Category: music

“The thought of thousands of tiny, oily hands rubbing away for 70 minutes on the velvet upholstery and pristine gilded walls of the opera house?”

“Lincoln Center and the New York Philharmonic are planning a radical re-envisioning of Avery Fisher Hall that will require the orchestra to relocate for two seasons and aims to redefine what it means to be a concert hall … Rather than proceed with a previous redesign plan, which has been stalled for years, officials said they would solicit new architectural proposals to overhaul the building.”

“Evidence indicates that there may have been agreements on sales territories and prices for Steinway pianos, the Swiss Competition Commission said in an e-mailed statement today. Imports of pianos from neighboring countries may have been impeded or prevented, the watchdog said.”

Saying it was “a personal decision, … San Antonio Symphony President and CEO Jack Fishman has resigned from the organization,” effective immediately. The orchestra’s board chairman said Fishman’s resignation was unexpected.

“The ambitious plan is to survey 20th-century music and arts chronologically. Twelve intensive weekend programs throughout 2013 will aim to contextualize the music through talks, workshops and films.”

“Would the symphony orchestra be better off if it somehow could be sequestered from such outside concerns as politics and money – the greatest idealization of humanity cut off from humanity itself?”

“The musicians’ statement said that his removal ‘is key to resolving the current lockout.’ The strongly worded statement continued, ‘Henson is the major obstacle between the Musicians and the Board of Directors working out a new contract.'”

Robert Levine: “There are really only two possibilities. One is that the board essentially covered up the ‘internal reality of deficits in 2009 and 2010’ in order to make its financial condition look better to the state than it actually was. The other is that the deficits of 2011 and 2012 were equally phony in order to bolster the board’s case ‘to reset the business model’ … But either possibility means the board misled the public, the state, its donors, and its employees.”

“The Phil has seen attendance gains early in Dudamel’s tenure. Its tax returns document a 21% overall increase in ticket sales for orchestral performances in L.A. over his first two seasons — although he does not conduct every performance.”

“While regrettably there are fewer fans of contemporary music than sports of any kind in this country or probably anywhere else in the world, the Grawemeyer has also yet to be as widely an acknowledged accolade–even among new music aficionados–as other honors like the annual Pulitzer Prize.”