Comments on: Things That Make you Go “Buh?” Brooklyn Phil

By: Jason’s Updates for 2009-05-04 : Arts Addict

Jason’s Updates for 2009-05-04 : Arts Addict — Mon, 04 May 2009 12:00:54 +0000

[...] Brooklyn Phil. scandal: http://www.adaptistration.com/?p=4478 [...]

By: Lisa Hirsch

Lisa Hirsch — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:52:01 +0000

The attorney hasn’t replied to my email. Perhaps it’s time to call his office.

By: Drew McManus

Drew McManus — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 18:16:00 +0000

Thanks Lisa! Let us know what’s in the complaint or, if possible, provide a download link.

By: Lisa Hirsch

Lisa Hirsch — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 18:08:31 +0000

There’s a discussion of this situation at Elaine Fine’s blog: http://musicalassumptions.blogspot.com/2009/04/life-in-totally-unjust-musical-world.html

The Gaian Variations has its own web site: http://www.gaianvariations.com/home.htm

The work was presented not by the Brooklyn Philharmonic, but by the Earth Day Network.

Allan Kozin reviewed the piece in the Times (Elaine Fine is highly critical of the review itself): http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/04/arts/critic-s-diary-a-week-for-youth-cello-and-adventurous-spirits.html

Finally, I’m curious enough about what went down that I’ve emailed the attorney to ask for a copy of the complaint, which is a matter of the public record and includes Currier’s contract with the orchestra.

By: Drew McManus

Drew McManus — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 03:33:13 +0000

An excellent point Chris!

By: Chris Foley

Chris Foley — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 02:54:49 +0000

If Currier and the Brooklyn Phil were working together on something as risky as a concert-length new work, they both should have negotiated a workshop into the process. That way, kinks of timing and trajectory could be worked out prior to the final rehearsal process, at a fraction of the financial and emotional cost of what eventually happened in this case.

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 22:13:30 +0000

Wow, that’s quite a story. It does seem like a botched performance and a trainwreck ending might well have caused poor reviews of the piece. And poor reviews about a performance at Avery Fisher could ruin a composer’s career, no? Or at least the career of that composition? Is this a loss-of-wages kind of lawsuit?

By: Drew McManus

Drew McManus — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 19:31:46 +0000

I was curious about that too and disappointed the paper didn’t provide a copy of the complaint.

By: Drew McManus

Drew McManus — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 19:30:25 +0000

I think it depends more on the work contract. All of those issues should have been addressed there and if they weren’t, then it’s up for interpretation. Frankly, I still have trouble with the timing issue. Even with extreme differences in tempo, management should have had a good idea of whether or not the piece would have run into overtime.

Yes, financial distress is exactly that, but are we talking about the tipping point into bankruptcy or a major PITA? If it’s the latter then it shouldn’t have manifest into something that adversely impacts the artistic product. I doubt we are talking about cuts that are as simple to implement as the 1812 cut; as such, the potential likelihood for having an adverse impact on the performance seems pretty high.

Regardless, it will be interesting to see if any more details come out, especially since the ED at the time of the incident has moved on to a different organization.

By: Drew McManus

Drew McManus — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 19:25:24 +0000

Good question, my guess is the composer likely attempted to negotiate with the Phil during that period. It would be interesting to learn more about that and other details if the situation isn’t resolved in a way that requires confidentiality.