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ISM warns on Ryanair restrictions
26 August 2010
The Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM) is warning anyone intending to travel with a small instrument to check very carefully before travelling with Ryanair, and to ensure their instruments will be accepted as hand luggage before booking any flights.
The warning comes in the wake of several reported cases this summer of musicians being targeted by airline staff. In one instance, 12-year-old music student Francesca Rijks, who studies at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester, was turned away with her violin at the boarding gate of a Ryanair flight returning to the UK from Germany.
Her parents were told the violin was not allowed as hand luggage, and were given an ultimatum to either put the violin in the baggage hold of the plane, which would cause irreparable damage to the instrument, or to purchase an additional seat at a cost of 230 euros. This was despite the fact they had received confirmation from the Ryanair customer service department (prior to purchasing any tickets) that the instrument would be accepted. They had also checked in without problems.
Francesca’s father Harmen Rijks said: ‘This was an absolute disgrace! Their policy appears to discriminate against violinists, the vast majority of whom simply can't afford to purchase an additional seat.’
The ISM’s head of legal services David Abrahams said: ‘We are deeply concerned about the recent cases involving musicians travelling on flights with their instruments.’
‘The idea that musicians should be forced to purchase an additional seat on board an aircraft because they are carrying an instrument that can be stored safely in the overhead lockers is unfair, discriminatory and irrational. These airlines are punishing musicians for being musicians.’
In addition, the ISM has advised its members to take with them a letter, signed by ISM chief executive Deborah Annetts, confirming that they are music professionals.
LSO chief reaches for the sky
26 August 2010
A view from Mount Snowdon
The London Symphony Orchestra’s managing director Kathryn McDowell is taking 24 hours off from running the orchestra to take part in the Three Peaks Challenge in aid of the Lord Mayor’s Appeal 2010, Pitch Perfect, on 17 September.
The boss will be tackling the three highest peaks, respectively, in England, Wales and Scotland - Scafell Pike (978m); Mount Snowdon (1085m); and Ben Nevis (1344m) – just a week before the orchestra’s 2010/11 season kicks off at its Barbican home.
McDowell is joined for the daunting challenge by a climbing team of seven, made up of staff from the Lord Mayor’s Appeal team, London Symphony Orchestra and the Cricket Foundation.
They hope to raise £8,000 for Pitch Perfect and they can be sponsored at http://www.justgiving.com/LMA3PeaksTeam
The Lord Mayor of London, Nick Anstee, has named The Cricket Foundation’s StreetChance initiative and the London Symphony Orchestra’s Discovery programme On Track as the principal beneficiaries of his appeal in 2010.
WNO chief steps down
25 August 2010
John Fisher: 'It has been a privilege'
Welsh National Opera's chief executive and artistic director John Fisher is to step down next summer after five years in charge of the company. He rejoined WNO in 2006 from the New York Metropolitan Opera after a lifetime in opera which began at WNO.
He said: 'It has been a privilege to lead WNO over the last five years, and I am very proud of what we have been able to achieve. It is a wonderful company that is a great asset for Wales and the world of opera. In the next few years WNO will face very significant challenges, but I am confident that when I leave next summer the company will be in the hands of a very strong and accomplished team.'
Company chairman Geraint Talfan Davies said: 'Over the last five years John has made an enormous contribution to the development of the company through raising its musical and vocal standards to the highest level, and attracting to WNO the very best talent. Many fine productions culminated in a truly outstanding Die Meistersinger last summer that will always have an honoured place in the company’s history. We are hugely grateful to him for all that he has achieved.
'We now look forward to those productions that he will oversee during the remainder of his time with us. The finest tribute that we can pay John is to do everything we can in the challenging climate ahead to sustain the standards that he has set.'
Edinburgh’s festival forum eyes gathering economic storm clouds
23 August 2010
The morning after John Adams’ El Niño opened the Edinburgh International Festival, members of Edinburgh’s Festival Forum gathered to discuss the gathering clouds on the horizon in the form of swingeing cuts to arts budgets. Established to ensure Edinburgh retains its position as the world’s leading festival city, the forum represents directors from the capital’s 12 main festivals, organisers, promoters, venue and accommodation providers, government agencies, elected members and other stakeholders.
Earlier in the week EIF director Jonathan Mills defended claims from Charlie Woods, director of the Underbelly fringe venue, that the ‘case for the international festival grows weaker’, if the 25% cuts in England were to come north of the border. However, Mills said such a scenario would be tantamount to flogging off the contents of the national galleries. ‘An analogy that illustrates this point perfectly is Banksy and Turner, both extremely experimental artists. But if you only have Banksy do you have a culture and if you only have Turner do you have a culture?’
The EIF is already looking at cuts of up to 15% next year and Mr Mills admitted these could increase to 25 per cent particularly as the City of Edinburgh Council, a major supporter of the festival, has to make savings of £140m from its budget over the next three years.
Suggestions put forward to increase support for the festivals included compiling a more robust economic argument for funding given that the value of festival events in the capital is estimated at over £200m, increasing the reach of major festival events through live broadcasts, introducing cultural diplomacy into the programming, and developing more strategic relationships with bodies such as VisitScotland and Scottish Enterprise. The most controversial suggestion came from Creative Scotland chief executive Andrew Dixon who suggested introducing local taxation, similar to Boston’s bed tax, which would ring-fence contributions from the private sector such as hotels, bed and breakfasts and taxis, to help share the costs of supporting the capital’s festivals. ‘It is all about trying to get the private sector to realise that they are benefiting in many ways from the work that is going on at the festivals around the city.’
Mr Dixon also argued for the continuation of the Scottish government’s Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund which supports home-grown talent to appear at the festivals representing a £2m investment over the past three years.
Intermusica poaches Simon Goldstone and more than 20 artists from IMG
20 August 2010
London artist management office Intermusica has pulled off a major coup by signing to its staff IMG Artists vocal division vice president, Simon Goldstone, together with a list of more than 20 artists he has been representing. At Intermusica, where he takes the title of director, vocal & opera, Goldstone joins former IMG Artists colleague Julia Maynard, who made her move in 2006.
The new development adds to the lustre of the Intermusica company Stephen Lumsden has built up from scratch in 29 years to be a leading player on the worldwide classical music scene. Lumsden sees the arrival of Goldstone as an appropriate acquisition for '.... a company which values personal care and a concern for long-term thinking for its artists as well as a real passion for music in all its forms.'
A French/Music graduate of King's College, London, Simon Goldstone worked at the Royal Albert Hall and the Southbank Centre before gaining his first experience of artist management at the Organisation Internationale Artistique office in Paris, where he represented such names as Roberto Alagna and José van Dam. His career with leading international player IMG Artists at its European office in London began 15 years ago.
Among the names following Goldstone to Intermusica are US mezzo Joyce DiDonato (a 2010 Gramophone Artist of the Year nominee), rising South Africa-born soprano Amanda Echalaz and Finnish lyric soprano Soile Isokoski, plus baritones Scott Hendricks and Jacques Imbrailo – the latter hugely praised for this year's Billy Budd at Glyndebourne. Among several stage directors also moving with Goldstone to Intermusica are Alessandro Talevi and Australia-born Stephen Barlow.
There are few clues as to the passage of events leading to Goldstone's move, but indications are that his new appointment is seen as a springboard for the further development of Intermusica's still relatively recent commitment to full-scale singer management. Says Goldstone: 'Julia Maynard and I look forward to adding to an already well-established roster of talented singers, stage directors and opera conductors.'
The phenomenon of managers taking artists with them when they change employers is 'not unusual', says John Willan, chairman of the International Artist Managers' Association. 'What is unusual about this latest example is that so many artists are involved. But there's nothing illegal about the principle of artists moving with managers in such circumstances – their contracts with management companies don't normally prevent this. In the past, IAMA has looked into the possibility of banning the so-called 'poaching' of artists, but the conclusion was that this would be simply unenforceable.'
IMG Artists were contacted requesting comment but none was forthcoming. Goldstone's departure is nonetheless bound to be seen as a significant blow, not least in the aftermath of the conviction in 2009 of Texan owner Barrett Wissman on charges of fraud in the USA. This was followed by his resignation as IMG Artists chairman.
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