“The New York Philharmonic, the nation’s oldest symphony orchestra and the former home of Leonard Bernstein and Gustav Mahler, is preparing for its greatest upheaval in decades,” writes Michael Cooper in Wednesday’s (4/22) New York Times. “It must raise hundreds of millions of dollars to renovate its aging and maligned Lincoln Center home…. It has to figure out how to survive two seasons without its hall during construction…. And it must find a music director to succeed Alan Gilbert, who steps down in two years…. The Philharmonic’s president, Matthew VanBesien, said that he viewed the confluence of tasks as an opportunity…. ‘They can’t be worked in isolation from one another,’ he said…. The music directorship is only the most visible change afoot at the orchestra…. The board has a new chairman this year: Oscar S. Schafer, a well-liked inverstor who is known for his love of music.… This year the orchestra hired Lisa Mantone to oversee the fund-raising project, and overhauled its organizational structure…. There are changes in the ranks of musicians as well [following] a spate of retirements and departures…. Orchestra officials recently said they had settled on a new concertmaster, Frank Huang from the Houston Symphony, who was expected to start next season.”
Posted April 23, 2015
