Seattle Symphony music director Gerard Schwarz has always been a master of public relations, and his two decades in the Pacific Northwest can attest to his staying power. But this has been a year in which Schwarz’s abilities as a conductor and leader have come under fire: he was all but dismissed from the directorship of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic last month, and at least one prominent critic has suggested that his recently-ended 17-year tenure at the helm of New York’s Mostly Mozart festival was tired and unimaginative. Still, Schwarz remains the face of classical music in Seattle, and so far, says Melinda Bargreen, he has weathered every storm with aplomb.