Mona Webster, a British woman living in Edinburgh who passed away at 96 last August, decreed that the majority of her fortune be split between two organizations which represented her greatest interests: the Metropolitan Opera and the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust.
Webster was born on the Isle of Man in 1913, where her father was a lighthouse keeper. She first discovered her love for birds when she moved to Scotland as a girl, and was later introduced to opera via the Met’s Saturday afternoon broadcasts. The Met’s director of planned and special gifts, Gail Chesler, said that Ms. Webster remembered Saturday broadcasts as far back as 1939.
Webster had been in contact with Met representatives since 2000 when she was invited to New York for an opening night performance following a generous donation. She had attended performances prior to 2000 with opera tour groups however, which established her connection to the organization and prompted her to write the $7.5 million donation into her will. Needless to say, her generosity will not only boost the opera company but also serve to illustrate the boundless audience that art, music, and nature all inspire.
Source: NY Times.
Archive for the ‘Articles of Interest’ Category
British Woman Donates Fortune to the Met, Bird Group
Juilliard Acquires Beethoven and Mendelssohn Manuscripts
Musicians Discouraged from Bringing Pencils
To mark the completion of a $200 million addition, The Juilliard School will host a lecture event tonight at Alice Tully Hall. The school is expected to announce the acquisition of two original manuscripts as gifts from Bruce Kovner, chairman of Juilliard and billionaire trader. Including the two newest articles, Kovner will have donated 140 manuscripts to the Juilliard archive.
The two items include a copy of Beethoven’s “Kreutzer” sonata and Mendelssohn’s “Elijah,” each containing revisions and notes by its respective composer. There will be a concert as part of the event showcasing other works whose manuscripts have been obtained. This includes Beethoven’s “Grosse Fuge” and the last act of Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro.”
Kovner has expressed his intent to make these manuscripts available to scholars, having already begun processing the artifacts for access on juilliardmanuscriptcollection.org Read about the event, the acquisitions, and the archive here (source: NYT).
New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Gets New Maestro
The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra announced that Jacques Lacombe will succeed Neeme Järvi as music director. The 46 year old French Canadian is joining the organization during a period of frozen wages and a reduced concert schedule with the intent of revitalizing both orchestra and audience.
Lacombe says that in order to invigorate the classical scene a conductor must be inventive with his programming. While his preferences lean towards 19th century repertoire with 20th century classics, Lacombe remains fluid with his vision, saying that he doesn’t “want to be labeled,” and that he is still “discovering things.”
While the Ledger regards Lacombe as “untested,” he has many conducting credits including the Met. Where Jäarvi brought experience and renown, Lacombe will hopefully bring new energy and perspective.
Source: The Star Ledger
Newsweek: Classical Music’s Version of Dodgers vs. Yankees: A Youthquake Hits Both Coasts
California Remains Attached
Before the Dodgers relinquished their chance at the Series, Newsweek featured an article capitalizing on the potential bi-coastal competition and profiled the two conductors who recently claimed their coasts: Alan Gilbert and Gustavo Dudamel. Author Seth Colter Walls asserts that the LA and NY Philharmonics are not in competition, but instead share the goal of bringing conductors’ names into American—even international—homes.
Citing that both conductors have already commissioned and premiered works by well known composers, Walls indicates the pair intend to, and are capable of renewing interest in new music and bringing young audiences to concert halls. Click to read the Newsweek article containing the words “buttress” and “contemporaneity.”
The New Yorker: Why So Serious?
Let's Put a Smile on that Face
While concertgoers today might resent those who unknowingly applaud or whisper between movements of a piece, it seems such gaffes have only recently begun to draw frowns. The familiar silent audience who applauds in appropriate places is of relatively new invention. Relative of course to the age of the music which makes up the classical repertoire. As it turns out, classical concerts used to be noisy, social gatherings where aristocrats could mingle and the public could turn bourgeois into a verb.
The September 8th issue of The New Yorker featured the article “Why So Serious?” In it, writer Alex Ross chronicles the history of classical concert tradition.
Ross cites examples from performances at the Paris Opera, and recitals by the pianist credited with creating modern piano performance tradition, Franz Liszt. Ross compares Liszt’s recitals to “The Ed Sullivan Show,” claiming that Liszt would solicit suggestions from the audience for subjects to improvise at the piano. Furthermore, Liszt is said to have modulated not only between tonal centers, but entire pieces. As Ross explains it:
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Another Writer’s Reaction To Criticism Of Conductors
Some still angry
Do you like apples? If you caught my rather sassy rant about Philippa Ibbotson’s recent article “The Myth of the Maestro”, you might enjoy this one. Another Guardian writer has outright disagreed with Ibbotson’s aforementioned piece. Wait, did I say disagree? More like, called her out on it. How about them apples?
In his opening remark of the article “Conductors – the cash and the confusion,” author of the Guardian’s blog On Classical Tom Service agrees with Ibbotson that conductors are overpaid. Immediately after this short-lived agreement, he openly points out the underlying theme of her piece which we all sensed:
I can’t agree with her premise that conductors make no difference to the performances you hear all over the world
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The New WQXR: More Music, Less Variety
Puts Mahler in Bad Mood
As WQXR prepares to move from 96.3FM to 105.9FM this Thursday, October 8, at 8:00pm, its new parent company, WNYC, has announced some of the changes that will occur.
One benefit will be a reduction in commercials. The NYT article says “underwriting announcements” will only take up about 4 minutes per hour, compared to almost 12 minutes per hour of commercials currently.
In addition, many of WQXR’s broadcasts will remain. The station will continue to broadcast from the Met, the New York Phil, and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. The article does not mention the fate of Exploring Music with Bill McGlaughlin.
Read on for changes to expect.
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French Record Label to Record Unpublished Vivaldi Works
All 450 Of Them
The French record label Naïve is undertaking a project to record 450 unpublished compositions by well known Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi. As reported by New York Times Music, the project is administrated by American musician Susan Orlando, who commented that despite economic hardship, the project is expected to continue through 2015. Upon completion, the entirety of Vivaldi’s musical legacy will be preserved on a 100 CD set available from Naïve. For extensive information regarding the project, and a professional’s take on the beauty of Vivaldi’s music, check out the article at the Times
Article of Interest: Pre-season Construction at the Met
Season Lineup Looks Promising
New York Times Music has a very detailed and interesting article about the off-season construction taking place at the Metropolitan Opera. Check out the article, or click the link for a quick list of some of the upcoming Met rep.
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