“After four years, Spring for Music has closed down for lack of funds,” writes Anthony Tommasini in Sunday’s (5/11) New York Times. “That financial support could not be found to extend this invaluable project is very dispiriting. What made Spring for Music exceptional is something that should be commonplace in classical music. Orchestras from across North America, large and small, major and regional, were selected to participate based on the artistic merit and adventurousness of the programs they proposed. Shouldn’t this be true of all orchestra programs? … From Oregon to Baltimore, from Montreal to Alabama, hometown supporters traveled en masse via planes, trains and buses to cheer their players on, often by the hundreds. Ticket prices were $25. Some of the most exciting programs presented each season in New York took place during the six days of Spring for Music at Carnegie Hall. This is not the time to assess why stable financing could not be secured; things are hard throughout the classical music world these days. But the loss of this festival stings.” The final concert of this year’s Spring for Music festival took place on Saturday with Music Director Manfred Honeck leading the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Read Donald Rosenberg’s essay about Spring for Music in the current issue of Symphony.
Posted May 12, 2014
Pictured: Spectators at Saturday’s final Spring for Music concert at Carnegie Hall. Photo by Hiroyuki Ito for the New York Times
