Though the romance between the 58-year-old American and the deaf British musician, who is 20 years his junior, is now over, Slatkin felt it could have been embarrassing as he would have been conducting his former lover.
There might have been barracking from the promenaders, the knowledgable regulars who stand in the pit arena of the Albert Hall.
Slatkin, apparently, used to call Glennie “Shortbread” (she comes from Scotland and has a thistle tattoo on her left shoulder), while her nickname for him was “Pie”.
Glennie, who first performed at the Proms as a soloist at 24, married the musician Greg Malcangi in 1993 but they divorced earlier this year.
After discussions with Nicholas Kenyon, director of the Proms, Slatkin has withdrawn from the Prom on August 19. He would have conducted his former lover in a concerto written for her by Chen Yi. Glennie will still perform.
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“It was Leonard’s decision to withdraw from the Prom and obviously we respect that, though we regret he will not be conducting,” said Kenyon.