Philadelphia changes chairs
mainRalph W. Muller, retiring CEO of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, will become board chair of the Philadephia Orchestra from January.
He succeeds Richard B. Worley who, over ten years, turned a gloomy ensemble with sinking funds back into a national leader.
Yes, but there are still much better ensembles in USA musically speaking. Perhaps they have the wrong conductor.
…and an impressive list of mainly mediocre guest conductors!
Yeah sure. Like: Karina Canellakis, Jane Glover, Herbert Blomstedt, Susanna Mälkk, Cristian Macelaru, Marin Alsop and many fine others.
I wholeheartedly disagree. I’ve heard plenty of the “leading ensembles” in the US and most don’t come even close to the passion, precision, and dedication that this orchestra brings to their preparation and performances.
Although Worley gave considerable funding to the orchestra during his tenure, he also led the faux bankruptcy in order to get out of the musicians’ defined-benefit pension plan. The roster is still down eight full-time musicians from pre-bankruptcy contracts.
Missed opportunity for “Breaking: Philadelphia changes chairs”