In Sunday’s (5/1) New York Times, Anthony Tommasini writes, “For many American orchestras, especially those in smaller cities with regional reputations, a concert at Carnegie Hall is only a dream. When such ensembles decide to take the financial risk of renting Carnegie Hall for a concert, their conductors often let their marketing departments talk them into playing it safe. … Spring for Music, a festival that makes its debut on Friday evening at Carnegie Hall and offers seven concerts over nine days, hopes to change this pattern. When the festival was announced in 2008, the organizers invited North American orchestras large and small to dream, to take chances, to make news. Those taking part, selected from 25 applicants, were chosen on the basis of the creativity and artistic merit of their proposed programs. … American ensembles should think a little less about how they play and a lot more about what they play and why they play it. This is not to suggest that the technical level of the playing does not matter. The general level of talent and technical skill in American orchestras is quite high over all, even in regional ensembles. But so much more is at stake.” Participating orchestras include the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, and Albany, Dallas, Oregon, and Toledo symphonies.
Posted May 3, 2011
