A young man who is funding himself through college has applied to the elite New York school’s post-graduate program.
He and his parents were shocked and outraged to receive a questionnaire demanding to know the value of their home and the mortgage paid on it; their total gross income for 2014 and the amount of tax paid on it; the name of their business.
This strikes them – and us – as an unpadonable intrusion. The young man has demonstrated that he is funding his college career.
If his father’s name was Sheikh Someone, or his sponsor was a criminal oligarch, we are sure he would not have been sent these forms. Why, as a US citizen, is he subject to Juilliard inquisition?
Have other readers experienced this level of examination? Is it common across US colleges?
What gives Juilliard the right….?
In my monthly Standpoint essay, I assess the likely outcome of the May 11 vote for the next conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic.
For the first time in the orchestra’s history, the choice is not clear-cut or binary. In the past, it was Furtwängler or Walter, Maazel or Abbado, Barenboim or Rattle. This time, there are several names in contention and a perplexing lack of consensus as to what the orchestra expects from its next leader. It is no longer enough just to be the best orchestra. There is a distinct possibility that Berlin could fail to achieve a result in May.
It is not inconceivable that, after the vote, the Berlin Philharmonic could go from one front-runner to the next and be rejected by both.
This orchestra cannot afford to elect second-best. It must pick a convincing figurehead or risk losing its seat at the top table where German culture is defined. There is nowhere to hide. The deadline is mid-May. Between now and then, the backroom conversation will intensify. At stake is the destiny of the best orchestra in the world, an orchestra that suddenly appears painfully unsure of itself. Intriguing? I should say.
Read the full article here.
Great piece here on the difference a vibrant concertmaster can make to a clued-in city like Chattanooga.
‘I like to invite the audience to join me after the concert and bring a friend,’ says Holly Mulcahy. ‘Recently after a show, I used Twitter and Facebook to invite fans to join me at a downtown restaurant – close to 100 people showed up!’
Listen, and learn.
Frank-Peter Zimmermann, his manager says, is ‘playing a Guarnerius del Gesù violin, which he has on loan for a few weeks from a kind benefactor,’ after the Stradivarius he had played since 2002 was repossessed.
Well, that’s nice. But all is not as clear as previously presented.
The owners of the Strad said they offered to leave it with Zimmermann on paid loan after the contract expired last week, but that this offer was rejected by the violinist, who is trying to buy the Strad at below the owners’ valuation.
This is not a great heart-string issue. It’s just about money.
Music scoop of the week comes from (click) Mother Jones.
It appears that a hard-core Christian revivalist from Alabama licensed one of his songs to the 50 Shades of Grey sado-maso film, thinking it was a rom-com.
Paul Janeway, lead singer of Birmingham soul band St Paul and the Broken Bones explained: ‘I knew it was a book, but I had no idea what it was. So I was like, sure, big movie, good exposure. I’ll be in this romantic comedy. Which is what I thought it was: a romantic comedy. It’s a good way to make money in the music business, you know.’
May he be forgiven.
Amen.
Watch a new BBC feature on our pals Mahan Esfahani and Avi Avital. Click here.
South Jutland Symphony Orchestra has told director Rasmus Adrian to pack his bags after financial results for 2014 showed a deficit of almost 3 million kroner ($450,000).
Hey, these things happen. Even in Jutland.
When a certain London orchestra discovered a £1m black hole, they renewed the manager’s contract. Apparently in perpetuity.
This comes to you from the heat-seeking Taiwan/Australian violinist, Ray Chen.
Click here (it’s the second post down). Like, who takes a banana to rehearsal?
The Tennessee city that served as a launchpad for Elvis, Aretha Franklin and a host of rock legends is having trouble sustaining an orchestra on a population base of 1.3 million. The musicians have taken a 38% pay cut.
Music director Mei-Ann Chen has been told to look elsewhere next year.
We hear that the San José Mercury News has killed all classical music coverage as of next week, reassigning feature writer and reviewer Richard Scheinin to cover real estate.
San José has an excellent opera and chamber orchestra.
Do you know the way to San José?
