Very interesting article in today's Washington Post by Philip Kennicott
on James Levine's recent injury and the fact he will not be able to
appear at a Boston SO gig here at the Kennedy Center.  Access to this
article requres registration but is free:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/10/AR2006031002365.html

Among the eyebrow-raising comments are: "Even without his presence,
Levine's impact can be heard in the program the symphony is bringing.
The Boston Symphony has moved to the forefront of a handful of American
orchestras, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the San Francisco
Symphony, that are attempting to buck the downward trend of the symphony
world by turning back to what orchestras do best.  They have opted for
seriousness, exploration and perfectionism.  "Anyone who has followed
recent guest appearances of major orchestras at the Kennedy Center will
be shocked by how radically different this feels.  The Boston Symphony
is making music for grown-ups, for serious music lovers, for audiences
tired of hearing the same old same old, season after season.  Levine is
steering his orchestra against the prevailing and dispiriting trend
toward mediocrity at most American symphonies.  He is challenging
audiences, hiring only the best soloists, and turning a night at the
symphony into an intellectually engaging evening once again."

And: "Most of the American orchestral world is in the midst of a now
decades-long malaise. Audiences get older and sparser, programs become
more and more limited to a small and overplayed core of familiar
classics, rehearsal time is limited, and the results show. Concerts
become workmanlike. Soloists jet from city to city and rarely seem to
have much engagement with the orchestras they play with. Few
orchestras can afford to hire the superstar artists that might help
them rise above the routine. Serious music lovers find fewer and fewer
evenings that interest them. The National Symphony, which can play at
the highest level when inspired, recently announced a season filled
with chestnuts and B-level guest artists, and little that hasn't been
heard here repeatedly over the past 10 years. That's become the norm
throughout American musical life."

I think the above is a bit too harsh on the National SO, although I
will say that I was close to not renewing my season ticket this year
due to a shortage of really interesting concerts.  If the NSO did not
allow unlimited mix and match, I probably would have sat this season
out.

Finally, the article notes in passing that the BSO's endowment stands
at $318 million.

Mitch Friedfeld