Category: News Briefs

“The masterpieces are coming thick and fast for Isabelle Faust,” writes David Patrick Stearns in Thursday’s (5/28) Philadelphia Inquirer. “Seemingly out of nowhere (at least for American concertgoers), the 36-year-old Berlin-based violinist is scaling one repertoire peak after another in visible places. Her acclaimed Beethoven Violin Concerto recording trumped most comparisons, she has further recording dates with the three Bs (Bach, Beethoven and Brahms), and she is making her Philadelphia Orchestra debut this week playing the mighty Brahms Violin Concerto. … Faust’s historical research is exhaustive. She hunts fresh cadenzas as if they were big game. But complexity isn’t her friend. ‘I feel more moved by things if they’re as naked as possible, as innocent as possible. If I put a lot of varnish on [a piece of music], it doesn’t move me anymore. That’s my way of being the most intimate and the most true,’ she said Wednesday at the Kimmel Center, waiting to rehearse the program she’ll play four times, tonight through Sunday.” The Curtis Institute-educated Faust made her U.S. debut in 1995 with the Utah Symphony, but has built most of her career in Europe.

Posted May 28, 2009

In Thursday’s (5/28) Seattle Times, Nicole Tsong writes, “The Bellevue Philharmonic Orchestra’s 2008-2009 season has been marked by canceled concerts, a drop in donations and internal strife between management and musicians. … But in February, the orchestra’s executive director, who had been controversial among the musicians, gave notice after a year with the group. The orchestra announced an interim leader last week. And earlier this month, the orchestra got a much-needed financial boost when the Bellevue City Council stepped in, voting to give the orchestra up to $35,000 to help fund the annual Fourth of July concert. … The orchestra and its board still face plenty of challenges. Dan Mayer, the interim executive director and also the managing director of the Kirkland Performing Arts Center [North of Bellevue], will plan next season with a budget that has been cut by $100,000, and with musicians who have agreed to play for not much more than minimum wage. The orchestra also must find a new conductor when Fusao Kajima’s contract is up this summer, hire a permanent executive director and regain the confidence of donors.”

Posted May 28, 2009

In Wednesday’s (5/27) Post and Courier (Charleston, South Carolina), Adam Parker reports, “The Gaillard Municipal Auditorium, Charleston’s largest performance venue and an essential stage for local arts groups and Spoleto Festival USA, will undergo extensive renovations beginning as early as 2011 if enough money can be raised to pay the hefty price tag. The project likely would cost more than $100 million, according to proposals submitted by David M. Schwarz Architects, a firm recognized for its work on civic and cultural projects. It would be spearheaded by the city and supported by Spoleto officials and others. Martha Rivers Ingram, chairwoman of Spoleto’s board, said a $20 million matching gift already has been committed.” In addition to her other charitable activities, Ingram is also chairman of the Nashville Symphony board. “Theoretically, the city could raise funds by selling bonds against future tax revenues generated as a result of urban improvement. … The auditorium has long been the subject of conversation among musicians and audiences concerned about its acoustical deficiencies, and many have complained about its drab physical appearance.”

Posted May 28, 2009

Photo: Nashville Symphyony Board Chair Martha Rivers Ingram at the League’s 2007 National Conference in Nashville.
Credit: Matthew H. Starling

In Wednesday’s (5/27) Plain Dealer, Zachary Lewis writes, “Oliver Knussen’s ‘Cleveland Pictures’ wasn’t on the program, but an air of anticipation still pervaded Severance Hall on Saturday as the Cleveland Orchestra courageously devoted an entire night to contemporary music. Knussen, the British composer whose long-awaited musical tribute to the Cleveland Museum of Art was [originally scheduled] to be premiered Saturday, followed through on only the second half of the plan, appearing as conductor for two premieres and performances of three other works. … One unmistakable bright spot was ‘Outblaze the Sky,’ a short work for large ensemble by Luke Bedford. … Along with Knussen, the biggest name on the program was Augusta Read Thomas. Representing her considerable oeuvre was ‘Helios Choros III,’ the finale of a triptych ballet about the Greek god who rides his chariot across the sky. In just 12 restlessly inventive minutes, Thomas and the orchestra took listeners on a fantastically evocative journey through a rugged rite to a serene sendoff into the heavens.” Also on the program were Julian Anderson’s Imagin’d Corners, Sean Shepherd’s Wanderlust, and, replacing Cleveland Pictures, Knussen’s Requiem—Songs for Sue.

Posted May 27, 2009

On Monday (5/25), Reuters’ Nigel Tutt reports, “Milan’s Gothic cathedral will hold its first rooftop classical music concerts this year, officials said on Monday. The Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo, the organization responsible since 1387 for overseeing the Duomo, said the five concerts will feature a 60-piece orchestra and choir performing about 50 meters (165 feet) above the ground. … ‘It is absolutely the first time in more than six centuries. When I was planning the concerts it was a surprise no one had ever done it (before),’ Gianni Baratta, the project’s artistic director, said after a news conference. The music for this year’s concerts from June 10 to July 15 will feature 19th century Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi. The 500 tickets for the first concert will go to guests of the Duomo, sponsors and the public, who can enter an online draw for free entry.” The cathedral’s roof has more than 8,000 square meters of space, much of it open to the public.

Posted May 27, 2009

In Wednesday’s (5/27) Guardian (London), Tom Service writes, “Celebrating his 50-year association with the London Symphony Orchestra, including 12 as principal conductor, Sir Colin Davis has done something pretty remarkable for the LSO. Putting his money where his mouth is, he’s pledged what a spokesperson called a ‘significant amount of money’ towards the orchestra’s endowment fund. His challenge for the LSO’s fans and audiences is to increase the fund by £1m. … Sir Colin’s idea makes good business sense. In an era in which British orchestras are going to find money squeezed from both the public purse and the private sector, having a sizeable endowment fund is exactly the kind of financial safety net that could prove essential in the future. And the Obama-style approach of going for small sums from as wide a range of people as possible, flyering them at concerts and setting up an online appeal, is a good way of creating a community of stakeholders for the orchestra. … If the scheme works to swell the LSO’s coffers, I can imagine every other British orchestra looking on with envy.”

Posted May 27, 2009

In Saturday’s (5/23) Grand Rapids Press (Michigan), Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk reports, “Arts and cultural organizations funded by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs are facing a mid-year funding cut of 3.74 percent. MCACA voted unanimously on Thursday to impose an across-the-board cut in funding for nearly all state-supported arts and cultural groups in the wake of a $286,000 reduction imposed earlier this month in the council’s current-year budget. … The funds that were cut in Thursday’s action are expected to be taken out of the July 15 installment due from Lansing, according to Mike Latvis, director of public policy for ArtServe Michigan, a nonprofit advocacy group for arts and culture. … The Grand Rapids Symphony received the area’s biggest grant. A 3.74 percent reduction in their $224,200 award would be $8,385. … MCACA’s cut was part of a $1.5 million reduction in funds for the state Department of History, Arts and Libraries, of which the arts council is a part. In September 2008, MCACA awarded a total of $7.9 million in grants to museums, theaters and symphony orchestras for the current fiscal year that began on Oct. 1.”

Posted May 27, 2009

In Wednesday’s (5/27) Charlotte Observer (North Carolina), Steven Brown reports, “A cheer went up from Charlotte Symphony players Tuesday when the orchestra’s board chair announced that Christopher Warren-Green will be their next leader. The British conductor’s No. 1 task will be to get the rest of Charlotte that excited. When Warren-Green takes over as the orchestra’s music director in September 2010, he’ll join a group that’s fighting now for survival. Several years of financial troubles became a crisis last week, when the Arts & Science Council announced it will cut more than $1million from the orchestra’s funding next season. Warren-Green, 53, had accepted the job and was vacationing in the Caribbean last week when orchestra President Jonathan Martin gave him the news about the ASC. It didn’t shake him, he said. Warren-Green says he’s ready for the challenges. … Eight conductors came to Charlotte as candidates to follow Christof Perick, who has led the orchestra since 2001. Perick will step down in May 2010. … Each candidate had strengths, said Calin Lupanu, the orchestra’s first-chair violinist, who served on the search committee. Warren-Green won out by not only being ‘a very seasoned musician,’ but also having the personality that the orchestra needs in its leader.”

Posted May 27, 2009

In Saturday’s (5/24) Euclid Sun Journal (Cleveland), Peter Chakerian writes, “Retired Cleveland Orchestra bass player and music instructor Harry Barnoff has seen a lot during his career, but nothing moves or pleases him more than the recent events surrounding one of his former students—a child cello prodigy named Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, Jr. Ayers’ journey is explored in the film ‘The Soloist,’ starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr. … Ayers’ journey as a musical genius en route to the Juilliard School of Music and beyond started here with Barnoff, who lives in Highland Heights. Some scenes in ‘The Soloist’ were also shot in Greater Cleveland. ‘Nathaniel had a lot of this innate talent and ability,’ Barnoff said. ‘He seemed destined for greatness. I had students who became doctors or lawyers; I was convinced Nathaniel would thrive in music because of his love and passion for it.’ … In the film, as in real life, Ayers (played by Foxx) is discovered by Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez (Downey, Jr.). Lopez wrote for the Times about the tribulations of the young lost soul he befriended. … Ayers remembered many things, including Barnoff’s phone number. He gave it to Lopez, who quickly reached out to the musician’s former instructor.”

Posted May 26, 200

Following a report last week that Charlotte’s Arts & Science Council had cut funding to the Charlotte Symphony from $1,947,424 to $900,000, with $750,000 of that contingent on the orchestra producing an acceptable restructuring plan by Aug. 31, Steven Brown reports in Tuesday’s (5/26) Charlotte Observer, “The Charlotte Symphony’s musicians are ‘shocked and outraged’ by the Arts & Science Council’s decision to slash the financially troubled orchestra’s funding, the Charlotte Symphony Players’ Association says in a letter to the ASC. … The players’ letter says that ‘we well understand the need for the Charlotte Symphony to address its serious financial problems and have a sound financial plan.… Unfortunately, the ASC’s “tough love” approach could kill the patient. No arts organization in the current economic environment could be expected to absorb a loss of such magnitude on such short notice and maintain the level of service that it provides to the community,’ the letter says. As part of last week’s decision, the ASC required the orchestra to produce a financial turnaround plan by Aug. 31. If the ASC doesn’t deem the plan workable, it will only give the orchestra $175,000 next season. The orchestra’s budget this year is $7.8 million. The group expects to end the season with a deficit of about $780,000.”

Posted May 26, 2009