{"id":476,"date":"2018-09-29T06:00:47","date_gmt":"2018-09-29T13:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/?p=999920664"},"modified":"2018-09-29T06:00:47","modified_gmt":"2018-09-29T13:00:47","slug":"long-beach-symphony-music-director-eckart-preu-2018-2019-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/art\/long-beach-symphony-music-director-eckart-preu-2018-2019-season","title":{"rendered":"Meet Long Beach Symphony’s risk-taking music director"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Eckart Preu conducting the Long Beach Symphony during his first season as music director. Photo by Caught in the Moment<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Eckart Preu auditioned to be the Long Beach Symphony\u2019s new music director a few years ago, there was mutual respect in the room.<\/p>\n

The German-born conductor and maestro had already spent well over a decade establishing himself in the American classical music scene after a career performing and leading symphonies across Europe. And Preu knew that the Long Beach Symphony, which was founded in 1935, was a cultural institution on the rise, with the potential to be a truly elite orchestra.<\/p>\n

But what ended up making Preu a perfect fit for the Long Beach Symphony wasn\u2019t only his international reputation or his award-winning conductor skills. It was his willingness to take risks and present unconventional works while allowing his performers to put their own personal spin on arrangements.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/lbpost.com\/news\/after-two-years-the-search-is-over-long-beach-symphony-selects-new-music-director\/<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery orchestra has its own aesthetic in its sound, its style, and how it reacts to [the conductor],\u201d says Preu, who starts his second season<\/a> with the symphony this fall. \u201cThere are plenty of orchestras that play really well and very clean, but you don\u2019t feel anything because there\u2019s no personality. In Long Beach, the musicians bring the personality to the music, and that makes it very special because then it\u2019s not just music, it\u2019s our <\/i>music.\u201d<\/p>\n

Largely comprised of lifelong musicians who have made names for themselves as go-to Hollywood session musicians, Preu quickly discovered that his new orchestra didn\u2019t need any hand-holding, but just a little fine tuning \u2014 especially when it came to veering away from the more traditional takes on classical arrangements.<\/p>\n

The 2018-2019 season<\/a>, which begins Sept. 29, reflects Preu\u2019s adventurous influence, avoiding the safe and traditional route in favor of showcasing the progressiveness and cultural diversity Long Beach is known for.<\/p>\n