Steven Schwartz wrote:

>... Imagine, if you will, a season of Charlotte Church, Shania
>Twain, Andrea Boccelli, Celine Dion, and Elton John, all of whom
>would outdraw Beethoven or any other classical composer you'd care
>to name and whom you would book to maximize your bottom line, as
>any good business person would.

I don't see any conflict with booking Church or Boccelli; forget the
other three.  Church and Boccelli currently are classical artists that
might "pack them in" - that's good.  The greater profits resulting from
booking very popular classical artists whose reputation might be greater
than deserved would help provide funds for "serious" classical music
presentations.

The point is that the focus would be on providing the concert-going public
the best in classical music performance.  The Churches of the world would
be booked only to support that goal.

Of course, I don't see myself managing a symphony orchestra any time soon
or distant.  Some of you likely consider that a good thing.  Personally,
I think I'd do a very good job or destroy the institution.

Don Satz
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