Barenboim in New York?

Alex Ross discusses the discussion of the next director of the New York Philharmonic. As of now, it seems Riccardo Muti is the front-runner. I might take some hope from this bit, right at the end,

Or, if the flirtation with Muti once again fizzles out, there's always the "interim conductor" option, at which point Daniel Barenboim might enter the picture.

I'm not a New Yorker (and Chicago is my band, so excuse me for expressing support for Barenboim), but I can't imagine anyone who could do more good for the NYPO than Daniel Barenboim. He is steeped in the Germanic (really, Mitteleuropa) tradition, and he does a splendid job with that work. As someone lucky enough to catch his Mahler right at the end of his tenure, and as someone who has followed his Mahler cycle on Teldec/Warner Classics, I can say that he has his chops.

Also, the man knows his Bruckner, Beethoven, and Wagner. With those four, assuming he can navigate Mozart, is there any reason to not pay whatever he wants? Letting him hide out on the Unter den Linden, beautiful as it is, would be a crime given his collaboration with the CSO. There, that's my fanboy moment.

Of course, Pierre Boulez might be up for another crack at New York. Maybe the matinée crowd is ready for Maderna and Berio. I hear they're doing wonderful things at Lincoln Center these days. Why not Carnegie?