April 27, 2012  |
| | | Thought of the Day | | There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats.
--Albert Schweitzer
|
| Quote of the Week | | Pay no attention to what the critics say; no statue has ever been erected to a critic. --Jean Sibelios
|
| | UK Culture Secretary Fights to Save Job | | 
LONDON -- UK culture secretary Jeremy Hunt is fighting to save his job following revelations that his department apparently had too close a relationship with Robert Murdoch's News Corp. during negotiations for a $12 billion takeover of satellite broadcaster BskyB. The resignation of his special adviser Ada Smith has done little to dampen demands that Hunt should step down. The revelations were made during an appearance by James Murdoch at the ongoing Leveson Inquiry into the culture, ethics and practice of the press. Hunt has insisted that he acted with propriety, and on Wednesday made a statement to the House of Commons to that effect. David Cameron, the prime minister, said on Wednesday that he has complete confidence in his culture secretary. Traditionally in British politics, that expression of confidence is a clear indication that the minister is on the way out. MA.com subscribers read the full story |
Louis Langrée to Cincinnati Symphony | French conductor Louis Langrée's star has been rising in the U.S. ever since he became music director of Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival, in 2002. And now he will have his own, year-round position Stateside, having been named music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, effective in 2013-14. Between now and then he will act as music director designate. His appointment caps a 27-month search for a successor to Paavo Järvi, who left at the end of last season. Langrée conducted the CSO for the first time only in March of 2011; the chemistry on both sides of the footlights was apparently quite potent. That he received a glowing review from the Cincinnati Enquirer probably didn't hurt. Search Committee Chair Ann Santen noted how the CSO musicians "can do anything a conductor asks them. From the first rehearsal it was clear that Louis Langrée knew how to ask it, and the players responded." MA.com subscribers read the full story |
| | | At Last, Peace in Louisville | |
It has been 20 months since the Louisville Orchestra musicians and their on-again, off-again employer have been squabbling over a contract agreement, and nearly one year since the players performed together as the Louisville Orchestra. Yesterday, however, the two sides announced a compromise of sorts, whereby the next season would be reduced from 37 to 30 weeks in exchange for keeping the number of players (up to 57) and the weekly salary ($925) the same as in the past.
For one year. During that year, the orchestra's operating model and finances will undergo a thorough examination and, if necessary, revision to ensure a sustainable future. Any issues the two sides don't agree upon in negotiations for a multiyear contract will be settled under binding arbitration. The season begins September 8, 2012. MA.com subscribers read the full story |
Cologne Opera GD Resigns in Protest | | 
BERLIN --- Further to the ongoing budget crisis and stormy cultural politics, Cologne Opera Intendant Uwe Eric Laufenberg has announced that he will resign at the end of the current season. His contract was to expire in 2016. "The opera is a fatally sick patient," he told the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger. Laufenberg, 51, has been demanding that the city increase the opera's budget by two million euros. Earlier this month, the company was forced to delay announcing plans for the 2012-13 season as many artists' contracts lay unsigned. The only sure production thus far is Verdi's La forza del destino on Sept. 16. Despite financial troubles, Opera Cologne has enjoyed a boost in international attention under Laufenberg's three-year tenure. MA.com subscribers read the full story |
| | The Los Angeles Opera has promoted its Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Christopher Koelsch to the position of president and CEO, starting next September. He succeeds Stephen Rountree, who has been in the post on an interim basis since 2008, simultaneously serving as president and CEO of the Music Center of Los Angeles County. Koelsch, 41, first came to the company from Opera Pacific in 1997 and has been involved with all matters artistic, educational, and operational ever since. LA Opera, whose general director is Plácido Domingo and whose music director is James Conlon, has an annual operating budget of $37 million; it is in the process of paying back a $14-million emergency loan from the county, received in 2009. Marc I. Stern, the company's chairman, explained the reasons for Koelsch's promotion when he said, "He has been in the trenches leading our recovery efforts and has done an amazing job." MA.com subscribers read the full story |
| Sneaking Artists Into The US: How Lucky Do You Feel? |  To submit a question to FTM Arts Law write to LawAndDisorder@MusicalAmerica.com Dear FTM Arts Law: I represent a British group that frequently tours the US. In the past, the guys have just entered as visitors under the ESTA/Visa Waiver Scheme. So far, we have never had any problems, but I was recently told this was wrong. Is this true? Couldn't they just say they are not performing? Read the full story
|
| The Most Desirable Photos, From a Presenter's Perspective | |  For the answers to the question below, click here. Dear Edna: I am a violinist who will be graduating with an Artist Diploma from an American conservatory next month. I am fortunate in having won a few competitions which gave me performing opportunities and I have additional ones scheduled in the coming year. I have been advised to invest time and money in getting high quality photos, as well as creating a website. Can you please tell me what I should keep in mind when I prepare for a photo shoot. Am I aiming for portraits or performance photos? Should I be dressed formally or casually? How many photos should I hope to walk away with at the end of the session? Thank you.-Catherine D. Read the full story |
| | | 
From "Why I Left Muncie" by Sedgwick Clark The media were consumed last week by the death at age 82 of Dick Clark (need I say, no relation?). I was never a fan of American Bandstand. I came home from school when I was a tot and twisted to Hollywood on Indianapolis TV's late-afternoon Frances Farmer Presents instead of Chubby Checker. There, in her world-weary voice, the aging actress introduced the film of the afternoon with anecdotes about the stars. I was too young to appreciate what she had to say, but I recall that her show was interlarded with so many commercials that often I didn't reach the denouement before my mother called me to dinner. It was many years before I learned who got the girl in Casablanca. Anyway, while America was mourning, I had less charitable thoughts about Dick Clark. In 1972 the New York Daily News ran a short interview with him saying that classical music would die because no one wanted to listen to it. "What a moron," I thought, and skewered the piece on the wall of my office at Philips and Mercury Records. |
| Latest Roster Changes |  Musical America is helping presenters keep up with its advertisers! Managers whose rosters appear in the 2012 edition of the Musical America Directory should write to listings@musicalamerica.com with the names of artists and attractions that have been either added or removed, and please be sure to indicate "added" or "removed." Danrich, Adrienne, soprano, added, Scott Levine Management Fleck, Béla, banjo, added, Opus 3 Artists (for classical projects)
|
| | | | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment