March 8, 2013   |
| | | Thought of the Day | | It is never too late to be what you might have been.
--George Eliot
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| Quote of the Week | | I never paint dreams or nightmares. I paint my own reality. --Frida Kahlo |
| | Lutosławski Centenary Celebrated Across the World | | ADVERTISEMENT 
"Quite simply one of the most important voices
of the twentieth century"
Esa-Pekka Salonen
2013 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Witold Lutosławski (1913-1994), undoubtedly one of the most notable composers of the twentieth century. Over 100 performances, in 40 cities in 18 different countries celebrate the music and genius of the Polish composer. Discover more about Lutosławski and find out about concerts near you by visiting www.lutoslawski.culture.pl. |
SF Symphony Players Authorize Strike |  Musicians of the San Francisco Symphony, whose latest contract extension expired Feb. 15, have authorized a strike should a new agreement not be reached by next week. The two sides are set to meet again March 12; a four-concert East Coast tour is scheduled to begin March 20. Currently, section players earn about $141,000, while average compensation--taking into account what section leaders earn--is over $165,000 annually. Plus ten weeks of paid vacation, sick leave, health care without an individual contribution, and a pension. Management's proposal for a wage freeze in the first year of a new agreement is not acceptable to the players; after all, goes the thinking, if the orchestra's endowment is $239 million, surely there's enough for a pay increase. |
| | | Minnesota Legislators Want to Audit Orch's Books | 
About 100 Minnesota legislators have asked the official state legislative auditor to look over the Minnesota Orchestra's books. All are members of the Democratic Farmer Labor party (DFL), which is the state's Democratic party. Representative Jim Davnie called a news conference Thursday to announce the request, expressing concern about the orchestra's having received public monies of $14 million in bonds, presumably for the $50 million overhaul of Orchestra Hall lobby, plus another $1 million from the so-called Legacy Fund. Musicians and management have met once since the lockout began Oct. 1. At the start of the new year, there was enthusiastic talk about returning to negotiations pending a financial analysis, but then the sides couldn't agree on the nature of said analysis. So the stalemate continues. Legislative Auditor James Nobles cannot turn down the request, but he expressed concern about examining business plans and any funding other than the State's. exposure. |
Dancer Denies Ordering Acid for Attack |  Bolshoi Ballet soloist Pavel Dmitrichenko, accused of masterminding the attack on the company's artistic director, acknowledged Thursday that he gave the go-ahead for the attack, but denied ordering anyone to throw acid on Sergei Filin's face. The judge, however, refused to release Dmitrichenko on bail and ordered him and his two co-defendants held until at least April 18 while the investigation continued. "It's not true that I ordered him to throw acid at Filin," the 29-year-old dancer told the court, speaking from a cage. Moscow police said Thursday that Dmitrichenko had paid 50,000 rubles (about $1,600 US) to the attacker. State television reports he was motivated by Filin's refusal to cast his girlfriend, also a Bolshoi soloist, in a starring role. MA.com subscribers read the full story |
| Cliburn Remembered at Memorial Service | | FORT WORTH, Texas -- Legendary pianist Van Cliburn was remembered Sunday as a gifted musician who transcended the boundaries of politics and art by easing tensions during the Cold War and introducing classical music to millions.
About 1,400 people attended a memorial service for Cliburn, who died Wednesday at 78 after fighting bone cancer. As the service began, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra accompanied a choir while pall bearers carried his flower-covered coffin into the church.
"Over the course of many years, during the most difficult historical times, the art of Van Cliburn brought together people from different countries, different continents and united them," Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a statement that was read during the service. "We shall always remember Van Cliburn as a true and sincere friend of the Russian people." Former President George W. Bush, who presented Cliburn with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2003, said "Members of the presidents' club could have taken a lesson from him in diplomacy." |
| Frankfurt Radio Symphony Names MD |  Andrés Orozco-Estrada, music director of the Houston Symphony and principal conductor of the Tonkünstler Orchestra, is to succeed Paavo Järvi as music director of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra in fall 2014. The 35-year-old Colombian conductor first led the orchestra in 2009, and again in a benefit concert in December, 2012. His contract is for three years. Trained as a violinist, Orozco-Estrada studied conducting at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst, Wien. He launched his career in 2004 in a last-minute engagement with the Tonkünstler Orchestra Niederösterreich in the Vienna Musikverein. The Frankfurt Radio Symphony has subsequently given Järvi the title of conductor laureate. MA.com subscribers read the full story |
| Musician's "Hazardous Duty?" | | 
From An American in Paris by Frank Cadenhead Musicians have a long, tough road to achieve professional status. A recent study by the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences suggests that, even after musicians secure a good job, health issues can remain and even increase. Interviewing some 77 musicians who work in the pit of the Zurich Opera they found that two thirds have health problems related to their work. Of those surveyed, 14% reportedly suffered from some hearing loss and 13% had tinnitus (a ringing in the ears). The National Institute of Research and Safety tracked their daily exposure to sound levels between 81 and 91 decibels. This would put them in conflict with, for example, French standards which prohibit more than 87 decibels in the workplace. Read the full story |
| The Mechanics of Mechanical Licenses |  To submit a question to GG Arts Law write to LawAndDisorder@MusicalAmerica.com Dear Law and Disorder: Does all music (if not in public domain) require a mechanical license to be recorded? I don't quite understand when it is needed and when a person could pay a statutory fee and move forward without permission. |
Taking the Next Career Step | | 
From Ask Edna by Edna Landau I have always had great admiration for people who stay in the same job for long periods of time and who feel no need for change because they are presented with regular opportunities for learning and growth along the way. Typically they are in an environment where their contributions are valued, they have a voice in developing new projects for their company or institution, and they are appropriately rewarded financially for their performance. However, I have seen others who stay in a job that increasingly makes them feel unhappy and unfulfilled because they think that they only know how to do one thing, they wouldn't be happier somewhere else, or they lack the courage to try something new. Contemplating this subject, I decided to speak to two colleagues who have made a career change in the past few years and now both work for radio station WQXR. Graham Parker, its General Manager and Vice President, and Martha Bonta, Executive Producer, Live Events and Special Programming, both came to the station after it was acquired by New York Public Radio three and a half years ago. Parker was the former Executive Director of Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and Bonta was Vice President, Artist Manager at IMG Artists. Read the full story |
| |  From Why I Left Muncie by Sedgwick Clark Why? The kids aren't jaded. No repertoire is too daunting. Their enthusiasm nearly always makes up for any momentary technical shortcoming. One skips concerts at Juilliard at his or her peril and often encounters first-rate conductors that the Philharmonic has neglected. Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute just announced a new summer training residency for students from 42 states. Beginning in late June, they will train at Purchase College (N.Y.) and be conducted in their first concerts by Valery Gergiev, with Joshua Bell as soloist in Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto. Shostakovich's Tenth Symphony and a new work by American composer Sean Shepherd complete the program, to be performed at Washington, D.C.'s Kennedy Center, and in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and London (dates tba). The ensemble's name, "National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America," reminds me of a thrilling concert I heard in London in 1977 by the National Youth Orchestra of Britain. Pierre Boulez conducted one of his signature programs: Bartók, Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta; Berg, Violin Concerto, with Itzhak Perlman as soloist; Stravinsky, The Rite of Spring. Afterwards, he couldn't contain his excitement at having conducted The Rite with 146 players. I counted 16 double basses and equivalent numbers in the other string bodies in MUSPAC. |
| Latest Roster Changes |  Musical America is helping presenters keep up with its advertisers! Managers whose rosters appear in the 2013 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." NEW THIS WEEK Brancy, John, baritone, added, Fletcher Artist Management Cuello, Estrella, soprano, added, MIA Artists Management Dorigo, Sonia, stage director, added, MIA Artists Management Kelemen, Barnabás, violin, added, Hazard Chase (UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand) Kelemen Quartet, added, Hazard Chase (UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand) Ramos, Hilda, soprano, added, MIA Artists Management Sulvaran, Genaro, baritone, added, MIA Artists Management Yelizarova, Anna, mezzo-soprano, added, MIA Artists Management Read the full story |
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