Orchestra Hall Receives Objections to Renaming After Late Conductor

In the Star Tribune's Letter to the Editor page, an objection was made to a name change proposal of Orchestra Hall after Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, the conductor laureate who died last month at 93.

Although loved by many musicians, the newspaper printed contrary opinions, saying:

No, don't rename it after the late conductor - or at all

A Feb. 25 letter writer suggests renaming Orchestra Hall after Stanislaw Skrowaczewski (who died last week). All I know is what I heard a long time ago from a Minnesota Orchestra player regarding Skrowaczewski as a great conductor:

"Yes, he cuts a nice figure up there, and audiences love to see that, but we as players don't follow what he's doing; we play among ourselves and make it look like we're following him. He's in a world of his own, conducting some mythical orchestra in his head but not the one in front of him. My advice would be how a jazz band leader should conduct: Start the tune and then get the hell out of the way." The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra sees merit in this, too.

If you're going to rename Orchestra Hall (please don't), how about Neville Marriner Hall? He was respected by all.

Ted Unseth, Minneapolis

Another person wrote:

Every great conductor has his or her detractors. Who was the musician that Ted Unseth quoted? For crediblity site your sources. I am afraid that cellist Tony Ross would disagree with your opinion. The maestro's promotion of modern music made him unpopular with some, but there is no accounting for taste. Also, the St Paul Chamber can not be compared with a large symphony orchestra. Even they need a conductor at times especially for complex scores. A listener of Skrowaczewski for sixty years, I side with musical opinions from around the world that testify to his growing appeal going late into his life. I would recommend that you watch his You Tube concerts to understand that he knew exactly what results to seek from the orchestry, conducting with great knowledge, clarity and persuasiveness. Let us look at the whole picture, Mr. Unseth.

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