British orchestras are giving more concerts and making less money, according to a survey by their trade organisation, the ABO.

The ABO version:

The report, commissioned by Association of British Orchestras (ABO), which will be launched at their annual conference, compares their performance since a similar survey three years ago and shows how they last year:
delivered 7% more concerts and performances compared to 2013

visited 42 foreign countries, compared to 35 in 2013

reached almost 900,000 children and young people, a 35% increase on the previous survey

The survey also shows how, despite these achievements, orchestras actually earned less money. This, combined with public funding cuts of up to 11% had left them with a 5% drop in their total income.

The unexplained bit: every symphony orchestra loses money on public concerts – an average £30,000 loss in London. The Royal Festival Hall (below) is playing to a shrinking classical attendance. So why give more concerts unless you have the means to do so?

What part of the equation are we missing here?

 

Could you possibly make it up?

Hull Philharmonic Society has financed the (Jenkins) commission with support from Hull 2017 and insurance money after the loss of its music library in the Christmas 2013 tidal surge.

“We decided not to replace the old music, but to create something new for 2017, so some good has come out of adversity,” said musical director Andrew Penny. “It is a major coup for the orchestra to attract a composer of Sir Karl’s stature.”

MADE IN HULL: From left, Jonathan Scott, Andrew Penny and Sir Karl Jenkins.

More here.

The exiting chief of the New York Philharmonic explains why he’s quitting:

Two pieces fell off the board last week and no-one saw where they pointed.

First, Ed Yim resigned as v-p of artistic planning, a key liaison between the chief executive and the music director.

Then, Lisa Mantone resigned after just as year as v-p in charge of fundraising.

Taken together, those defections spelled bad news on the two most important fronts. Confusion on the artistic and no money coming in from donors. And only Slipped Disc bothered to report them both.

Today, the third chess piece fell… and it was the king.

Matthew VanBesien, who after eight years playing horn in the Louisiana Philharmonic, made a fine career as an orchestra manager – Houston Symphony, Melbourne, New York – called time on frontline service and swanned off to work out his time on an arboreal campus in the Midwest.

Why he had to go will become clear in the coming days, but what he leaves behind is chaos and confusion.

VanBesien was responsible for persuading the players to accept Jaap Van Zweden as the next music director. The Dutchman is neither an international front-runner nor a charismatic character but the combination of the two Vans was supposed to be the formula that led the Philharmonic through a difficult period while its hall is refurbished.

That plan just bit the dust.

The three months’ notice that VanBesien has given is extremely abrupt by orchestra standards.

The future is anyone’s guess. But from today’s news it does not inspire confidence.

 

UPDATE: VanBesien: I want a more audacious job.

Here’s the press release the NY Phil have just scrambled together, an hour after Michigan announced its coup.

MATTHEW VANBESIEN TO STEP DOWN AS PRESIDENT OF THE NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC IN MAY 2017

 

Team Led by Board Chairman Oscar S. Schafer and Vice Chairman Peter W. May Will

Lead Search Committee for Next President

New York Philharmonic Board Chairman Oscar S. Schafer today announced that Matthew VanBesien, who has served as President of the Philharmonic since 2012, will step down from the position on May 1, 2017. A search for a new president will begin immediately, conducted by a committee led by Mr. Schafer and which will include Vice Chairman Peter W. May, Jaap van Zweden, the Philharmonic’s future Music Director, and Members of the Board of Directors.

“Matthew has been a tremendous leader during his tenure at the New York Philharmonic and we thank him for all that he has accomplished,” said Mr. Schafer. “We have seen incredible strides in our artistic and institutional achievements, with initiatives like the NY PHIL BIENNIAL and the New York Philharmonic Global Academy; selected an excellent and charismatic Music Director in Jaap van Zweden to lead the artistic future of the Philharmonic; and made great progress on the David Geffen Hall renovation project under his presidency. We are confident that Matthew’s successor will build on his accomplishments, ensure the continued success of David Geffen Hall, and take us to even greater heights in the years ahead.”

“It has been one of the greatest privileges of my life to lead the New York Philharmonic over the past five years,” said Mr. VanBesien. “The Board, the Staff, and the Artists have all inspired me each and every day to build on the vision that has made the institution one of the preeminent performing arts organizations for the past 175 years. The decision to take a new position was deeply personal, and I felt the time was right to take on a new challenge. I leave with the confidence that this organization is in great shape, particularly as it heads into a new era under Jaap van Zweden, and I look forward to seeing all the amazing things the New York Philharmonic will accomplish in the future.”

“I would like to thank Matthew VanBesien and to salute him for what he has done for the Philharmonic,” said Alan Gilbert, Music Director of the New York Philharmonic. “It has been a pleasure working with Matthew, and every day I have cherished the opportunity to interact with someone who loves the tradition of orchestras, but also sees the way to a new paradigm in the 21st century.”

Oscar Schafer, in conjunction with Peter May, will work with Bill Thomas, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, to ensure a seamless transition and successful continuation of all the Philharmonic’s programs and initiatives.

In partnership with Lincoln Center, there has been significant progress made on the David Geffen Hall renovation project, which has raised nearly $300 million to date, and continues to move forward with work on the schematic design.

“Fundraising is very strong, and we are hard at work on a design process,” continued Mr. Schafer. “This is a very exciting time in the course of our history, and we look forward to identifying a new president who will bring the next chapter in the long, great history of the Philharmonic to life.”

During his tenure at the New York Philharmonic, Matthew VanBesien has helped develop and execute innovative programs along with Music Director Alan Gilbert, such as the NY PHIL BIENNIAL, THE ART OF THE SCORE film-and-music series, and more. He led the creation of the New York Philharmonic Global Academy, which offers educational partnerships with cultural institutions such as the Music Academy of the West and The Shephard School of Music at Rice University to train talented pre-professional musicians, often alongside performance residencies by the Philharmonic. He led a successful Music Director search, resulting in Jaap van Zweden’s being appointed as Music Director Designate in the 2017-18 season, the formation of the Philharmonic’s International Advisory Board and President’s Council, and the Philharmonic’s multi-year residency and educational partnership in Shanghai, China.

 

 

Matthew VanBesien, president of the New York Philharmonic, is leaving in May.

He has arranged to succeed Kenneth C Fisher as president of the University Musical Society of the University of Michigan, a job of considerably less visibility. Besien starts in Ann Arbor in July 2017.

VanBesien, 47, said: ‘I am truly honored to become the next president of UMS. UMS, its extraordinary programming, staff, and board are, simply put, among the most admired in the performing arts field. It’s my great privilege to be able to succeed Ken Fischer, who I know and deeply respect, and with whom I’ve collaborated during my tenure at the New York Philharmonic. While my career has been centered in the orchestral world for the last 25 years, I’m extremely excited about the diversity of programming that UMS offers, both on the stage and working throughout their community. I’ve visited Ann Arbor several times over the past few years and love the energy and sense of commitment that pervades both the University of Michigan and the Ann Arbor community. My wife Rosie and I are looking forward to moving to Michigan and immersing ourselves in all that the region offers.’

UPDATE: New York Philharmonic in chaos.

UPDATE: I want a more audacious job.

 

It’s the  DePauw School of Music in Indiana.

Press release:

Tuesday, January 24, 2017 — For Immediate Release – DePauw School of Music announced today that $10 million in scholarship funds will be invested in undergraduate music students over the next five years. The scholarships build on the unprecedented success of DePauw’s entrepreneurship-focused 21st-Century Musician (21CM) Initiative curriculum, and their visionary 21CMposium™, a cutting-edge conference which features events with industry leaders like Yo-Yo Ma, the Kronos Quartet, Judd Greenstein of New Amsterdam records, author Sarah Robinson and more.

Hailed by music writer Greg Sandow as one of the “national leaders of classical music change,” DePauw has emerged in recent years as a true innovator in music education. The 21CM curriculum – the first required entrepreneurial curriculum in the country – focuses on cultivating a sense of creativity and flexibility in its students, in order to equip them with the skills, tools and experiences necessary to navigate the rapidly-changing career landscape that awaits them post-graduation. At its core, 21CM represents DePauw’s commitment to transforming how musicians think about their art, and how they work together with their fellow musicians and the communities around them.

Said recently-appointed Dean Ayden Adler of the scholarship initiative: “We are excited to be building a new way forward at the DePauw School of Music, encouraging our students to think differently and use their talents innovatively, while also transforming the industry at large through our 21CM curriculum. These scholarships will allow us to invest even more in the future, and help cultivate a new generation of musician-leaders.”

 

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Kalsruhe has finally decided to honour one of its unsung heroes – the conductor Hermann Levi, who conducted the premiere of Parsifal for Richard Wagner at Bayreuth.

Levi was obliged to endure torrents of antisemitic abuse from all members of the Wagner family.

His name will appear on the square in front of the Karlsruhe opera house, which is presently staging Avner Dorman’s opera on the Wagner family, Wahnfried.

The marriage of singer-heiress Eleanor McCain and ex-Toronto Symphony prez Jeff Melanson continues to be dissected in the courts, in full glare of public media.

It has emerged that Melanson got a $420,000 payoff for leaving the Symphony, but now claims he is too poor to fund his side of the case and – he complains – cannot get a job amid all the publicity.

Read more here.

HarrisonParrott has announced the death of Terry Harrison, its co-founder.

Terry formed the agency in 1969 with Jasper Parrott and a batch of young artists, mostly drawn from their former employer Ibbs&Tillett.

Terry broke out in 1988 to start his own agency with Radu Lupu, Sir Andras Schiff and a few others select clients. He shut the agency two years ago.

Where Jasper was brash, Terry was convivial and amusing. He leaves behind fond memories.

The Radio France summer festival at Montpellier has suffered a sudden cut of 200,000 Euros that jeopardises its integrity. Report here.

The Irish tenor James Murphy – a founder-member of the popular Galway Tenors – has sold his business, Viviscal, to Church & Dwight, owner of Arm & Hammer toothpaste and Trojan condoms.

 

The sale price was 150 million Euros. Murphy owns more than 80 percent of the company.

So he’ll have more time now for rehearsal.

Viviscal, a hair restoring product, achieved sweeping success in the US after endorsements by actors Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon.

 

It’s called JukeDeck and it’s being puffed by the BBC World Service. The headline predicts that it could write a symphony….

The inarticulacy of the interviewer defies belief.

There’s another piece about it in the NY Times. The PRs have been working overtime.

Listen here.