“The marketing still shines: Gelb has transformed the Met’s public reputation, remaking a conservative bastion into an arena of chic spectacle. His notion of broadcasting opera to movie theatres has succeeded beyond the most optimistic projections … And Gelb continues to demonstrate good taste in nabbing productions from elsewhere. … As a maker of new shows, though, Gelb is struggling.”
Category: music
Seattle’s KING-FM To Switch To Non-Commercial Model
“Leaders of Seattle’s only all-classical music station said declining ad revenue, changes in the industry and the economy led to their decision to switch from the commercial-advertising model that has supported the station for decades. The changeover is slated for July 2011.”
Museum Exhibits Are Curated; Why Not Concerts Likewise?
“Classical music is often compared to a museum, and I’ve often said that the field should embrace the comparison rather than rejecting it. … [W]hy can’t the comparison extend to presentation? “
James Levine Is Out For Remainder Of BSO Season
The Boston Symphony Orchestra said “that Levine, 66, will be replaced in a series of concerts over the next three weeks that were to have been his final performances of the 2009-2010 [season]. Levine underwent surgery for a herniated disc last fall, forcing him to miss months at the BSO and the Metropolitan Opera, where he also serves as music director.”
Michael Gielen Wins €200K Ernst Von Siemens Music Prize
“German-born Gielen was director of Frankfurt Opera and general music director of the City of Frankfurt for 10 years from 1977, where he worked to transform music theatre traditions. … His commitment to contemporary and avant-garde styles was cemented during his tenure as chief conductor of South West German Radio from 1986-1999. “
How Was The London Philharmonic Swindled From Within?
“Unless [the LPO’s former general manager] comes up with some unforseen defence to an embezzlement charge, it would appear that the fraud was disguised by understating the orchestra’s costs and overstating its fundraising. … But the £666,000 question is whether there’s something about cultural organisations that makes them particularly prone to fraudsters.”
Vienna Phil Lets Its Female Concertmaster Keep Her Job
“Albena Danailova has been acting concertmaster since September 2008, making her the first woman ever in that position with the orchestra. The Bulgarian-born musician had been promoted from [the] first violin [section] – she was also the first woman ever to hold that job.” The notoriously tradition-bound orchestra only began admitting women to its ranks in the 1990s.
L.A.’s $32M ‘Ring’ Cycle – Where Does All That Money Go?
“The number ‘has been hung around our neck like a yoke,’ says Christopher Koelsch, L.A. Opera’s vice president of artistic planning. ‘We don’t get a review of the Ring that doesn’t talk about the cost.’ When The Times inquired about what goes into a $32-million production, Koelsch welcomed the chance to have the budget ‘demystified’.”
How On Earth Do We Find The Time For Opera?
Philip Kennicott: “You could go to Boston and back twice in the amount of time it takes to sit through the Ring cycle. And yet I don’t think of this as a particularly long time any more, at least not in the opera house. For some reason, in a world in which it’s hard to find thirty minutes for a hair cut or ten minutes to pay the electric bill, we always manage to find the hours for opera. Where does that time come from?”
A Violin In The Hospital For A CT Scan
“Trying to find out what gave the world’s greatest violin [sic]” – it’s the 1741 “Vieuxtemps” Guarneri del Gesù – “its unique voice, two modern violin-makers took the instrument to Northwestern Memorial Hospital this week for a thorough examination under a CT scanner.”