Category: Seattle

Garrick Ohlsson opens a two-part series devoted to Chopin

By R.M. Campbell

Frederic Chopin was born in Warsaw in 1810 and by the time he was in his early 20s he had settled in Paris for the rest of his short life. Although he had problems attracting the fickle Viennese and political problems in Italy marred his stay there, he was pretty much a huge success most of his life. His biggest issue was tuberculosis which killed him at the age of 39. His music, almost entirely for the piano, was beloved in his day and remains so today, 200 years after his birth.

The composer has long been a national hero in his native Poland. That worship is expressed in many ways, one of which is the Chopin International Piano Competition, one of the world’s most prestigious. Garrick Ohlsson was the first American to win the competition in 1970 which gave him instant fame and a reputation as a Chopin specialist. With his quick-silver mind and broad interests, Ohlsson has explored a good share of the musical world, not to mention others, but Chopin has always been a major factor in his artistic life.

Continue reading Garrick Ohlsson opens a two-part series devoted to Chopin

Leslie Jackson Chihuly’s “State of the Symphony”

Leslie Jackson Chihuly’s “State of the Symphony” remarks from yesterday’s SSO presser at the Fairmount.

State of The Symphony

By Leslie Jackson Chihuly, Board Chair

Thank you for taking the time to hear about the current state of the Seattle Symphony. There is much talk about the performing arts in our community these days, focusing on how the current economic stress is affecting organizations that depend on patron support for their livelihood.

We have called this briefing to tell you how excited we are about the future of Seattle Symphony. We are the largest performing arts organization in the Northwest and deliver over 200 performances a year to more than 300,000 patrons. We also are proud to serve over 100,000 people of all ages through our education programs, which reach deep into the community, including serving 190 schools in 24 school districts.

Continue reading Leslie Jackson Chihuly’s “State of the Symphony”

Lisa Daltirus gets to the heart of Verdi’s Leonora

Lisa Daltirus (Leonora) rehearses the opera with director José Mariá Condemi. Bill Mohn photos
Lisa Daltirus rehearses the opera with director José Mariá Condemi. Bill Mohn photos

In Verdi’s three most popular operas – La Traviata, Rigoletto, and Il Trovatore – the heroine suffers a tragic fate.  In Traviata, Violetta loses love, gets sick, and dies just after one final encounter with her beau.  Gilda, the heroine in Rigoletto, decides to sacrifice her own life to spare that of the Duke’s – her father’s tormentor and the man she has fallen in love with.  And then there is Leonora, who poisons herself to stay true to her love Manrico.  Simply focusing on the tragic end of these three women doesn’t do justice to the depth of Verdi’s characters.  They are complex, constantly changing, and determined to leave their own mark on the world.

Continue reading Lisa Daltirus gets to the heart of Verdi’s Leonora

New venture at the Moore

By Philippa Kiraly

This Friday at the Moore Theatre, audience members will be able to hear a performance of Broadway favorites by Lenonard Bernstein, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim and more. Let alone these are always a delight to hear, the twist is that they are being performed by a new generation of performers.

Broadway Bound Childrens Theatre and Seattle Youth Symphony are joining together in a semi-staged concert with a group of young singers aged 15-25 and 100 of the SYS as an on-stage orchestra.

This kind of collaboration is a new venture for the youth symphony and is the first of several planned to take place this year and in the future. The idea was hatched by Stephen Rogers Radcliffe, the orchestra’s music director, who will conduct the performances. Known to Seattle as a consummate musical educator of the young, Radcliffe’s credentials include time as assistant conductor of Boston Opera Company and work with Connecticut Ballet Theatre. He was also a student under Bernstein, and is looking forward with enthusiasm to this expansion of the orchestra’s mission.

Continue reading New venture at the Moore

Breaking news (tomorrow)

Update :

Communications staff forwarded answers to me yesterday evening.

Update 2:

I’ll be listening by iPhone (thank you Apple and Dan) and posting later today.

The Seattle Symphony issued a media advisory this afternoon, announci ng that Leslie Jackson Chihuly (Seattle Symphony Board Chair) will hold a media advisory tomorrow at the Olympic Fairmount Hotel.  Finally.  While the advisory describes the event as an opportunity for Jackson to share the board’s five-year plan for the orchestra.  By the end, I hope we will actually have a plan that is more than just a theme and variation on the stalled contract negotiations with the musicians.

Continue reading Breaking news (tomorrow)

Kurt Masur Makes His Welcome Debut at Benaroya Hall

By R.M. Campbell

Even though the Seattle Symphony Orchestra is in another uneasy period with troubled labor negotiations, the imminent departure of its chief executive and a long-standing deficit, it made splendid music to open the New Year Thursday night at Benaroya Hall.

The galvanizing force was Kurt Masur in his local debut. While the German conductor is in his early 80’s and suffers from Parkinson’s, he was a dynamic force on the podium, revealing his utter command over Mozart and Bruckner. SSO musicians responded with vigor and insight. The entire concert was a revelation and, for once, the cheers and standing ovation were justified.

Continue reading Kurt Masur Makes His Welcome Debut at Benaroya Hall

Is the “Great Recession” over for orchestras?

The Saint Louis Symphony released encouraging news on the health and revenue of Saint Louis’ orchestra.  As reported in the Saint Louis Business Journal, tickets sales at the midpoint of the 2009/2010 season are up 20% from $4.34 million to $5.19 million this year.  The article also acknowledges a modest increase in contributions.  Are ticket sale jumps and contribution increases in St. Louis an anomaly, unique to the city or do they represent a broader rebound for arts organizations and symphony orchestras in general?

Everyone is striking these days

The Seattle Symphony musicians aren’t the only ones contemplating a strike.  Out in Ohio, the musicians have terminated their month-to-month agreement with management and may go on strike.  The situation is similar to the one shaping up in Seattle.

The musicians, in response, released their own statement — their first on the matter — noting a willingness to bargain but also expressing reservations about the administration’s demands, which they said stand to diminish the orchestra’s stature and jeopardize the ability to attract and retain the best players.

And.

Currently, the Cleveland Orchestra is ranked seventh in the nation in terms of musician compensation, behind the orchestras of Boston, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and San Francisco. A cut of 10 percent would put Cleveland behind Washington, D.C., and Pittsburgh.

Finally.

But from the management perspective, the problem is clear. Highlighted in the orchestra’s announcement were several figures from the 2009 annual report, including a 20 percent decline in giving, a 5 percent decline in ticket sales and a $27 million loss to the value of the endowment.

Read Zach Lewis’ story in the Plain Dealer.