Drew McManus on the orchestra business.
There’s a superb video from violinists Brett Yang and Eddy Chen of TwoSet Violin where the duo takes the bold step of calling out a pair of dubious practices inside the world of string instrument dealers. Yang and Chen deserve a great deal of credit for speaking out on this topic and while issues run far deeper than their video examines, the topics they focus on are certainly of paramount importance. …
The more a work can reflect society from the time it was written and provoke thoughtful contemplation, the better. If the musicality and topic keep the piece on my mind for more than a week after hearing it, that’s a win. The more polarizing current events are, the more potential exists for a work to emerge that is capable of inspiring meaningful actions. If you subscribe to a similar outlook, then …
The 12/28/2015 edition of The Times (UK) published an article by Hugo Rifkind that reports a third of rare violins within the $20,000 to $100,000 selling price range are fake. At least, that’s according to violin dealer, Florian Leonhard; but for long time Adaptistration readers, that news is more than a decade old. For those unaware, and this is an absolutely fascinating part of orchestra field history, back in 2004, the …
It looks like the Cleveland Orchestra has found a replacement for outgoing executive director Gary Hanson and it’s the former New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO) and Melbourne Symphony exec André Gremillet. According to a press statement from the orchestra, Gremillet is credited with “successfully enhance[ing] the fiscal health” of the NJSO although that phrasing may come as a surprise to many in that institution. According to an 8/3/2015 article in The …
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) / Valentina Lisitsa firestorm is a good reminder that capable damage control and responsible flexing of social media muscle are important skills to develop and maintain. For organizations, damage control seems to be a lesson that is slow to matriculate. Remember the Richard Dare/NJSO crisis or the Detroit Symphony scrambling to backtrack on comments about hiring replacement musicians? Just wind your way through Adaptistration’s archives and you’ll …