[Randol forwarded this copy of a letter to the UCLA regents concerning the
arbitrary renaming of the Schoenberg Hall at that university.  -Dave]

   Regents of the University of California
   President Richard Atkinson
   Chancellor Albert Carnesale

   To the Regents, the President and the Chancellor:

   I wish to bring to your attention a very serious matter, in which a
   45-year-old decree by the Regents has been improperly overridden by
   local University administrators.

   In 1955, the auditorium in the new Music Building at UCLA was officially
   named after my father, the composer Arnold Schoenberg, who taught at
   UCLA from 1936 to 1944.

   In a letter from UCLA Chancellor Raymond Allen to my mother Gertrud
   Schoenberg dated February 10, 1955 he stated:

   "It is with a great deal of personal pleasure that I inform you that
   at their meeting of January 21 the Regents of the University of
   California officially named the auditorium in the new Music Building
   on the Los Angeles campus 'Arnold Schoenberg Hall', in honor of your
   late husband.

   We on the Los Angeles campus are particularly happy to have this
   opportunity to memorialize Mr. Schoenberg's great contribution to
   the Department of Music in which he served, and the international
   distinction he brought to the University.  We are certain this pride
   and pleasure will be shared by the many students who worked under
   his inspirational leadership, and by his friends all over the world."

   The minutes of the Board of Regents Committee on Grounds & Buildings
   from its January 21, 1955 meeting confirm this:

   NAME FOR AUDITORIUM IN MUSIC BUILDING, LOS ANGELES

   "President Sproul recommended that the auditorium in the new Music
   Building on the Los Angeles campus be named 'Arnold Schoenberg Hall'
   in honor of the late Arnold Schoenberg, distinguished member of the
   faculty of music.  Chancellor Allen added that the name was recommended
   by the faculty and by him."

   The Board of Regents approved the recommendation of the Grounds &
   Buildings Committee that same day, affirming "[t]hat the auditorium
   in the new Music Building on the Los Angeles campus be named Arnold
   Schoenberg Hall, in honor of the late Arnold Schoenberg, distinguished
   member of the faculty of Music."

   Furthermore, in the program from the May 15, 1956 "Concert of Music
   By Arnold Schoenberg For the Dedication of Arnold Schoenberg Hall,"
   Dean David F. Jackey wrote:

   "For eight years, from 1936 to 1944, Arnold Schoenberg taught at the
   University of California at Los Angeles.  One of the most illustrious
   of contemporary composers, his influence was great during his lifetime,
   and continues unabated to the present.  Because of his world-wide
   significance as a composer and theorist, and because of his important
   work on this campus, the Department of Music acted unanimously in
   the spring of 1955 to recommend to the Regents of the University that
   the concert hall in the new Music Building bear his name.  Later that
   year the Regents endorsed this recommendation, and the name Arnold
   Schoenberg Hall became official.

   Tonight the Department of Music and the participating artists present
   a distinctive concert of Schoenberg's music, on the occasion of the
   dedication of the hall named after him, in warm tribute to his memory."

   A bust of Schoenberg, sculpted by Anna Mahler, the daughter of the
   composer Gustav Mahler and his wife Alma, was unveiled and placed in
   the entrance of the auditorium.

   Later, in 1962, the University extended the Schoenberg name to include
   the entire music building.  At the September 20, 1962 meeting of the
   Board of Regents Committee on Grounds & Buildings it was recommended:

   "That the name of the music auditorium, Arnold Schoenberg Hall, be
   extended to include the entire Music Building on the Los Angeles
   campus."

   The recommendation was explained as follows:

   "On January 21, 1955 the Regents approved the name Arnold Schoenberg
   Hall for the auditorium in the Music Building on the Los Angeles
   campus.  Because the hall is one of the focal points for performance
   on the campus, it is frequently mentioned in newspaper publicity as
   the site of these events.  Members of the general public who attend
   the performances are confused when they arrive on campus and find no
   structure listed as Schoenberg Hall.  In order to eliminate this
   confusion, it is recommended by the Chancellor of the Los Angeles
   campus that the entire Music Building be named Arnold Schoenberg
   Hall, in honor of the late Arnold Schoenberg, distinguished member
   of the faculty of Music."

   On September 21, 1962, the Board of Regents approved the recommendation
   of the Committee on Grounds & Buildings "That the name of the music
   auditorium, Arnold Schoenberg Hall, be extended to include the entire
   Music Building on the Los Angeles campus."

   In a UCLA brochure from 1970 it states:

   "When UCLA's Music Building was completed in 1955, its concert hall
   was named for the late composer Arnold Schoenberg who was a member
   of the Music faculty from 1936 to 1944.  Because of his worldwide
   significance as a composer, and because of his important work at
   UCLA, the Music building itself -- rather than just its concert hall
   -- was named for Arnold Schoenberg in 1963."

   The UCLA School of Arts web site on the History of the Arts at UCLA
   states:

   1955
   Music Building is erected, containing classrooms, practice rooms, a
   music library, faculty and administrative offices, and two new concert
   facilities: Schoenberg Auditorium and the Little Theater.

   1963
   The Music Building and auditorium are renamed in honor of Arnold
   Schoenberg, renowned composer and member of the Music Department from
   1936 to 1944.

   The Music Department web site also states: "The foyer has a bust of
   Arnold Schoenberg, for whom the building and the auditorium are named,
   sculpted by Anna Mahler, the daughter of composer Gustav Mahler."

   Despite this history, on September 5 of this year the Los Angeles
   Times reported that the name of the Schoenberg Hall auditorium was
   being changed to honor a recent donor.  The report inexplicably
   claimed that the auditorium had never been officially named after
   Arnold Schoenberg:

   The large auditorium in UCLA's Schoenberg Music Building  - long
   informally know as Schoenberg Auditorium - is getting its first
   official name: Ostin Hall, in honor of DreamWorks record executive
   Mo Ostin and his wife Evelyn.  The couple have given what UCLA calls
   a 'substantial' gift to the university's performing arts program.

   In his October 1, 2000 article, L.A. Times chief music critic Mark
   Swed spoke out against the renaming, but again repeated the false
   claim by the University that the auditorium had never been officially
   named:

   "In Los Angeles, for instance, we are starting to see big money wash
   away our sense of history. The latest example has been at UCLA, where
   the theater once popularly known as Schoenberg Hall (although it
   never had an official name) was recently named Ostin Hall, after a
   much admired popular music recording executive, Mo Ostin, and his
   wife, Evelyn, donors to the university's performing arts programs.
   Whatever honor the Ostins may deserve, to substitute their names for
   that of one of history's greatest composers and a former UCLA professor
   diminishes the importance of Schoenberg to the university. Although
   the building that houses the hall is still called the Schoenberg
   Music Building, the public will no longer know the theater by
   Schoenberg's name. The implication is that UCLA now holds in highest
   regard popular culture and commerce."

   On October 5,2000, the UCLA Daily Bruin reported on the re-naming in
   an article entitled "UCLA Blunder Leads to Renaming." In the article,
   Carolyn Campbell, director of communications for the School of Arts
   and Architecture is quoted as saying that the auditorium "was never
   named" for Arnold Schoenberg.  The Bruin article confirmed, however,
   that the auditorium was in fact officially named for Arnold Schoenberg
   in 1955.

   My brother, nephew and I met with UCLA Dean Daniel Neuman and
   Vice-Chancellor Michael Eicher on October 10, 2000.  In the meeting,
   Mr. Eicher apologized for the misstatements by Ms. Campbell and
   conceded that the auditorium was officially named in 1955.  However,
   he and Dean Neuman explained that it was their "understanding" that
   when the building was named Schoenberg Hall in 1962, the auditorium
   became "un-named."  When asked for any documentation for this assertion,
   neither Mr. Eicher nor Dean Neuman could provide any.  They said that
   they had the same understanding with regard to the auditorium in
   Royce Hall, which Mr. Eicher stated would also likely be renamed in
   the near future.

   Not surprisingly, the minutes from the Regents' meetings in 1962,
   quoted above, disprove the new story emanating from UCLA.  When
   the name "Arnold Schoenberg Hall" was extended to the entire music
   building, the auditorium was not "un-named."  Indeed, such a move
   would have been absurd, given that the reason for the naming of
   the building was to avoid confusion between the auditorium and the
   building.  Clearly, the UCLA administrators are lying once again to
   cover up the fact that they have improperly renamed a University
   auditorium that for 45 years has borne the name of the University of
   California's most distinguished music faculty member, Arnold Schoenberg.

   We are writing to you with the hope that you can rectify this terrible
   injustice.  At this time, the University has removed signs referring
   to Schoenberg Hall, has removed the Anna Mahler bust of Schoenberg
   from the auditorium, and has even replaced the Schoenberg Hall name
   outside the building.  The Schoenberg name is no longer used in public
   announcements of the numerous concerts in the auditorium.  Instead
   the building is now referred to as Schoenberg Music Building, and a
   large sign on the entrance says "Ostin Hall," which is also the name
   used in all concert publicity.

   If the naming of the auditorium in 1955 was an honor to my father,
   then certainly the renaming in 2000 is a dishonor.  Even putting
   aside the merits, we cannot understand how University officials
   believe that they have the authority to override a 45-year-old
   decision by the Regents.  Surely there must be a way for University
   administrators to honor new donors, without dishonoring those who
   have contributed to the University in the past.  We urge you to
   rectify the situation and compel UCLA to return the name of this
   historic auditorium to Arnold Schoenberg Hall.

   Sincerely yours,

   Lawrence A. Schoenberg
   [log in to unmask]
   tel: 310-454-6406

E. Randol Schoenberg
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http://www.primenet.com/~randols