Kim Noltemy to Take Over LA Philharmonic

[Modernistfan]

Kim Noltemy, who is currently the CEO of the Dallas Symphony, is to become the new President and CEO of the Los Angeles Philharmonic as of July 2024. Ms. Noltemy, who is highly regarded as an orchestral administrator, faces serious challenges. One of the most obvious is to replace Gustavo Dudamel as music director. (I hope that this is the opportunity to appoint a woman as music director of what is considered as an American world-class orchestra, which has never happened (no knock intended on JoAnn Falletta at Buffalo or Marin Alsop, formerly at Baltimore), but that would be a huge breakthrough.)

The real challenge, though, is to prove that it is possible to build and maintain a world-class orchestra in a metropolitan area whose culture is so dominated by the entertainment industry and pop culture that it has become more and more hostile to and dismissive of any serious art form, including not only classical music, but also theatre and the visual arts, as well as literature. In Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Times almost never reviews concerts; Mark Swed, their music critic, rarely if ever appears in print. There was no recognition that the Los Angeles Philharmonic just won a Grammy for its recording of Thomas Ades's "Dante." The entertainment industry has no real use for classical music; it is based on an economic model that functions most effectively when everyone seeks the same music, TV shows, or movies and is extremely reluctant to cater to what is seen as, at best, a geeky niche interest.

[Lance]

A bleak, well-stated, outlook for the future of classical music. It's a sign of the times in many areas. Many of the newspapers now, local, national, and international, have done away with classical music reviews for the most part. Sorry to see this.

Kim Noltemy, who is currently the CEO of the Dallas Symphony, is to become the new President and CEO of the Los Angeles Philharmonic as of July 2024. Ms. Noltemy, who is highly regarded as an orchestral administrator, faces serious challenges. One of the most obvious is to replace Gustavo Dudamel as music director. (I hope that this is the opportunity to appoint a woman as music director of what is considered as an American world-class orchestra, which has never happened (no knock intended on JoAnn Falletta at Buffalo or Marin Alsop, formerly at Baltimore), but that would be a huge breakthrough.)

The real challenge, though, is to prove that it is possible to build and maintain a world-class orchestra in a metropolitan area whose culture is so dominated by the entertainment industry and pop culture that it has become more and more hostile to and dismissive of any serious art form, including not only classical music, but also theatre and the visual arts, as well as literature. In Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Times almost never reviews concerts; Mark Swed, their music critic, rarely if ever appears in print. There was no recognition that the Los Angeles Philharmonic just won a Grammy for its recording of Thomas Ades's "Dante." The entertainment industry has no real use for classical music; it is based on an economic model that functions most effectively when everyone seeks the same music, TV shows, or movies and is extremely reluctant to cater to what is seen as, at best, a geeky niche interest.

[Modernistfan]

I have no doubt that classical music will survive in the United States; the issue that I was addressing was whether classical music will survive in what has become a Land ohne Kultur, specifically Los Angeles. I have no doubt that it will survive in cities such as New York, Boston, Chicago or even San Francisco (if they can get past their current difficulties).

[lennygoran]

Here's the NYTimes article. Regards, Len

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/01/arts ... =url-share