The Philadelphians could read a HUGELY important lesson from the BSO's recent history (of which I am actually quite impressed, _despite_ my very vocal complaints about the programming), but I just wonder if they (or certain factions within the organization) are not too arrogant to do so. Right now, they're _still_ searching for a new music director (Dutoit is just a respectable stop-gap), and that's probably going to remain a challenge, considering how poorly those same "factions" treated Eschenbach.

(I don't believe that Venzago has even been considered -- they're looking for some young firebrand like Jurowski [or another Dudamel, even more likely], and they don't seem to be pursuing several other important candidates with anything even approaching what should be the deserved effort. They appear to be quite rudderless at the moment, but that will hopefully pass without the musicianship suffering too greatly...)

Alsop's arrival on the scene here has absolutely galvanized the organization (if Glicker did _anything_ good, even if by accident, then this choice is it!), and Meecham & Bronfein are obviously _very_ sympathetic (as well as obviously intelligent) executives.

(Though everyone knows that a 4-legged stool is even sturdier -- you just have to conceive of the fourth leg's identity and add it to the mix! Or, you could just consider everyone as being part of an anchored, rotating bar-stool, whose steel pole would require _tremendous_ effort to destroy. Oh, enough seat analogies already... ;^)

I had to sit down to read that. Thanks, as always. TIM