” The key witness in the tax fraud case against philanthropist Herbert Axelrod pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge yesterday as part of a plea bargain with federal prosecutors. Gary Hersch, a former employee of Axelrod, admitted in federal court in Trenton that he conspired to defraud the Internal Revenue Service by hiding $775,000 in a Swiss bank account… Axelrod gained notoriety after he sold a collection of rare stringed instruments to the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra in 2003 for a fraction of what he said they were worth. That sale came under the scrutiny of federal authorities because of allegations that Axelrod had inflated the instruments’ value as part of a tax scheme.”
Tag: 02.04.05
Dutoit Reups In Philly
Charles Dutoit has signed a contract extension which will keep him in front of the Philadelphia Orchestra as summer music director through 2008. The orchestra spends most of its summer at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in upstate New York, where Dutoit has led them since 1990.
You Mean Classical Music Can Be Marketed? Who Knew?
Say what you will about Charlotte Church or Vanessa Mae and the crossover dreck they peddle, there can be no question that such artists are popular, largely because the full marketing strength of major record companies are four square behind them. The days when classical music was important enough to sell itself are long over, and after years of bemoaning that fact while doing nothing about it, “classical music is using the tools of the pop industry to raise its profile. The old criteria for judging music and interpreter, based on informed opinion and a gradual evolution of talent, have lost ground. What counts now is sales volume.”
An Old-School Conductor Gets His Due
Since leaving the Cleveland Orchestra two years ago, Christoph von Dohnanyi has been “enjoying the kind of respectful attention the classical music world likes to bestow on elder statesmen of the baton… There aren’t many maestros of his pedigree around anymore… Dohnanyi knows it and doesn’t hesitate to speak of himself as a living link to the Austro-German performance tradition.” His demanding style and uncompromising work ethic have led him to clash with many top American orchestras, which are not fond of direct criticism, but as his career enters its final years, Dohnanyi increasingly seems deserving of a reputation as one of the great conductors of the last century.
The National Takes On Politics (For Real Buzz)
Nicholas Hytner’s new season for the National Theatre in London is full of controversial issues. “What we are finding is that when we do plays about politics the place is really buzzing. We are plugged into and responding to the world we are part of, and making great entertainment, as well as provocative debate and artistic insight. Theatre is now back where we are sniffing things out as they happen.”
What Happened To Design At MoMA?
Nicolai Ourousoff laments the place of design in the new Museum of Modern Art. “Whether because of a loss of imagination or the distraction of a high-profile $858 million building project, the department was already losing momentum before the museum closed for renovation five years ago. The reopening of the architecture and design galleries was an opportunity to reclaim, even trumpet, the museum’s role in shaping the conversation about architecture. Instead, the department has limited itself to passively documenting current architectural trends.”
MoMA And The Corporate Art
The Museum of Modern Art presnts a show of art donated to the museum by corporations. Roberta Smith isn’t impressed. “Not a good sign, you might say. It certainly deflates the heightened commitment to cutting-edge art that the Modern so emphatically telegraphed with its new design and distribution of display space.” This is a stopgap show thrown together without a soul. “With the majority of the art dating from the late 1970’s to the early 90’s, the show feels redundant and familiar, as if it were all purchased inside a few square blocks of SoHo during the last art boom.”
Lloyd Webber: Music Is Healthy
Julian Lloyd Webber takes exception to doom-and-gloom stories about the health of classical music. “The trouble with polemics on this scale is that they raise more questions than answers. But are things really that bad? The answer depends on your view of classical music. If you think it should remain a fossilised art that never changes its methods of dissemination or presentation, the answer is yes. If, on the other hand, you believe – as I do – that classical music is a living, vibrant art that evolves alongside society, the answer is no.”