Ever since philanthropist Herbert Axelrod was indicted for tax fraud, his sale of two dozen valuable violins to the New Jersey Symphony has been spoken of mainly in terms of the scandal surrounding the seller. But questions of authenticity aside, the NJSO musicians are thrilled with the chance to play on some of the finest instruments ever crafted, and while they are certainly unhappy to be at the center of a controversy they had no part in creating, many are still amazed that “people who could never hope to play such instruments now have regular access to them. Superstar violinists, of course, can buy, or are lent, famous instruments, but they are out of reach for back-benchers in a midsize orchestra.”
Category: music
News Flash: Diplomas Don’t Win Auditions
New York’s Juilliard School might be the world’s most famous training ground for young musicians. But even armed with a Juilliard degree, the highly competitive world of classical music is a tough place to make a living, and no one on an orchestral audition committee will give a rip where you went to school if you can’t nail that fast run in Don Juan four times in a row. A look at Juilliard’s graduating class of 1994 reveals that, ten years removed from the school’s rigorous teachings, some have gone on to great success as soloists or orchestral musicians; others have become teachers themselves; and still others have given up the dream of playing music professionally altogether.
Studying Australia’s Musical Life (Where’s The Money?)
“Do reviews of the arts always lead to dollars? The music community must be asking itself this, as no fewer than three separate federal studies have been taking place into Australia’s musical life this year.”
Rigoletto House For Sale
The house where Verdi wrote Rigoletto is up for sale. “The asking price for the house in Busseto, near Parma, is about $8 million (Cdn). Whoever buys it will probably have to spend $4 million more to renovate it.”
A Failed Chamber Music Org – 3 Cents On The Dollar
Two years after it suddenly shut down operations, the Washington Chamber Society has settled claims of creditors. “And so a listener who put down more than $500 for two subscriptions to the announced 2002-03 season ended up receiving a refund check for $19.07 — more than two years later.”
The Pavarotti Legacy?
“How good was Pavarotti? Will he be remembered a century from now, as we remember such indisputably great tenors of the past as Enrico Caruso, Beniamino Gigli, or Lauritz Melchior? Possibly, but not necessarily. To be sure, he was in his prime a remarkable singer, without doubt the foremost lyric tenor of his day, and well beyond his fiftieth year his luminous, pointed tone and crisp diction retained much of their quality. On the other hand, Pavarotti was never a distinctive interpreter, and his acting was at best barely competent. Instead, he cultivated an expansive, outgoing manner that charmed his listeners at the expense of the dramatic credibility of the operas in which he appeared.”
The Musicians’ Life: Poverty
“We don’t often hear about the poverty of musicians. There is a pop culture myth, particularly prevalent among the young, that music makes you rich, fame equals fortune, and that anyone who dwells in the magic realm of television, or has their visage in the pages of a magazine, must be reaping abundant financial reward. But only one in 10 records makes a profit, and even fewer of those make enough money to support the livelihoods of those involved.”
Protests Rise Against Homophobic Jamaican Dancehall Stars
Jamaican dancehall music stars are flamboyantly homophobic in their music. “People have known about and protested against dancehall artists’ homophobic lyrics since the early 1990s, when Buju Banton had a Jamaican hit with Boom Bye-Bye, a song advocating shooting and burning homosexuals. In the past six months, however, the protest against homophobic dancehall has gained momentum. No one seems entirely sure why the campaign of letter-writing and event picketing, headed by UK pressure group OutRage!, has suddenly started yielding results, but you can only gawp at its new-found effectiveness.”
St. Louis Symphony Managers Seeking Musician Pay Cuts
There’s still one U.S. orchestra without a new musicians’ contract, and talks seem to have bogged down at the St. Louis Symphony, where the current agreement runs out on January 2. “Management has made one financial proposal to the union. That suffered an ‘overwhelming rejection’ at a union meeting on Nov. 8. Management, according to the memo, has refused to make a counterproposal to the union’s last offer… Management sources, speaking anonymously, have said that given the Symphony’s commitment to a balanced budget, it cannot commit to higher salaries without a larger income. Management’s current proposal would reduce musician salaries, reportedly to $61,000 a year.”
Fiscal Turnaround In Detroit
The Detroit Symphony has rebounded from three straight years of deficits and posted a small surplus for the 2003-04 season. “Some factors leading to the positive financial news are unique and unlikely to be repeated. The October 2003 opening of the orchestra’s new home, the Max M. Fisher Music Center, was a once-in-a-lifetime event; the gala that marked the opening netted $1 million.” The persistent deficits led the DSO to replace its executive director last winter, and the orchestra’s musicians agreed to reopen their contract early and make significant concessions to stem the tide of red ink.