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MUSIC SHORTS
February 27, 2001
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By Janos Gereben
The Times and Times of Alberto Vilar
When on Friday, the Times of London ran a profile of opera benefactor Alberto Vilar - after the financier's $50 million gift to the Kennedy Center - there was a cryptic reference to a large contribution he offered to and then withdrew from the San Francisco Opera: "There are accusations that Vilar ruthlessly transferred his patronage from San Francisco Opera to Los Angeles when San Francisco failed to appoint his preferred candidate as its boss; and that his recent decision to pour $3 million into the New York Philharmonic was a blatant attempt to influence… the appointment of Lorin Maazel." We'll let New York worry about the Maazel matter, but just where did that San Francisco "ruthless transfer" rumor come from?
After looking all over the place, the source was found to be: Vilar. He told the New York Times last fall, after the selection of Pamela Rosenberg as SFO's general manager, that he had other ideas, and was willing to put money behind his convictions or preferences. Vilar said he told the company the appointment of either the Salzburg Festival's Gerard Mortier or Met assistant manager Sarah Billinghurst would have meant that "they could count on my support.'' Well, they wouldn't, so that he didn't, and that's what happened, at least as a part of this episode of "Who Wants to Be a Patron Millionaire?"
McFerrin quits St. Paul - in San Francisco It's unclear why Bobby McFerrin would quit the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra on Sunday, while he and the orchestra were in San Francisco for a concert, but that's what he did, and he made it effective in one week, no less! McFerrin, 50, is stepping down after seven years with SPCO as Resource Trust Creative Chair, a kind of omnibus position, working as an associate of the music director (Andreas Delfs replacing Hugh Wolff, who departed a year ago). McFerrin will tour with Voicestra, his improvisational a cappella group, and he is still planning to make his conducting debut with the Vienna Philharmonic next season. McFerrin and his family will keep their home in Minneapolis.
San Francisco Gives Trumpeter To Chicago After the San Francisco Symphony denied tenure to associate principal trumpeter Craig Morris this year, he was accepted by both the Boston Symphony and also the Chicago Symphony which he will join next fall as its principal trumpet, successor to the legendary Adolph Herseth.
Technology and music It was last week that Oracle CEO Larry Ellison made the remarkably nervy statement that "There will be no new architecture for computing in the next 1,000 years." During the same week, practical implementations of technology from the last millennium began to hit the market, hinting at future developments within just a few years that we cannot fully anticipate yet. For example, MP3 compressed sound files — in the exclusive domain of technogeeks just two to three years ago — that make it possible to have 20 full-operas on a single disc can now be played not only from a computer CD drive and newfangled handheld devices, but from audio jukeboxes that hook up to your good old stereo. Both Compaq and RCA announced plans to introduce such players. Besides the convenience and savings, MP3 music also has the advantage of easy and virtually invisible storage. Imagine all the tapes and CDs scattered around your home being kept inside a small jukebox! In another development, MPEG-4 compressed video files make wireless viewing possible, so you'll be able to watch performances on your cell phone, with (we hope) a much-improved display.
Paul Taylor returns If you missed the grand, two-week residency by the Paul Taylor Dance Company in 1999, courtesy of San Francisco Performances, get ready for a reprise next month. Musical Offering, Funny Papers, Company B, and many other works will be danced again in the Yerba Buena Center, March 21 through April 1. A series of dance programs on film and video will be screened on March 20 and 27. For information, go to www.SFPerformances.org.
Verdi on Film The San Francisco Opera (which has a modest Verdi festival coming up this summer — Aida, La Traviata, and Simon Boccanegra — is joining the San Francisco Film Society to present Verdi on film, May 25–31 in the Castro Theater and June 1–7 in the Park Theater, Menlo Park. Information is available on both their websites: www.sfiff.org and www.sfopera.com.
The Berkeley Bruckner Kent Nagano and the Berkeley Symphony are continuing their exploration of Anton Bruckner's works. Next up: Symphony No. 8, on April 3, in Zellerbach Hall. Also on the program: Britten's Lachrymae, the 1950 viola-piano duet orchestrated in 1976 as a small viola concerto, with a string orchestra and subtitled Reflections on a Song by Dowland. For information, check out www.berkeleysymphony.org The Berkeley Symphony also has a new leadership: Banker Mike Stockdale is now president of the board, and Catherine Barker-Henwood — an Australian who spent the last four years as general manager of the Boston Philharmonic (of Benjamin Zander fame) — is the new executive director. The Berkeley orchestra celebrates its 30th year, the 23rd with Nagano as music director.
Left Coast Pulitzer sampler The Left Coast Chamber Ensemble's next concert, March 19, in the acoustical horror of the San Francisco War Memorial Building's Green Room, will feature the music of Pulitzer-Prize winners Lewis Spratlan, Mario Davidovsky, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, and Wayne Peterson. For information, consult www.chambermusicpartn.org
Vaness as Salome? Yes, that's what it looks like: Carol Vaness will shed some, perhaps all, of the seven veils with the Pittsburgh Opera in November, in the company of Gwyneth Jones, Gary Lakes, and Tom Fox, with John Mauceri conducting and set in the Peter Hall production. San Francisco audiences with long memories of Mozart and Puccini roles for the Merola grad, then Verdi and Bellini, with various degrees of success, may well wonder if after Richard Strauss the next stop is . . . Wagner? Shh! (Janos Gereben is arts editor of the Post Newspaper Group and technology editor for www.the451.com. Contact him at janos451@earthlink.net) ©2001 Janos Gereben, all rights reserved |