetness and light even when it is not actually pretty and bright.

A critic who doesn't call it as he sees it is wasting paper and ink.

By the way, I'm rather fond of Keith Lockhart.

in response to the wcrb-fm comment,we (mass residents)enjoy the station for that specific reason.I sometimes prefer only a certain movement of a piece.

Bravo, Mr. Reichel, for telling the truth. We don't get a lot of that around this town.

For Alvaro - the reader who commented on the review reflecting the writing style - perhaps the obvious delivery was in relation to the obvious delivery of the "conductor" in question.

Keith Lockhart's conducting will never get subtlety from an orchestra. His gestures are too generic and unvaried. Slow movements are all conducted with big, indeciperably loopy motions and fast movements are all conducted with jarringly anticipatory motions. The orchestra must in many cases literally avert their eyes from his distracting gestures. Following the stick is not possible. When this is the case, the conductor losses contact, and with it, the ability to control transitions, tempo variations, speeding up and slowing down. The orchestra is forced into survival mode. The players spend an inordinate amount of their energies on simply playing together. Subtlety can not be acheived under such conditions.

Mr. Lockhart seems to have learned the scores he conducts, but his technique is so limited that he is capable only of basic and "adequate" performances. Anything over and above that achieved is most likely due to the efforts of the orchestra: a fine performance despite the conductor.

Utah's next Music Director will very likely be considerably better at coaxing subtlety from the orchestra.