In her second season as musical director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Maestra Marin Alsop builds on the excitement generated last season with a commemoration to the life and works of her iconic musical mentor, Leonard Bernstein. In addition, she is committed to a diverse classical repertoire paired with the symphonies of legendary composer Gustav Mahler. Anxious to begin anew this month, Alsop happily refers to the whole season’s offerings — to orchestra, staff, audiences and community participation — as “building on the buzz.”
The New York Times noted last season that “Alsop has reinvigorated the orchestra, institutionally and artistically.” What does reinvigoration mean to you, and what role do you think you played in that reinvigoration?
An important part of that word is the “re” as it already implies inherent vigor. The [BSO] just needed someone to come in and connect the dots. I didn’t come up against that “cant-do” attitude. For me, the building block for this invigoration is that everyone is responsive and receptive. What I love about the [organization] is that the whole team — audience, orchestra [and] board — is on the same page, and you can only have reinvigoration when you have the right ingredients. Baltimore is the only city where I have given talks and the first question in a Q&A is “What can I do to help you?” It’s so lovely.
