A month ago I reported that pianist Helene Grimaud was on the move to IMG.
The deal is announced today:
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I’ve received a letter from the Philadelphia Orchestra, urging me to offer financial support in these difficult times. Although couched in the smarmiest PR-speak and promising a wonderful future, everything about the letter is wrong. It announces that the company has sought bankruptcy protection and is therefore in deep trouble. It announces no change of management or policy or anything. It is therefore asking me to throw good money after bad.
If the letter had gone out ahead of the insolvency threat, and if it had been accompanied by solid testimony of how the orchestra plans to pull itself up by the boot-strings, I am sure many would have responded. This, though, is just wallpaper, window-dressing, a declaration of institutional confusion.
Read below:
Oh, and it’s Leopold Stokowski’s birthday today. He’d have been devastated at these events.
The Austrian Embassy has invited me to a dinner to announce the most exciting event to hit Salzburg since Herbert von Karajan discovered botox.
It is – I can hardly wait – the very first time that the city of salt has put on its own, its very own production of The Sound of Music. In the Landestheater. Auf Deutsch (I think).
High on the hills, that goatherd’s not feeling so lonely any more. And Doh is not a deer in German. Apart from that, authentic as it comes.
But you can see my problem: what do I wear? It’s The Sound of Music. Audience participation is required. I can’t find my wimple and there’s no way I’m going as Prince Harry.
Guess I’d better plead an alternative engagement.
On second thoughts, I could go dressed as Andrew Lloyd Webber…
Here’s the invite:
Where: Austrian Embassy, Belgravia, Main Entrance,
London
On behalf of SalzburgerLand Tourism and Salzburg
Tourism it gives me great pleasure to invite you to a press gourmet dinner at
the Austrian Embassy, London, taking you behind the scenes of Salzburg’s
cultural top events this year.
MUSICAL HIGHLIGHT
2011
On 23rd October 2011, Salzburg celebrates a very special event
– the Salzburg Landestheater hosts the beloved musical “The Sound of Music” on
stage in Salzburg for the first time in history!
Leo Bauernberger, CEO
SalzburgerLand Tourism, Gunda Bleckmann, Salzburg Tourism and Dr. Carl Philipp
von Maldeghem, Intendant Landestheatre Salzburg, will be there to provide you
with information. What’s more, entertainment will be
guaranteed with a surprise artist to guide you through the evening.
Nigel Kennedy? So 20th century…
David Garrett? He’s got nothing on this guy.
Hahn-Bin can play. He’s from Korea and he spent 10 years studying with Itzhak Perlman.
But he also performs. He objects, he says, to people paying $100 to take a nap. So his concerts are a bit more …. visual.
See what you think. Here’s the promo video. His motto: ‘I am Viagra to classical music and aspirin to pop.’
photo: www.flickr.com