“The Vienna Philharmonic had never performed in Florida before March 1, when it presented the first of two sold-out concerts under Russian conductor Valery Gergiev at Artis-Naples, a leading arts center in southwest Florida,” writes Barbara Jepson in Tuesday’s (3/8) Wall Street Journal. “This splendid orchestra’s presence here was part of the inaugural season of a three-year residency that reflects the current goals of these two institutions—the venerable one, steeped in history, some of it controversial; and the ambitious newcomer, looking to shape a stronger cultural identity for the wealthy resort city of Naples…. Artis-Naples … presents about 300 paid events annually via constituents including the Baker Museum and Naples Philharmonic…. The appearance of the Vienna Philharmonic … has more than doubled the subscription base for the center’s visiting orchestra series…. Artis-Naples CEO and President Kathleen van Bergen has made several savvy moves since her appointment in 2011. The first was persuading Russian conductor Andrey Boreyko … to become music director of the Naples Philharmonic…. Another was securing the Vienna Philharmonic residency…. Both initiatives mobilized support from board members, who have endowed the music director’s position to the tune of $10 million and contributed $15 million toward the center’s $50 million fundraising campaign.”
Posted March 9, 2016
Pictured: Andrey Boreyko, music director of the Naples Philharmonic. Photo credit Archiv Kunstler
