Saturday (9/3) on Bloomberg.com, Patrick Cole writes, “Artworks by Donald Judd and Ed Ruscha decorated the house, and Frank Gehry, John Williams and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa were among those at the dinner table. The guest of honor even got to ride the host’s Segway scooter. When the Los Angeles Philharmonic sought to lure Gustavo Dudamel, it turned to its board chairman, the social-networking pioneer David Bohnett, who opened his home to the Venezuela-born conductor. … After Dudamel signed on to succeed Finnish conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen in 2009 as the orchestra’s music director, Bohnett helped persuade him to extend his 5-year contract through the 2018-19 season. … A philanthropist who made his fortune selling Geocities.com to Yahoo! Inc. in 1999 for $3.6 billion, Bohnett has become a prime booster for one of the most admired and richly funded orchestras in the U.S. He himself gives $250,000 a year to the symphony and contributed $1 million to its capital campaign. … Bohnett developed a tight bond with Dudamel, traveling with the conductor and the orchestra to every city on their last European tour. ‘David invests where he believes he can provide help,’ Deborah Borda, the Philharmonic’s president and chief executive officer, said by phone. ‘He invests himself emotionally, and he’s been a partner for Gustavo.’ ”
Posted September 7, 2011
