Tough Act to Follow

How do you replace a swinging conductor who wears a Beatle hairdo and wows the crowds with his lithe podium acrobatics? If the man is Seiji Ozawa, the answer is, not easily. For the past three years he has led both the Boston and San Francisco symphony orchestras, but will give up the latter next season. Last week San Francisco named his successor. He is Holland's Edo de Waart, 34, the orchestra's current principal guest conductor and, since 1967, conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic. Like Ozawa, De Waart has charm, good looks and lots of hair. He also has the reputation of a solid all-round conductor whose Bartok is as educated as his Mozart. De Waart takes over in the fall of 1977 and will give the San Francisco more of his time than Ozawa does currently--13 or 14 weeks out of a 24-week season. That reflects his belief that both orchestra and conductor should spend more time in their own backyard. Says De Waart: "The San Francisco Symphony should identify with this city."

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