“A gold coin dating to Anglo-Saxon times has been bought by the British Museum for more than £350,000. The deal by the central London museum makes it the most expensive British coin ever purchased… When the owner put it up for sale last year, the Government put a temporary export ban in place hoping it would be saved for the nation. The National Heritage Memorial Fund provided £225,000 of the £357,832 total cost.”
Tag: 02.08.06
At Long Last, Audubon Dispute Settled
The feuding members of the Audubon Quartet have finally reached a settlement in their years-long dispute which racked up $1.5 million in legal fees and cost two members of the group their home and (briefly) their instruments. According to the terms of the settlement, the aggrieved former first violinist will receive $500,000 from the other three members of the group. All parties will cover their own legal fees.
Before You Hire A CEO, You Gotta Have A Plan
“Eight months after the abrupt departure of its former president and CEO, Simon Woods, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra has put its search for a new leader on hold… The orchestra’s search committee, having received credible feedback that it might be overselling the position and understating its problems, has suspended the search until the end of the month. During that time, it will develop a three-year plan meant to show it understands its issues and has a concrete strategy for the future.”
Music Under Pressure
Orchestras often try to apply overarching themes to their seasons, but the Los Angeles Philharmonic is taking the idea a step beyond the conventional with its 2006-07 season. “With the U.S. premiere of a new oratorio and a series of concerts devoted to music composed under Josef Stalin, the Los Angeles Philharmonic will tackle issues of art versus politics” and focus on composers under duress from oppressive regimes.
Sheng Premiere Put Off Over Problems With Score
The Philadelphia Orchestra has postponed the premiere of a new work by composer Bright Sheng, apparently at the request of music director Christoph Eschenbach, who announced after going over the score that “we all felt we weren’t ready to perform it in its current state.” Sheng and Eschenbach plan to work together on revisions to the Concerto for Orchestra: Zodiac Tales and the orchestra still plans eventually to give the premiere.
Sydney Hops On The Online Bandwagon
The Sydney Symphony is going digital, striking a deal with Australia’s largest internet service provider to offer streaming audio and video of ten concerts in the 2006 season, beginning with opening night. The videocast, in particular, sounds as if it will beak some new ground, with five cameras in place to record the action. “With no record companies to take a cut… Sydney Symphony could be looking at a lucrative new model for generating revenue from digital recordings.”
Zadie Smith Wins Commonwealth
Zadie Smith beats Salman Rushdie, Kazuo Ishiguro and Nick Hornby to win the Eurasian regional heat of the Commonwealth Writers’ prize with her latest novel, On Beauty.
Discovered – 27,000-Year-Old Cave Paintings
“An amateur caver has discovered prehistoric human remains and cave art in western France believed to date back 27,000 years, several thousand years older than the world-famous paintings at Lascaux.”