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Gergiev Wants To Conduct The LSO, Not Control It

Russian conductor Valery Gergiev will take the reins of the London Symphony Orchestra next January, and anticipation is building in Britain’s capital city. But what does Gergiev plan to do with his new toy? Well, for one thing, he plans to explore some of the Russian music that has fallen out of fashion since the collapse of the Soviet Union. But more importantly, he won’t “pretend to take the orchestra to other planets” and would hope “never to block a truly artistic statement” from any musician. Gergiev seems particularly sensitive to the burnout that some music directors face with the world’s great orchestras as a result of fundraising and gladhanding duties, and stresses that he wants his relationship with the LSO to be “purely musical.”

Salonen’s Speculation

Esa-Pekka Salonen has risen through the conducting ranks to become one of the world’s most desired podium commodities. So why is he talking as if he’d like to scale back the stick-waving and concentrate full-time on his composing? (Here’s a hint: wildcat strikes at the Opera de Paris have been known to make lots of folks contemplate a career change…)

Want Young Faces At Your Concerts? Try Making Them Fun (And Good)

To hear some classical music administrators tell it, you’d think that getting young people to a performance was a task worthy of Hercules and Sisyphus combined. But Washington National Opera doesn’t seem to be having any trouble. “The company’s sold-out performance of Gaetano Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore showed that it is about more than low-price tickets, though that certainly helps. It is about creating a social atmosphere and making sure the quality of the artistry is there.”

What Would A $1 Admission Charge Cost The Smithsonian?

Some in Congress have proposed that the Smithsonian raise funds by instituting a $1 admission charge for its historically free museums. The plan could raise $25 million a year, but that’s assuming that everyone who walked through the door last year would still have done so if it cost a buck. “All around there are all kinds of people who have deigned to come in: girls with Britney parts and translucent skin that fairly match the French portrait they just walked by, and old ladies with blue hair and jogging suits, and professorial-looking men with striped shirts and tan suit jackets. And quiet waterfalls and young women with red leather jackets and fading red hair. And teens in flip-flops and spaghetti straps.” Would they be here if it wasn’t free?

Philly Museums Ahead Of The Game In Rejecting Looted Art

It seems as if nearly every big museum in the U.S. has been sucked into the international debate over looted art and rightful ownership that has gripped the art world for more than a year now. But somehow, the Philadelphia Museum of Art has been spared – in fact, not a single Philadelphia museum has had any problems of the variety plaguing the Met, the Getty, and so many others. “Thanks to policies long in place that aggressively discourage trade in cultural booty, this region’s museums and academic institutions have turned their backs on the Indiana Joneses of the art and antiquities market and their dealer middlemen.”

His Name Is My Name, Too

We tend to think of book titles as one-shot deals – once you’ve used it, it’s yours. But in reality, there’s nothing prohibiting publishers from reusing old titles if it suits their purposes – just go look up “The Island” on your favorite online bookseller, and see how many hits you get. “Romance, mystery and other genre books are particularly likely to have recycled titles because of the vast numbers that are published and their brief lives in the public’s memory — meaning a name can be brought back within a few years.”

Turning On The Charm

It is a modern reality of running an arts organization that one must not only be a good administrator and competent executive, but also an expert gladhander whose very presence in a room causes rich sorts to open their checkbooks. The Royal Ontario Museum’s William Thorsell could be the prototype for such an executive, and his success at ROM has largely hinged on his seemingly effortless ability to charm supporters.

Six Canadian Labels Break From Industry

“Six leading independent record companies, including those representing Rush and Sarah McLachlan, have left the Canadian Recording Industry Association over a disagreement about radio content rules and grant programs for emerging artists.” Specifically, new government requirements on the amount of Canadian music required on the radio seem to have precipitated the split.

Two Quebec Luminaries Rethink Sovereignty, Cause Furor

Artists and celebrities frequently gather on the cutting edge of controversial issues, and in Quebec, that’s always meant a general consensus among the province’s artists in favor of gaining independence from Canada. “So when two of the province’s artistic luminaries questioned their sovereigntist faith this week, their remarks fell like a bombshell. Michel Tremblay, the world-acclaimed playwright whose works have helped capture Quebec’s soul, declared that he was no longer a separatist. It was as if the Pope were renouncing Catholicism. Mr. Tremblay’s words were front-page news. Then another light of the Quebec stage, Robert Lepage, enjoined that he, too, was ‘less convinced’ about independence.”