“The situation is rather complicated because Maestro himself is not yet in Wrocław…” read the email. The wheels had just come off an interview we’d already spent 10 Polskibus hours (equivalent to around 100 earth-hours) traveling to. “Maestro,” first name Krzysztof, last name Penderecki, written as if there was and could only ever be one. No longer the maestro, but the transcendent figure of classical music “excellence”—always maestro, never maestra—pervading over the orchestra like an ominous musical Cheshire cat, appearing and disappearing at will.
The Maestro Will See You Now
The conductor’s horrific honorific
