Comment Archives: stories: News: City Limits
Re: “In the wake of mounting debt, the Nashville Symphony attempts to restructure its finances and its programming”
>> You probably shouldn't comment on something you know very little about.<<
Take your emotions out of it, sir. I'm neither belittling those to like classical nor besmirching the music. But your emotional diatribe is doing you no good what so ever.
Go to ANY music store & ask them which category is THE slowest selling. Ask ANY music store which category has the least amount of "new releases". I have friends who've worked retail music for 20+ years, I can assure you, they DO indeed know what they speak of.
I've also stood outside the Schermerhorn & physically watch the crowd go in. I DO in fact know what sort of crowd goes into their concerts.
Lastly, if in fact classical music is SUCH a resounding success, then the NSO & Schermerhorn wouldn't be having continued financial difficulties then, would they? They'd be rolling in the $$$$ & turning away customers. Instead they're playing "pops" concerts in order to help draw in a contemporary crowd & even that's not working for them.
Denial ain't a river in Egypt, homes. ;)
Re: “In the wake of mounting debt, the Nashville Symphony attempts to restructure its finances and its programming”
bobsguns You probably shouldn't comment on something you know very little about. There are far more attendees under 50 than there are over 50. I am a subscriber to both Classical and Pops and I see the age of those who come to the concerts. Perhaps classical music is dead to you, but not to those of us who strongly support it.
Re: “In the wake of mounting debt, the Nashville Symphony attempts to restructure its finances and its programming”
>>How about attend a concert<<
No thank you, sir. I admire the musicians & their talent & all that, but I simply fall asleep in 15-20 minutes of listening. ;)
However, I have seen the crowd that goes into the hall & it darn sure doesn't look like a under 60 crowd to me. YMMV.
Again, I wish the NSO the best in all their endeavors, but I still contend they're tilting at windmills in today's society.
Re: “In the wake of mounting debt, the Nashville Symphony attempts to restructure its finances and its programming”
bobsguns "50? 60? Older?" How about attend a concert and take a look around. When you are able to attend you will see the average age is much lower than you might think.
Re: “A nostalgic stroll through the good old bad old days of Printers Alley”
As a downtown tavern keeper and resident, I am pleased by any mention -- especially positive -- of Printers Alley. But for all that, this article none the less troubles me greatly.
Despite the fact that every Printers Alley merchant -- myself included -- would have cheerfully participated in creating this article, Mr. Fox made no attempt to interview any of us. Thus the article says nothing about current events and future plans (hint: we hope to restore the alley to at least some of its former glory). Instead it appears to be a rehash of published articles.
I found the choice of photograph to be utterly baffling. It seems to me that you would have used art of the alley back in its heyday (there are many examples on the interent); or you would have used a current photo. The photo accompanying the article is between two and six years old (or thereabouts) and has no relevancy to your story, nor any relevancy to the glory days of Printers Alley. And -- as a pure business play -- it seems like you would have chosen a photo that shows the signage of Printers Alley establishments that are Scene advertising customers...
And finally, there are errors of fact. Among them, well, my business partner has never been a newspaper journalist, or any other kind of journalist for that matter. And perhaps most annoying to me (admittedly irrationally so), Mr. Fox didn't bother to even visit Printers Alley for this story, even though he could have walked here from the Scene's offices. I know this because -- despite Mr. Fox's poetic assertion here to the contrary -- there are no damn cobblestones anymore.
Cheers,
Glenn Henderson
Re: “Geek culture rules as thousands of anime and horror fans converge downtown”
Mad props to my editor Jim Ridley who put in a lot of time and effort with me making this puppy pop! Thanks, Jim!
Re: “In the wake of mounting debt, the Nashville Symphony attempts to restructure its finances and its programming”
>>I really don't think classical musicians should have to play a bunch of pops concerts to justify the board and management spending millions of dollars on a new hall.<<
So what IS the solution then? What's the average age for the attendees? 50? 60? Older? Classical music is a no-seller in the retail music world as well. Just ask any music shop.
So in order to maintain some sort of cash flow, the NSO will need to resort to playing modern music that appeals to a wider audience that will PAY to hear it. Otherwise you're going to have an empty hall filled with amatuer playing musicians, IMO. IOW, working for no pay.
Re: “In the wake of mounting debt, the Nashville Symphony attempts to restructure its finances and its programming”
I really don't think classical musicians should have to play a bunch of pops concerts to justify the board and management spending millions of dollars on a new hall. Yes, the orchestra can certainly play new music compositions as well but it certainly does not have to be pops. As one MPR announcer states, "All music was once new."
Re: “People pass Nashville's downtown Masonic Lodge every day without knowing the surprises inside”
My favorite building in our music city.
Re: “In the wake of mounting debt, the Nashville Symphony attempts to restructure its finances and its programming”
>>just goes to show you that you and your demographics intellectual level are the primary population for Tennessee? Ididocracy anyone?<<
For the record, *I* don't listen to country music. I also have a college degree. So take your snobbery & shove it up your pretentious arrogant ass.
Re: “In the wake of mounting debt, the Nashville Symphony attempts to restructure its finances and its programming”
Saturday and Sunday matinee performances sound interesting, especially if they come with matinee prices. The symphony is offering a Friday morning coffee hour series next season. I have no idea whether that will take off.
Re: “In the wake of mounting debt, the Nashville Symphony attempts to restructure its finances and its programming”
How about offering some Saturday and Sunday matinee performaces?
Re: “In the wake of mounting debt, the Nashville Symphony attempts to restructure its finances and its programming”
"mongoloid cuntry moosic fans" -- people, can't we just get along?
Re: “In the wake of mounting debt, the Nashville Symphony attempts to restructure its finances and its programming”
@bobsguns: just goes to show you that you and your demographics intellectual level are the primary population for Tennessee? Ididocracy anyone? When I do go to the Schemerhorn, the part of the trip I dread the most is having to share the streets and sidewalks with the mongoloid cuntry moosic fans wandering about and bumping into me. There is a hidden meaning in the term "honky" tonk.
Re: “In the wake of mounting debt, the Nashville Symphony attempts to restructure its finances and its programming”
>>Why don't they try to listen to actual classical music lovers<<
Could it possibly be because one could cram all the "classical music lovers" in Nashville into a city bus or two? And quite possibly have seats left over?
No one is besmirching the NSO or their talent, far from it. Their hard-won accolades speak for themselves, IMO. However, one MUST face the facts. Classical music is about as popular as speaking pure Latin, IMO. They may be out there, but they're so few in numbers as to not be able to sustain something as large as the NSO.
But good luck to them & I hope they succeed in their endeavors.
Re: “In the wake of mounting debt, the Nashville Symphony attempts to restructure its finances and its programming”
I can't agree with the above sentiment by Roberta Goodman. In order for any performing arts organization to remain relevant, it must reflect and support the art of its time. Art galleries, movie theaters and book publishers realize this, and orchestras must as well. Can you imagine movie theaters all still showing Gone With The Wind or The Maltese Falcon, or going to a bookstore and finding it fully stocked with Dickens and Hawthorne? Anyone who considers Stravinsky to be "modern music" must also by definition also regard Charlie Chaplin movies as modern cinema. It would be a shame to marginalize our fine orchestra by making it simply a museum of old pieces by long-dead composers - wonderful as these pieces may be. In fact, the orchestras who are clinging most closely to historical repertoire seem to be the ones going broke.
Let's do a reality check here. First, in the upcoming 2013-2014 season, only 16.67% of the works to be programmed on their classical series are by living composers, and for those who wish to avoid these completely there are many concerts which feature none. Second, contemporary no longer equals ugly, and the majority of the pieces performed are in fact quite lovely, and most are well within the safe stylistic parameters of good movie music. Third, the historical masterpieces the commenter so loves are available in excellent recordings in numerous versions by numerous orchestras, so those who have heard them many times may not be motivated to spring for tickets to a performance.
I think Alan Valentine has done an exceptional job leading the orchestra through troubled times. My only bone to pick with the symphony is that it so rarely features any composers based in Tennessee, preferring instead to feature the works of concert music composers who, accomplished as they may be, reside elsewhere. There is a talented community of "non-pop" composers in Tennessee who enjoy performances outside Tennessee's borders, and it would be great to introduce them to symphony patrons in their own state.
I am so proud of our orchestra and hope that "this, too, shall pass."
Re: “In the wake of mounting debt, the Nashville Symphony attempts to restructure its finances and its programming”
Personally, I think the problem is that the NSO performs far too much contemporary music. Sure, it may get kudos from the cognoscenti but the concerts I've attended have been unpleasant. I don't like the programming and I'm not going to spend close to $200 for an evening during which I hear one piece that I enjoy (Rachmaninov, Beethoven, Mozart) and two that assault my ears with noise. My parents, who will fly to NY and Chicago to attend the opera, don't go to the NSO because they hate the programming. And I have friends who used to have season tickets but let them lapse bc they don't enjoy the programs.
Why don't they try to listen to actual classical music lovers, especially those who have curtailed their attendance, and find out what the customers would like to hear?
Re: “Matthew McConaughey-Reese Witherspoon drama Mud opens next month's Nashville Film Festival”
Festivals rarely announce their full lineups until weeks beforehand, for the reasons mentioned above: there's too much danger of movies getting yanked. I have mixed feelings about the politics of celebrity that govern the vast majority of festivals all the way to Cannes, with remarkable exceptions (e.g., True/False in Columbia, MO), but I can't really blame the NaFF for trying to fill seats when they're also showing Resnais, Reygadas, Apichatpong Weerasethakul et al.
As for the badge price, I'm not sure I see how they're putting the food and drink badge ahead. For $400, you get 40 screening passes and attendant perks; for $250, you get admission to a tent. (That's included in the $400, so factoring that in, your screening price works out to less than $4 for the 40 tickets.) Seems more to me like an acknowledgement that there are people who just want the networking aspect of a festival without the movies and are willing to pay for it. Don't know that I've seen another festival sell a badge just for that, but that could just be my limited experience.
Re: “Matthew McConaughey-Reese Witherspoon drama Mud opens next month's Nashville Film Festival”
A quick visit to their website really tells you all you need to know about the festival. Assaulted with images and video pimping celebrities and the red carpet experience in all corners. What about the actual movies? Can anyone even find the announcement for these films that are showing in 2013? I haven't been able to. Facebook / Twitter? Nothing. This is all further backed by their film badge price increase this year. Want to see the films? 400$. Want to drink and socialize in the VIP tent? You're in luck, because that will only run you 250$ (oh, but just 5$ for every movie you want to see!). Really kind of fascinating, is there another film festival that puts a VIP food and drink badge ahead of the film badge?
Re: “In the wake of mounting debt, the Nashville Symphony attempts to restructure its finances and its programming”
Emotional diatribe? LOL Get real! Yes, there are issues with building and maintaining classical audiences but to suggest the audience is filled only with 50 year olds and above is off base. You and I must be going to different concerts because the age differences are all over the place when I'm there.