May 25, 2012  |
| | | Thought of the Day | | Art is a means of human exchange, not an end.
--Modest Mussorgsky
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| Quote of the Week | | Arguably, no artist grows up: if he sheds the perceptions of childhood, he ceases being an artist. --Ned Rorem
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| | NY Philharmonic Concertmaster to Exit | | 
Longtime New York Philharmonic Concertmaster Glenn Dicterow will step down at the end of the 2013-14 season, primarily to take up a newly created position at the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music: the Robert Mann Chair in Strings and Chamber Music. Appointed concertmaster in 1980 by then music director Zubin Mehta, Dicterow has been a steadfast leader for the Philharmonic through four music directors -- Mehta, Kurt Masur, Lorin Maazel, and Alan Gilbert. He has long been a reassuring presence, especially when a guest conductor is on the podium. "Glenn is one of the all-time greatest concertmasters," said violinist Fiona Simon and oboist Sherry Sylar in a joint statement. "His musical integrity, phenomenal technique, and that warm, unmistakable 'Dicterow' sound have inspired us all over the years." He will be missed. MA.com subscribers read the full story |
Russian Cellist Fired from Beijing Symphony | Beijing Symphony Orchestra Principal Cellist Oleg Vedernikov, called by Shanghaiist.com "arguably the most famous Russian expat in China," has been fired for being exceptionally rude to a Chinese woman on a train last week. Apparently he put his feet up on the back of the seat in front of him and, when asked to remove them, refused, allegedly yelling profanities at the woman. A passenger recorded the incident and put the result on the Internet. The video went viral and Vedernikov was doomed. After the Chinese media picked up the story, he recorded an apology for the web, in Chinese. But it was too little, too late. A statement on the orchestra's website indicates that he was fired because his behavior had "severely harmed the reputation of the Orchestra." MA.com subscribers read the full story |
| | | Peter Gelb Silences Another Critical Voice, Then Backs Down |  On Tuesday morning, The New York Times reported -- on Page A-1 -- that Opera News would no longer be reviewing the Metropolitan Opera. Met General Manager Peter Gelb had argued that the Metropolitan Opera Guild's purpose was to support the Met and that Opera News, a publication of the Guild, had been unsupportive in running occasional negative reviews of Met productions. Therefore, he reasoned, Opera News should not be allowed to review the Met at all. It was a jaw-dropping move. But opera fans are not known to go quietly. A hue and cry ensued on the Internet, the general tone of which was, ''Who does he think he is?'' The word "censorship" surfaced frequently. Parterre Box, a highly popular opera website, posted nearly 250 comments on Gelb's move. Editorials were published, blogs were written, tweets tweeted. Opera News, among the country's most respected classical music outlets, had been muzzled. Amazing. That same afternoon, the Met Opera issued an official statement reversing the move: "In view of the outpouring of reaction from opera fans about the recent decision to discontinue Met performance reviews in Opera News, the Met has decided to reverse this new editorial policy." Here are the before and after sagas: MA.com subscribers read the full story MA.com subscribers read the full story |
LA Phil's Don Giovanni: Where's the Froth? | | 
LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Philharmonic's production of Don Giovanni, led by Music Director Gustavo Dudamel, is great to look at, wonderful to listen to, interesting to contemplate, and hard to laugh with. Somewhere along the line, amid all the quality and thought, someone forgot the giocoso part of Mozart's drama. Not that Don Giovanni isn't deep, we wouldn't dare say that. But it's also got plenty of sugar to make the medicine go down. Not here. No mere concert version or semi-staging, this production launches a three-year project by Dudamel and the orchestra to present all three of the Mozart/Da Ponte operas in Walt Disney Concert Hall. The credits are long and notable, including, among others, a distinguished director, a venerable architect, famous fashion designers, and perhaps the most celebrated Don Giovanni of the moment. It practically drips prestige. It is all very smart and stylish, and most of it makes sense. It just isn't a lot of fun. MA.com subscribers read the full story |
Cairo's Egyptian Blind Girls Orchestra |  CAIRO, Egypt -- Just listening, it sounds like any professional orchestra. But the assembly of white-veiled Egyptian women in matching black gowns has a startling difference. Every woman in the orchestra is blind. The members of Cairo's Egyptian Blind Girls Chamber Orchestra first learn the pieces by reading sheet music in Braille. Since it is impossible to read Braille and play an instrument at the same time, the musicians must memorize every note of every work. Since they cannot see the conductor, he must clap, three times, to start the performance. The orchestra was born out of the El Nour Wal Amal (Light and Hope) Association, a group founded in 1954 by volunteers who sought to educate blind women and help them become independent women. Today the organization provides free education, literacy programs, and vocational training to more than 300 blind girls and women. But is best known for its orchestra of 38 blind women, which travels the world playing for embassies, conservatories, and other international outlets. MA.com subscribers read the full story |
| Am I Obligated To Accept Unsolicited Emails from Managers? |  To submit a question to FTM Arts Law write to LawAndDisorder@MusicalAmerica.com Dear FTM Arts Law: I am the executive director of a well-established regional symphony orchestra. As with most orchestras, I frequently receive emails from managers and agents asking me to consider their artists. After a number of emails from the same manager all within the same week, I wrote and told them that I was aware of their roster and asked to be removed from their email list. He wrote back and said that because our orchestra was a 501(c)(3) and also received state funding, we were obligated by law to accept his emails. He also said that because we were non-profit, these were not "commercial" emails and we had no right to refuse his emails. Is this true? Read the full story
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| The Freelancer's Elevator Speech | |  For the answers to the question below, click here. Dear Edna: I am a freelancer who makes a career by juggling a number of projects in the music business. I am pleased to have reached a level of success that has me in demand for a truly diverse range of activities, including publicity, media consulting, concert production, promotional writing, audio production and freelance journalism. On several occasions recently, I've been introduced by way of a halting description, ending in: "what DO you do?" Clearly I need to be honing my "elevator speech", but with so many different kinds of projects on my plate, it is difficult to do so, and even I wind up stuttering when trying to describe myself in a short phrase. Can you suggest ways that I can "brand" myself more cohesively, while maintaining career diversity? -W.N. Read the full story |
Notes from Brightest Africa | | 
From "Why I Left Muncie" by Sedgwick Clark I'm sitting on the porch of the Tinga Game Preserve in Kruger National Wildlife Park watching a herd of nearly 20 elephants feed down by the river. One of the kids is on his back rolling around in the dust, just as our bichons do in Central Park's grass. Shortly before, he was marching along behind his mother (I presume), followed by another adult elephant and another child-large, small, large, small. A pretty picture, and hard to take one's eyes away. An hour ago they were to the left of the porch. Suddenly they were startled by something and stampeded wildly-but with surprising grace-to the right about 30 feet in front of us, braying and hooting vociferously. If only I had had our video camera poised! Read the full story |
| 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." Romanovsky, Alexander, piano, added, IMG Artists Roth, Tali, guitar, added, Parker Artists |
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