New York (AP) -- Her arms at her side against her glimmering, long black jacket and her blond hair pulled into a ponytail, Susanna Mälkki soaked in several minutes of applause after a thrilling Carnegie Hall debut. She had conducted the New York Philharmonic in a challenging program, perceived as a possible prelude to becoming the first woman music director of an orchestra that started in 1842.
“Of course, it’s always an honor to be mentioned in this kind of context,” she said during an interview with The Associated Press the day before the Jan. 6 performance. “It’s really, really fun to be with the orchestra. But the `l’actualité,′ as they say in French: This something that the orchestra will take their time. They will try out a lot of people.”
