DOS Orchestra #46 - 14 November, 95

News from the world of professional orchestras.
Copyright 1995, International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians

Topics

Atlanta Symphony: Torch Song

The Atlanta Symphony will perform during the opening ceremonies of the Atlanta Olympic Games on July 19, 1996. The announcement of the appearance was made at the opening concert of the orchestra's season on September 7 by Billy Payne, president and CEO of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games.

The performance at the opening ceremony will be conducted by ASO music director Yoel Levi and several other conductors to be named. The ASO will be the largest orchestra ever to perform at an Olympics Games opening ceremony, and the estimated TV audience of 3.5 billion people is very probably the largest audience that the Atlanta Symphony has ever had.

In addition to appearing at the opening ceremonies, the ASO will anchor the 1996 Olympics Arts Festival, which will run concurrent to the Games. The orchestra will perform six times at the festival, including performances with Jessye Norman and Itzhak Perlman.

Baltimore Symphony: New Assistant Conductor

The Baltimore Symphony has appointed Daniel Hege as assistant conductor, orchestra officials announced on October 27. He will replace David Lockington, who is leaving the orchestra to become music director of the New Mexico Symphony. Hege's appointment will begin in July 1996.

Hege, 30, had just started work on Labor Day as associate conductor of the Kansas City Symphony. He is also music director of the Chicago Youth Symphony. He studied conducting at the University of Utah and also studied with Daniel Lewis of the University of Southern California. He was awarded the BMI Foundation/Lionel Newman Conducting Scholarship in 1990.

The BSO reported that more the 225 applicants had applied for the position.

Chicago Symphony: Barenboim Re-ups

Daniel Barenboim, music director of the Chicago Symphony, has signed a three-year extension of his contract. The announcement was made at the annual meeting of The Orchestral Association, the orchestra's parent organization, on October 11. The extension will mean that Barenboim will remain with the CSO through the 1999-2000 season.

Henry Fogel, executive vice-president and executive director of The Orchestral Association, said, "Daniel Barenboim has committed himself to all aspects of the musical life of Chicago. He conducts our concerts; works with and inspires our musicians; develops young conductors as part of our apprenticeship program; teaches Civic Orchestra players; gives recitals; speaks on music, art, and critical issues that concern us; creates multi-faceted educational programs; and integrates himself into the numerous spaces of our city life. It is fitting that he will lead our Orchestra into the next century."

Other news revealed at the annual meeting was the orchestra's ninth budget surplus in ten years - "a unique achievement among major American orchestras," according to orchestra officials. The orchestra's Annual Fund, the major fundraising effort supporting the orchestra, came in at $9.4 million, $100,000 over its goal. There was a 10% increase in giving from the Association's 15,000 individual donors, who gave $5.2 million, and a 41.% increase in corporate giving, to just over $1.8 million. More than 40% of the Association's corporate gifts were new or increased.

The endowment fund, now at over $84 million (up from $70.5 million one year ago), provided $3.4 million of operating revenues. The net return on the endowment was 21.7%, and the endowment received $2.8 million in new gifts and bequests.

Ticket sales increased by 6.3%, to $15.5 million, with a total of 432,500 tickets sold. According to CSO management, "the Chicago Symphony Orchestra has the highest total ticket income for a winter season, the highest average income per concert, the highest percentage capacity of tickets sold, and the highest percentage of subscribers per concert" of the ten largest American orchestras.

Congress Passes Digital Performance Rights Bill

The United States House of Representatives unanimously passed HR 1506, the "Digital Performance Right in Sound Recordings Act of 1995," on October 17. The Senate passed S. 227, its own version of the act, on August 8.

Passage of this bill has been one of the American Federation of Musicians' top legislative priorities this year. The bill extends copyright protection and provides for royalty payments for performers when digital recordings are transmitted through new digital media. The bill gives performers the same copyright protections that composers and songwriters have long had, at least in these new media.

The AFM worked closely with the Recording Industries Association of America in lobbying for this bill, which was co-sponsored in the Senate by Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT). A number of musicians from ICSOM and ROPA orchestras were enlisted to go to Washington to lobby for the bill.

Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra: Cash, Not Carry

A controversy has erupted in Hong Kong over the musicians of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra having to carry their own instruments. Musicians who have protested the practice have gained the support of Urban councillor Ada Wong Ying-kay, who said that the orchestra should hire porters to prevent the players from being injured. The musicians have claimed that the heavy lifting of instruments before concerts can compromise the standard of performance. Musicians have said that members of the Hong Kong Philharmonic are not expected to carry their own instruments.

Wong said "these drums are terribly heavy. They could damage their fingers. Some of the musicians are worried it will affect the quality of playing. Musicians have to perform and they should be respected as musicians. They should not do the moving - it's just unheard of."

The chair of the Culture Select Committee of the Urban Council, which runs the orchestra, disagreed. Packing Chinese percussion instruments "is a professional job that should be handled by musicians," said Pao Ping-wing.

Musicians who have to pack their instruments are paid extra and are entitled to injury compensation.

Milwaukee Symphony: Hall Receives Major Donation

The Milwaukee War Memorial Performing Arts Center, the major venue for the Milwaukee Symphony, has received a pledge of $5 million towards the facility's renovation. In recognition of the gift by the Marcus Corporation Foundation, the facility will be renamed "The Milwaukee County Ben and Ceil Marcus Center for the Performing Arts," according to Michael T. Stirdivant, managing director of the PAC.

The announcement of the gift was made by Stephen Marcus, chairman and chief executive officer of the Marcus Corporation and chair of the PAC's 2-year-old Silver Renaissance Campaign. Marcus said "our foundation is delighted to play a major role in the renovation of this wonderful facility. Our foundation felt that this gift... also recognizes my parents' business and philanthropic contributions over many years to this community."

The pledge pushes the PAC's renovation campaign past its original goal of $12.7 million to $15.25 million, thus ensuring that the acoustical reworking of Uihlein Hall, the major space in the PAC, will go ahead as planned. The acoustics of the 26-year-old facility have long been considered highly problematic by the Milwaukee Symphony, the facility's major tenant. The acoustical consultant is Christopher Jaffe.

The PAC, which is owned and operated by Milwaukee County, has just completed an exterior renovation, costing approximately $9 million and funded by the county, to replace the crumbling marble cladding of the building with more durable material. The renovations funded by the Silver Renaissance Campaign focus on the interior of the structure, and include a new loading dock, renovation of the heating and ventilation systems, and new audience amenities, as well as the improvements to Uihlein Hall.

The announcement was made on the 60th anniversary of the day that Ben Marcus opened his first movie theater in Ripon (WI). Since then, the Marcus Corporation has grown to a $250 million business which operates 204 movie theaters, 35 restaurants, and 120 hotels and resorts, including the Milwaukee Hilton and Milwaukee's Pfister Hotel.

Minnesota Orchestra: Paid by Piper

The Minnesota Orchestra won a $6 million arbitration award against a local brokerage firm, Piper Jaffray, on October 18. The orchestra filed an arbitration claim last September, alleging that Piper Jaffray had ignored the orchestra's investment policies and had invested endowment funds in "unsuitable and speculative" derivatives that had declined more than 20% in value.

Piper Jaffray stated, in its defense, that the orchestra was a knowledgeable investor which decided to invest in the securities. Piper claimed that the orchestra didn't complain about the investments, which amounted to over $18 million, until they began to go sour. In February 1994, the market in the mortgage securities that formed part of the endowment's portfolio began to collapse due to a rise in interest rates.

The orchestra's attorney, Geoffrey Jarpe, ridiculed Piper's defense. He said "it's preposterous to say 'you're at fault because you didn't discover we were breaking our contract and violating our fiduciary responsibilities to you.' That was the defense Piper was pursuing."

The arbitration was heard by a panel from the National Association of Securities Dealers in August. The panel, which heard seven days of testimony, determined that Piper Jaffray should pay $4 million in compensatory damages and $2 million in punitive damages. The panel also required that interest be paid on the damages from September 26, 1994, and also ordered Piper to take back a $650,000 mortgage derivative from the orchestra and compensate the orchestra for it.

The panel also had criticism for the orchestra, saying it was "deeply troubled by the seeming inattentive conduct on the part of the Minnesota Orchestral Association Investment Committee and the Minnesota Orchestral Association management."

National Symphony: New General Manager

Jean Hamilton, former general manager of the Milwaukee Symphony, has been appointed to the same position with the National Symphony, officials of both orchestras announced on September 19. She will begin her new position on December 4.

Hamilton came to the MSO in September 1994 from the Baltimore Symphony, where she had been orchestra manager for four years. She was hired by former MSO executive director Joan H. Squires, whose departure from the MSO was announced one day after the announcement of Hamilton's appointment. Hamilton was one of several senior staff to run the MSO between Squire's departure and the arrival of the MSO's current executive director, Steven Ovitsky.

The National Symphony is a significantly larger institution than the Milwaukee Symphony, with a budget of $19 million compared to the MSO's $12 million. Hamilton was also reported to be anxious to move back to Washington DC, where she has family.

Ovitsky said of Hamilton, "we're sorry to lose her, but it comes as no surprise that other major orchestras would recognize her ability. The MSO has been fortunate to benefit from her expertise during a time of transition."

Prior to joining the ranks of management, Hamilton was a hornist, and played professionally with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. She did her undergraduate work at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) and received a graduate degree from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati. She also participated in the American Symphony Orchestra League's Orchestra Management Fellowship program.

NDR Symphony: New Music Director

The North German Broadcasting Symphony has appointed Herbert Blomstedt chief conductor. His appointment, which will begin on August 1, will run through the 1999-2000 season. He succeeds John Eliot Gardiner in the position.

Blomstedt, who also holds the position of conductor laureate of the San Francisco Symphony, has canceled three weeks of concerts with that orchestra in February 1997 because of conflicts with the NDR orchestra's touring schedule.

New York Philharmonic: Arafat Ejected from Concert

In a rare display of New York City's foreign policy, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani ejected PLO leader and Nobel Prize-winner Yasser Arafat from a concert by the New York Philharmonic. The concert was a special event, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the United Nations.

The ejection of Arafat was criticized not only by the Palestinian mission to the UN, but by the United States Department of State and former New York mayors Edward Koch and David Dinkins. State Department spokesperson Nicholas Burns said of Arafat that "he's the leader of the Palestinian people and he is negotiating peace with Israel. He should be given the respect and dignity and hospitality in the United States that the leader of the Palestinian people deserves. He deserves better than (to be ejected)."

Giuliani sent an aide, chief of staff Randy Maestro to Arafat during the orchestra's performance of Beethoven's ninth symphony telling him he wasn't welcome at the concert asking him to leave. Arafat reportedly to Maestro to "go to hell," but left before the last movement. Giuliani gleefully claimed that "anyone who misses that (movement) misses the entire symphony," but the Palestinian mission claimed that Arafat left because of other commitments.

There was also dispute over how Arafat had obtained tickets to the event. The Palestinian mission claimed that the tickets had been provided by the city's own organizing committee in an envelope marked "Palestine," while the mayor's office claimed that the tickets had been provided by the United Nations in contravention of a letter sent by the mayor stating that the PLO were barred from city-sponsored events. Giuliani originally claimed that Arafat and his group had been using tickets meant for another delegation.

Reuters News Service reported that Arafat was mobbed by autograph-seeking members of the audience at the concert.

Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra: Balanced Budget

The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra ended the 1994-95 season with a balanced budget for the second year in a row, orchestra officials announced on October 16. Orchestra president Brent Assink cited a record Annual Fund Campaign of $2.28 million and season ticket sales of over $2 million as factors in the orchestra's success. The orchestra also reduced its accumulated deficit by $138,615.

San Jose Symphony: Bass Clarinetist Resigns

Daniel Leeson, long-time bass clarinetist of the San Jose Symphony, resigned from the orchestra in early October. Neither the orchestra management nor Leeson would comment on the reasons for his abrupt departure.

Leeson has been a tenured member of the orchestra since 1985, but had played with the orchestra on a regular basis since 1976. He is a former IBM executive. In addition to being a program annotator for the London Proms, he is a renowned Mozart scholar. Leeson co-edited the Mozart Gran Partita for 13 Winds for the Barenreiter scholarly edition of Mozart's works with Robert Levin.

Leeson was considered a member of former San Jose Symphony music director George Cleve's circle of friends, and has played basset horn for Cleve's Midsummer Mozart Festival for many years.

The orchestra has been auditioning for a replacement for Leeson.

Deaths

Golfredo Corradetti, a teacher of conducting at the University of San Francisco since 1975 and a student of Arturo Toscanini, died on October 13 of cancer. He was 74.

Corradetti was a native of Calgary. He studied at Stanford University and the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome. In addition to studying with Toscanini, he studied composition with Arnold Schoenberg and composition and conducting with Richard Strauss. He also served as an assistant for Strauss and conducted at the Rome Opera and the Ballet Ruse de Monte Carlo. His American career included appearances with the San Francisco Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He also wrote several musicals.

He is survived by his wife Maria and two daughters.
Erica Morini, one of the major violinists of her generation, died on October 30 in New York City. She was 91.

Morini, who was born in Austria, made her debut in Vienna in 1916. She was immediately invited by conductor Arthur Nikisch to perform with the Leipzig Gewandhaus orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic. She made her American debut in 1920.

Her violin, the "Davidoff" Stradivarius, was stolen from her apartment shortly before her death. The police and the FBI are searching for the thief and the instrument, recently appraised at $3.5 million.
Copyright 1995, International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians

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