The Honolulu Symphony has filed for bankruptcy. Things began looking grim for the orchestra, which is heralded as, “the oldest symphony west of the Rockies”, when musicians were forced to take a 15% pay-cut in September. When checks did not arrive for concerts during the months of September and October, musicians became suspect to what administrators publicly declared last week, that the debt of the orchestra (over $1 million) was far beyond expected, and filing for Chapter 11 was the only choice.

Despite not being paid for their services, musicians continued to give performances for the last 2 months, hoping that something would come through. Unfortunately, it did not. Half of the musicians will be laid off, and the 2009-10 season may not be able to continue. Original article on honoluluadvertise.com below.

Honolulu Symphony broke, ends season

A recent entry on the NY Times blog, The Score, talks about the phenomenon video game franchises Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Author, Michael Gordon, asks what thousands of music students have been saying since the game’s inception 5 years ago: “So why not orchestra hero?” Who wouldn’t want to play the violin solo from Scheherazade, or the trumpet opening for Mahler’s Fifth Symphony?

Gordon goes on to discuss the foreseeable problems with such a manifestation of the popular franchise. For example, the basic Rock Band set (guitar, drums, microphone) carried a retail price of nearly $200 at launch. One can only imagine what a basic orchestra set would cost; undoubtedly out of the range of most of the target audience.

I have a question, how much would it cost to gain the rights to the works of Beethoven, Brahms, or Tchaikovsky? Enough to further inflate the costs of the game to epic proportions? Probably.

Look at the recently released Beatles Rock Band, which carried a price of $249 for the game with instruments, and $59 for the game alone. Even die-hard Beatles fanatics like myself couldn’t let ourselves hand over the cash for the bundle, which came out less than 2 months ago and is already on sale for 20% off at Best Buy. The reason behind the high cost? According to executives, Yoko Ono (owner of the rights to a large chunk of Beatles songs), gave developers “hell”, and forced redesign after redesign, causing production costs to be unusually high. I can see a similar situation arising in attempts to digitize the great classical works.
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It is becoming almost a standard rite of passage for young musicians: their first experience with some legendary conductor. Whether this takes place at a summer festival, all-state orchestra, or in the college/conservatory field, it is almost always a memorable experience. Musicians know what I’m talking about. You’re probably thinking about that time you played under Michael Tilson Thomas, Lorin Maazel, Leonard Bernstein, I could go on…

In a recent article, the New York Times chronicles a visit by veteran conductor, Bernard Haitink, to the Juilliard School in New York. Haitink conducted the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam for over 25 years, and for a time was the principal conductor of the Chicago Symphony. He is the quiet type, meaning, it would not surprise you to go through an entire symphony without hearing so much as a peep from his lips. When he does speak, you can be sure that the entire orchestra is listening.

Detailing 2 days worth of rehearsals, a comedic episode when fellow conductor Michael Tilson Thomas just decided to stop by, and all the ups and downs of an intense concert program featuring Brahms’ Second Symphony, the article is a worthy read, and sure to take you back to a great memory of your first summer at Tanglewood.

Getting to Know You, and the Score Too

‘Tis the season for change apparently. Alan Fletcher, president and CEO of the acclaimed Aspen Music Festival and School, has announced his intention to resign at the end of the month. After only three summers, the decision has surprised patrons and teachers alike.

Speculation is that heated politics towards the end of the 2009 summer were a catalyst for the move. Similar action was taken by former president and CEO of Aspen, Don Roth, who resigned in 2005 after idiosyncratic attacks on his personal life.

Disparagement of Fletcher began when he announced cutbacks in the budget for 2010. Several faculty members got a pink slip, the concert calendar lost a week, and the maximum student enrollment dropped from 750 to 625.

Fletcher’s resume sports a long list of impressive positions, such as Provost and Senior Vice President at the New England Conservatory, and Head of Music at Carnegie Mellon University. So we doubt he will be disappearing from the classical scene any time soon. We wish you luck Mr. Fletcher.

Aspen Music Festival CEO steps down

Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

But this theater legend has already shown his resilience. In a statement released by publicists on Sunday,

“Andrew is now undergoing treatment and expects to be fully back at work before the end of the year.”

It is a particularly busy time for Webber, who recently announced a sequel to his highly acclaimed musical, Phantom of the Opera, entitled Love Never Dies. The production already has a scheduled premiere in London this coming March, with Broadway scheduled for November.

From all of us at The Sound Post, here’s to a quick recovery for a great icon in musical history.