In Tuesday’s (7/3) New York Times, Dave Itzkoff writes, “It is more generally the custom for a new bride and groom to get presents rather than give them. But two days after Alec Baldwin and Hilaria Thomas were married at a star-studded and music-filled wedding in Manhattan, the New York Philharmonic said on Monday that it had received a gift of $1 million from Mr. Baldwin to honor Zarin Mehta, its outgoing president and executive director. Mr. Baldwin, the actor and ‘30 Rock’ star, is a member of the Philharmonic’s board and the host of its radio show, ‘The New York Philharmonic This Week’; he is also an enthusiastic advocate for that orchestra, which he has plugged in the occasional Capital One credit card commercial. The Philharmonic said the gift from Mr. Baldwin was a donation of his proceeds from his Capital One campaign. Mr. Baldwin said in a statement: ‘I have loved classical music all of my life, but Zarin Mehta made my dream of becoming part of the world of classical music come true.’ … Mr. Mehta, who will conclude his tenure at the end of the Philharmonic’s 2011-12 season, said in a statement that Mr. Baldwin’s gift ‘humbles me and inspires me to continue to contribute to the art form in any way I can.’ ” Click here to read Baldwin’s first-person essay about why he loves orchestras in Symphony magazine.
Photo by Chris Lee
Posted July 3, 2012
