An unsustainable business model at the Cleveland Symphony:
The numbers for the year ended June 30, 2008: Conductor Franz Welser-Möst received compensation of $1,316,120. Concertmaster William Preucil (the orchestra's most highly paid member) received a salary of $414,159 and benefits of $19,658. The mean compensation for players was $140,200. Benefits include 10 weeks of paid vacation and 26 weeks of paid sick leave. The orchestra's 2009-10 budget is $42 million, down from $45 million during the prior period. Net assets during 2008 were reported to have been reduced by $27 million; published financial information seems to indicate an operating loss, perhaps in excess of $7 million.I noticed the expenses for the San Francisco Symphony's Keeping Score program is rather high. They raised nearly $10 million in 2005, and the total budget for the project is $23 million. So far, they've produced 7 episodes of the show. The show's very engaging, even if you're getting into classical music as a form of cultural vitamins (although the historical re-enactments in the Berlioz episode are...how do I say this? thrifty....). Put it on your Neflix queue. Noe enjoy this San Francisco controversy from 2008:
The San Francisco Weekly lately got word that Michael Tilson Thomas' salary is what the news-hounds figured was a whopping $1.6 million. After reading the article, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, in a fit of pique, now promises to cut off the city's $1.8-million subsidy to the symphony, according to a follow-up in the Weekly.
Philip Glass is promoting a piano concert tour in the Northwest this week. I liked this quote about his film scores:
"There are some talented guys in Hollywood, but they're not treated well," he once said. "They're always asked to write fast music for a chase. Why not slow? I like a distance between image and music, something not too literal, not right on the image but loose."I guess that's why he didn't get offered the Clash of the Titans soundtrack. But The Hours rocks (WARNING! This is the final scene!)
