Category: music

James Levine’s job at the Metropolitan Opera will change as he head to Boston. “What is the prognosis now that he is about to take over the music directorship of the Boston Symphony Orchestra? His title at the Met is being notched down from artistic director to music director, an acknowledgment that he will be away in Boston too much (12 weeks of concerts in addition to tours) to maintain the involvement he has had at the Met for more than 30 years. At the least, he will be less present to press for his vision with the executive committee of the board.”

Symphony Silicon Valley is two years old. This fall the orchestra moves into a newly renovated theatre in San Jose, armed with high hopes the building will add excitement. “The new orchestra is fighting to establish a persona and an audience, trying to stay within budget and to keep its musicians working. With so few performances its first two seasons, it’s stressful. ‘It feels like we’re starting from scratch each time’.”

Author Ian Rankin unleashed an attack on the Scottish government for leaving the fate of Scottish Opera in question. “The Inspector Rebus novelist warned that the Executive had failed to answer crucial questions over the future of the beleaguered company, which this week faces the prospect of being forced to ‘downsize’ in order to meet ministerial budgets.”

So Australia is conducting a review of the state of its orchestras. “The reality is that orchestras in Australia are in the same position as many overseas – they are living on borrowed time. Lacklustre management, poor commercial focus and lack of ground-breaking ideas are all found in varying degrees.”

“Many countries around the world, including the US, censor music in various ways, according to the Free Muse organisation, which advocates free musical expression around the globe. Censorship is particularly severe in a number of developing countries, where music can have a big impact on those who hear it, they say.”

Richard Kessler is stepping down as director of the American Music Center. “Kessler is widely credited within the industry for refocusing the AMC at a crucial time in its history and securing the financial foundation needed to support the organization’s mission. When he came on board in 1997, the AMC employed only three staff members and was faced with a record deficit. His first budget was approximately $1 million; this grew to almost $5 million in 2002. This year, following six straight years of surplus budgets, the Center has a staff of 14, a $300,000-plus cash reserve, and an endowment of over $3 million.”

Classical music’s audience needs to get younger, and fast, writes John Bennett, and getting the educated youth into the concert hall will require a controversial tactic. “Classical music has never been, nor should it be, a mass culture staple, but that doesn’t mean its audience has to be doddering. High art has always been created to be enjoyed by those who are educated to appreciate it… So if the classical music establishment wants to lure young listeners, the real task is to reassert the absolute value of the Western art music tradition. In other words, classical music leaders must challenge today’s entrenched post-counterculture relativism that sees a Schubert symphony as the equivalent of the latest White Stripes album.”

The troubled Mountain Laurel Center for the Performing Arts in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountain region has hired its third CEO since opening last August. Richard Bryant is tasked with cleaning up the vast mess left by his two predecessors: the center opened to great fanfare and the promise of becoming the summer home of the Pittsburgh Symphony, then went belly up midway through its first year. State legislators are considering a bailout package for the project.

As government researchers prepare to mount a major review of Australia’s symphony orchestras, many in the industry have begun anew the old debate of whether such massive ensembles are worth the subsidy they require to stay afloat. The Sydney Symphony may have found a way out of the vicious cycle of deficit – through a combination of layoffs, cutbacks, and musician agreements to perform in hospitals, sports arenas, and commercial advertisements – but for many smaller ensembles without the benefit of Sydney’s tourism draw, there seem to be very few answers.

The classical music world has always liked to consider itself above such plebeian niceties as marketing or salesmanship. Still, artists like Lara St. John, who appeared on her first album cover wearing nothing but a violin held across her bare chest, force everyone to confront the fact that sex and physical beauty sell albums, whether you’re hawking Bach or rock. But for St. John, her lithe and alluring frame has been a double-edged sword. Yes, it got her noticed, but classical snobs have a habit of dumping everything that looks pretty into the much-derided “crossover” bin, and for St. John, a serious artist who plays serious music, that creates a distressing image gap.