Dear Mr. Gillinson

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

It would be a daunting task for the director of Carnegie Hall in Lewisburg, West Virginia, to maintain that facility as the world’s most respected venue for classical music performance, but it ought to be easy for his New York counterpart to do the same. Carnegie Hall’s management, though, seems to be consciously watering down its repertoire and, in the process, transforming its employer’s image from that of the shining city on the hill to simply another unfocused performance space.


Last year the board hired Clive Gillinson, formerly of the London Symphony, to be its new director, the third in the last four years. Mr. Gillinson officially arrived in July, bearing an impressive resume and greeted by positively hagiographic press. As he assumes his new position, let’s explore some areas where Carnegie is in need of marked improvement.


STABILITY The past few seasons at Carnegie Hall have featured more soap than grand opera happenings. Herr Direktor Franz Xaver Ohnesorg was despised by his quickly departing staff for his autocratic and haughty style. As if in response, the board chose a gentler American, Robert Harth, as his replacement. But Harth, whose untimely death opened the position yet again, went right along with his inherited artistic staff as it designed a pop music coup in the basement: Zankel Hall.


Pop performers began playing in the West 57th Street venue many years ago, of course, but by and large these concerts were not sponsored by the hall, rather the hall was simply rented out for the evening as it is for the slew of graduations that fill the place each spring. This is no longer so: Such concerts are actively booked by Carnegie’s management.


Zankel’s first season offered 45 classical concerts, 35 pop and “world” events, and nine hybrids (which, at least if I remember my freshman botany, means they have a much more difficult time reproducing themselves), wherein classical music was mixed with some other genre. What is the ratio of pop to classical that turns a hallowed hall into just another auditorium?


We are all inundated with pop culture at every turn, and New York is filled with jazz clubs, rock venues, and Broadway theaters. The new Zankel Hall shouldn’t need to book a concert by Bill Frisell and the Intercontinentals. Carnegie’s “perspectives” series – which, in theory, offers a distinctive artist the capacity to perform as a solo recitalist, a chamber musician, a programmer of concerts, and a soloist – doesn’t need to feature Senegalese singer Youssou N’Dour, as it will next month. Now that this repertoire is moving into Stern Hall, the main hall, what is the clear distinction between this place and any of a few dozen others in town? This is not why Isaac Stern saved Carnegie from the wrecking ball.


Carnegie management attempts to justify this tectonic shift in financial terms, expecting that over time pop ticket sales will be stronger than classical. But they have lost their focus. The mission of an arts institution is not to make money, but rather to enrich a society’s intellectual life. Besides, the hall relies more heavily on donations than on ticket sales for its daily existence.


It is important for Mr. Gillinson to reestablish the confidence level at Carnegie that it is indeed the classical music capital of the world. He must take a stand against the new crossover trend, although his recent statement to the BBC magazine that one of the highlights of his long career at the LSO was the recording of the music from “Star Wars” gives me pause.


ELASTICITY Every year, someone at Carnegie Hall promises that they will soon be utilizing all of the performance spaces for significant festivals, but those never materialize. Now with three performance spaces, Carnegie has no excuse. Imagine a world-class orchestra like the Vienna Philharmonic playing several weeks of concerts, not just as a grand totality, but also as an incubator for smaller groups. Mr. Gillinson is an ideal candidate to accomplish this task – he was very successful running festivals with the London Symphony.


Lost in the shuffle seems to be the magnificently opulent Weill Recital Hall, the best acoustical room in the city and the ideal place for chamber music. The number of classical concerts was drastically reduced at Weill once Zankel opened, leaving the hungry music lover even less satisfied than before. Weill should be used much more often. In fact, Carnegie as a whole is dark far too often. A vibrant new leader will open up its three venues for concerts at previously neglected times of the week, in particular Sunday afternoons and evenings.


People flock to Santa Fe, New Mexico every summer for a fine and highly interesting opera season. Why not attract them to the world’s greatest concert hall? A high-quality summer festival is just the ticket to put Carnegie back on the map as the premiere musical venue in the world. How about a gathering devoted to each of the composers who have a special relationship with Carnegie Hall? Tchaikovsky conducted the first ever piece performed there. Berlioz’s music was featured in its inaugural concert. Mahler was resident conductor for three years. Ives was a frequent audience member. Varese wrote the piece “Carnegie Hall.” How about convincing the Berlin Philharmonic to hold its summer concerts in Central Park? When you run Carnegie Hall, anything is possible.


BLOCK OUT THE NOISE Okay, we have avoided the major issue long enough. Someone must have the backbone to set proper standards at Carnegie Hall. It is inexcusable for Zankel performances to be constantly interrupted by the noise from the subway. If you care at all about music and its quality presentation, then something must be done about such an intrusive, anti-musical phenomenon. Mr. Gillinson must bite the bullet and renovate yet again.


In an environment where rattling a candy wrapper is tantamount to capital murder, it is positively tragicomic to observe Carnegie managers actively ignoring the intrusive subway noise at Zankel events, while their apologists in the press characterize the noise as “downtown, urban, or cutting edge.” Please, Mr. Gillinson, stop the madness!


The anxiety level is high in this town as the Metropolitan Opera is taken over by crossover king Peter Gelb. Down the street, Carnegie Hall is also at a crossroads. Carnegie can stand as the bastion of the highest of standards or it can become just another compromised and ultimately irrelevant dinosaur. Perhaps in time 57th Street will get that desperately needed parking garage after all.


The New York Sun

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