Page 198 - Media Coverage Book - 75th Aldeburgh Festival 2024
P. 198
In an interview 20 years ago, English conductor Sir Mark Elder recounted
bumping into legendary maestro Sir Adrian Boult backstage after
conducting a heavy-duty performance at the 1978 London Proms. Boult
looked him up and down, remarking: “I see you’re one of the sweaty ones.”
Speaking to Elder two decades on, as he prepares to close the book on his
transformative 24-year tenure as music director of Manchester’s Hallé
Orchestra, the image he projects is of a man so visibly content with his life
and career he could easily outdo Prince Andrew in the “no sweat” league.
On Saturday, however, Elder and his orchestra will throw every ounce of
energy into their final performance together in an Usher Hall programme
featuring Mahler’s Fifth Symphony, the work chosen by the 77-year-old to
say goodbye to his colleagues. It has been central to a recent valedictory run
of performances around the UK, including the Aldeburgh Festival and BBC
Proms.
Except it’s not actually goodbye. Elder is to continue as the Hallé’s
conductor laureate, though the commitment will be considerably less,
allowing him to explore new relationships, especially in Scandinavia –
where he is currently principal guest conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic
– and in the USA. “There are a few American orchestras I really enjoy and
hope to go to more regularly,” he says. “I just need to be careful and look
after myself, not race around too incessantly, and to value calm time.”
He’s earned the breathing space. When Elder took up the reigns at the Hallé
in 2000 – a successor to such immortalised antecedents as Sir John
Barbirolli and Hans Richter – the orchestra was facing bankruptcy and, in
the wake of his immediate predecessor Kent Nagano, in artistic free fall.
“The situation was severe and didn’t really allow for optimism,” Elder
recalls.
John Summers had just been drafted in as troubleshooting chief executive
with a reputation for getting things done. “I said I wouldn’t be able to
