From tux to Tigers jersey: DSO's maestro enthralled with Detroit as he finally settles in

It’s hard to pin down exactly when Jader Bignamini cemented his bond with Detroit.

For the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s music director, appointed in 2020, perhaps it was his emotional performance of Beethoven’s Third with a scaled-down ensemble at an audience-less Orchestra Hall, the finale to a grueling pandemic year. Or possibly it was an evening this spring, when he led a triumphant Beethoven’s Ninth with the full orchestra, a full chorus and a full house.

Or maybe it came last month, courtesy of a jumbotron and a few delirious seconds at Comerica Park.

Sporting a Detroit Tigers cap and jersey, visiting the ballpark for his first-ever major-league game, Bignamini was in a suite when the stadium cameras zeroed in.

The gregarious Italian conductor was at his feet, pumping his arms and grinning wide as his face appeared on the giant outfield screen in a massive welcome-to-Detroit moment.

Thirty months after being named to the prestigious DSO spot, Bignamini is at last getting a chance to get a feel for the city. After a pandemic-hobbled early tenure marked by quarantines and canceled dates, the Italian music director is belatedly experiencing what he wanted from the outset: “the love of feeling part of the community.”

A festive scene unfolded in the Comerica Park suite that night in mid-June, as DSO musicians, staffers and donors piled in for an all-American baseball night with the European newcomer. In his one-on-one interactions with the musicians, it was clear the DSO’s artistic leader commands respect while remaining lighthearted and approachable.

“I like to have a very good, close connection with all of them,” he said.

A wide-eyed whirlwind had accompanied Bignamini’s introduction to Detroit in early 2020. Amid the frantic rush of media rounds, the 43-year-old was the first to acknowledge his English was far from perfect.

While he has certainly improved on that front — he’s comfortable and increasingly fluent these days — Bignamini also seems to have grown into his leadership role. There’s a confident, decisive presence to go with the likable personality.

As the Tigers took on the White Sox below, musicians lauded the energy, fun and camaraderie Bignamini has brought to Orchestra Hall. Their enthusiasm reaffirmed a truth that has set in around the institution: Everybody loves Jader.

The admiration is mutual.

“There’s a very particular atmosphere here in Detroit,” Bignamini said. “Your love for life is strong. Onstage with the orchestra, it’s the same — just smiling, smiling, smiling.”

Ahead of the Tigers’ game that steamy June evening, Bignamini dropped by the team’s dugout. He promptly hit it off with catcher Eric Haase, the Westland native who came home to the squad in 2020. Overhead, the stadium PA pumped out Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours,” a little dose of Motown fortuitously punctuating a Motor City moment.

As they chatted, Haase revealed he had married into a family of Italian descent — indeed, his wife’s aunt is a classical violinist working in Europe. The catcher vowed to make his way soon to Orchestra Hall to watch Bignamini at work.

The DSO maestro upped the invitation: How about grabbing dinner at his new favorite Detroit restaurant, the contemporary Italian joint SheWolf? Bignamini has also become fond of Slows BBQ and Grey Ghost.

Haase was all about it.

“If you say it’s good, I trust you,” the catcher replied. “I always trust Italians with food.”

Bignamini’s jersey for the evening, gifted to him by a DSO executive, bore the No. 18 — denoting his status as the 18th maestro in the orchestra’s history. It’s a legacy that dates to 1887, seven years before the Tigers’ founding.

"I'm the new player," Bignamini cracked when he arrived at the ballpark in his Tigers regalia. "A very bad new player."

When he was appointed in January 2020 as successor to Leonard Slatkin, he was primed to hit the ground running. The Italian conductor, flush with a six-season contract, was teeming with ideas, brimming with energy, and ready to get acquainted with the city that had bet on him.

Though he’d not previously held a music director gig, he was a rising star — a well-traveled clarinetist with an opera background who made his mark guest-conducting orchestras across Europe and North America. With big artistic visions and personal charm, Bignamini had already won hearts behind the scenes. For DSO executives, their adventurous choice was quickly paying off.

But within weeks, the global pandemic intervened.

In those early months, Bignamini put on a good face, working with his orchestra remotely and popping up on screen for the DSO’s virtual events. But it was a difficult time. For nearly two years, every trip to Detroit for a concert or other DSO business meant a mandatory two-week quarantine.

“It was so hard,” he said. “Just so hard.”

Things have mostly settled now, and audiences are back. Last month, Bignamini wrapped his first complete season as the DSO’s maestro. While still based in Italy for much of the year, at home with his wife and two teenage children, he's finally spending significant time here.

“I love it to death,” he said. “The people in Detroit — you’re so strong with a positive attitude, always ready to work hard but smiling. It’s sort of like my orchestra. They want to work so hard and arrive at the highest level possible, but always with a positive attitude. I love this about the people.”

Bignamini has emphasized that his leadership is open-ended: He seeks ideas from his players, listens to their opinions, wants to grasp their responses to a piece of music. Problem-solving is a group effort.

That rapport with musicians was obvious during the night at the ballpark.

“They have to understand we are all in the same team. Of course, I’m the leader, but I don’t want to be an old-style maestro — a Toscanini or something like that,” he said. “Because I think it’s better to motivate them by involving everyone in a lot of different activities, to live together, to share some ideas.”

The Tigers rolled out the red carpet for Bignamini. He got a first-class tour of the ballpark, including a pregame batting practice where he watched soaring baseballs with an emphatic “Wow!”

Would he be interested in throwing out a ceremonial first pitch? Bignamini, attending the first full baseball game of his life, worked his face into a mock frown.

“Next time, I’ll practice first,” he joked.

The maestro made his way through Comerica Park’s noisy, bustling concourse, checked out statues of Al Kaline and other Tiger greats and posed for photos with mascot Paws and the giant tiger out front.

Someone directed his attention to the outfield sign labeled "Miggy Milestones" — which on this day stood at 505 home runs and 3,041 hits.

"You're like our Miguel Cabrera," a DSO executive told him.

Bignamini asked an official how many fans the stadium could hold. More than 41,000, came the answer. He grinned. The entire populace of Crema, his northern Italian town birthplace, could fit inside Comerica Park with seats to spare.

Bignamini went on to spend his boyhood in nearby Cremona, a city just double the size but renowned for its musical history, including a rich opera tradition and the origins of Stradivarius violins.

At the Tigers game, the conductor played down his own sports roots. But a friend revealed Bignamini was in fact a talented youth soccer player with professional possibilities before he embraced a life in music.

The maestro is excited about the DSO's upcoming season, which launches Sept. 30. He'll conduct half of the season's 20 classical weeks, particularly relishing the challenge of Mahler’s Second Symphony (“Resurrection”) in November.

"We have an incredible orchestra, such great musicians, and they deserve to play big repertoire," he said.

It's part of an ongoing programming vision with an eye to diversity, showcasing works by women and composers of color. Eighteen such pieces are billed for 2022-23, alongside the traditional classical stock, pops concerts and neighborhood events.

Bignamini is also geared up for a busy weekend at Michigan's Interlochen Arts Camp, where he'll conduct the DSO on July 22 before directing the orchestra's players alongside a youth ensemble.

Bignamini’s taste of Detroit-style Americana happened to land on Flag Day. At Comerica Park, he stood near home plate to watch as several dozen immigrants were sworn in as U.S. citizens in an on-field naturalization ceremony.

“Hang on to the good parts of your heritage, and share them with your neighbors,” said the federal judge who presided.

Later that night, Bignamini described the scene as touching. For an Italian, he said, it was a glimpse into a distinctive sort of American pride.

He said he's thrilled to be immersed in it in Detroit.

“The community needs the orchestra,” he said. “And the orchestra needs the community.”

Contact Detroit Free Press music writer Brian McCollum: 313-223-4450 or bmccollum@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: From tux to Tigers jersey: The DSO's new maestro is loving Detroit