“The advent of online ticket buying and automated phone services has made the ticket-selling business more cost-effective for the likes of Ticketmaster and easier for the consumer than ever before. Yet those pesky tack-on fees aren’t getting any lower. Like fees to use automated teller machines, ticket fees might be taken for granted. But what seems like petty change in the grand scope of things can really start adding up.”
Tag: 02.25.05
Robert Koff, 86
One of the founding violinists of the Juilliard String Quartet has died. Robert Koff, who was the Juilliard’s second violinist from its inception in 1946 until 1958, was devoted to broadening the appeal of contemporary music, and made new works a staple of the Juilliard’s repertoire.
Philly’s Kimmel Center Looks Nervously Forward
Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts has managed to stay in the black in its second year of operation, but there’s still plenty to worry about. The center’s hoped-for endowment is still incomplete, and media mega-giant Clear Channel Productions is preparing to mount some serious competition to the Kimmel’s moneymaking Broadway musical series. On top of that, the Philadelphia Orchestra recently released a report saying that the center’s main concert hall needs a complete acoustical overhaul. And finally, with multiple big arts organizations in the city already in the midst of major fund drives, the Kimmel risks “donor fatigue” if it asks for too much too quickly.
Merged Utah Group Looks To Save Itself
“Pay cuts for staff, expense reductions and donation increases to $10,000 each from all 40 members of the Utah Symphony & Opera Board of Trustees are part of a three-year financial recovery plan approved Thursday by the board… At stake are ‘structural’ deficits in fiscal years 2003 and 2004 of $1.7 million and $3.3 million and a forecast structural deficit for fiscal year 2005 of at least $3.2 million.” The board also voted to release details of an independent audit which had previously been kept from all but a handful of top executives and board members. The study cites anger and disillusionment over the recent merger of the symphony and opera as a major reason for a precipitous drop in donations.
Less Than Meets The Eye
The Kimmel Center has an impressive list of board members, all with money to burn and a desire to dupport the arts. So shouldn’t the center’s finances be all too stable? Actually, it’s a lot more complicated than that: “Many of the Kimmel board members serve on other boards, which also tap them for time and money… No less than nine Kimmel board members are also members of the [Philadelphia Orchestra’s] board.” Philadelphia also is home to far fewer big corporations than some other major cities, limiting what the center can reap from that potential revenue stream.
The Not-Quite-Live Recording
“Next month sees the release of one of the most eagerly awaited classical recordings of modern times. Simon Rattle’s interpretation of Mahler’s ‘Symphony of a Thousand’ rounds off his EMI cycle of all nine Mahler symphonies, an achievement matched only by a handful of conductors. The CD will be marketed as ‘live’. What no one will mention is that two long patching sessions, under studio conditions, were needed to complete it. Patching has become standard practice with so-called “live” recordings. Consumers are promised a listening experience that replicates that of the concert hall. The reality is a collection of edited highlights from different performances and back-up sessions, with all the flaws airbrushed out.”
Yet Another Great Violin That No One Gets To Play
One of the finest Stradivarius violins ever made is the subject of a furious bidding war in the UK, as the Royal Academy of Music struggles to raise the £1 million necessary to keep it in Britain. The violin, known as the “Viotti” Strad, was recently played in public for the first time in 200 years, and is on display six days a week. “The Viotti is on a par with the ‘Messiah’, or Le Messie, Stradivarius in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, which, the conditions of its bequest state, must never be played.”
McManus To Symphonic Execs: Think Bigger
Attracting competent managers to the comparatively low-paying orchestra industry is one of the biggest challenges an ensemble can face, and AJ Blogger Drew McManus sees some exceedingly dangerous and short-sighted philosophies among not only the current executives at American symphonies, but the rising young crop of new managers as well. Particularly at risk from bad management are smaller regional orchestras, where a “part-time” mentality can hamstring an ensemble and keep it in the very back of the symphonic pack for years.
Is There An Oscar For Worst Speech?
You’d think, given that they’re in the entertainment business, Oscar winners would put some effort into making their acceptance speeches less cringe-inducing. “If you are a movie star making $20 million per movie, it’s flat out annoying to suggest to people that you don’t know how to speak in public,” says one media trainer. “A highly paid professional should be able to do this.” But how? Experts offer their advice.
Museum Bests Preservationists In Columbus Circle Suit
“After being delayed more than a year by litigation, the plan to reclad and recreate 2 Columbus Circle as the new home of the Museum of Arts and Design is poised to proceed after a court decision in its favor yesterday. A five-judge panel of the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court unanimously upheld the earlier dismissal by Justice Walter B. Tolub of a lawsuit against the reconstruction project by three preservation groups – Landmark West, Historic Districts Council and Docomomo.”