Authors: Reynold Levy
They Told Me Not to Take that Job: Tumult, Betrayal, Heroics, and the Transformation of Lincoln Center (53 page)
70 Lincoln Center Plaza
New York, NY 10023-6583
T 212.875.5000
Chapter 1
1
. This quote comes from an extensive
New York Times
story of October 11, 2001, written by Ralph Blumenthal and Robin Pogrebin. It attempts to describe a heated Lincoln Center Executive Committee meeting held on October 1, 2001. The journalists claim that two sources heard Mr. Rose complain to Beverly Sills that “you stabbed me in the back.” Mr. Rose denied uttering that remark. Ms. Sills denied hearing it. Whatever the case may be about this specific comment, no one denies that the meeting and others like it were filled with contention and controversy.
2
. To familiarize yourself with the
Federalist Papers
and other original documents central to America’s history, see Richard Heffner, ed.,
A Documentary History of the United States
(New York: Signet, 2009).
3
. See Friedrich Hayek,
The Road to Serfdom
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1944); Adam Smith,
The Wealth of Nations
(New York: Penguin, 1982); Milton Friedman,
Capitalism and Freedom
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2002); and Alan Greenspan,
The Map and the Territory: Risk, Human Nature, and the Future of Forecasting
(New York: Penguin, 2013).
4
. I recommend reading Alexis de Tocqueville,
Democracy in America
(New York: Penguin, 2003); Waldemar Nielsen,
The Endangered Sector
(New York: Columbia University Press, 1979); Lester Salamon,
The Resilient Sector: The State of Nonprofit America
(Washington, DC: Brookings Institution, 2003); and Robert D. Putnam,
Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community
(New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000).
5
.
Gallup Poll Social Series: Mood of the Nation
, January 19, 2012.
6
. 2012
American Value Survey.
7
. 2012
Edelman Trust Barometer
.
8
. For a thorough critique of the costs of excessive law and regulation to America’s economy, see Philip Howard’s two books:
The Death of Commonsense: How Law Is Suffocating America
(New York: Random House, 2011) and
The Rule of Nobody: Saving America from Dead Laws and Broken Government
(New York: W.W. Norton, 2014).
9
. In his landmark book
Presidential Power,
after reviewing all of the constitutional powers of the chief executive of the federal government, Richard Neustadt concludes that the capability to persuade is the most potent weapon at the president’s disposal (New York: Macmillan, 1960).
Chapter 2
1
. In his book
The End of Power
, Moisés Naím argues that the authoritative allocation of resources, the ability to get things done, is eroding everywhere: in companies, in US foreign policy, and in Congress. Leadership is being challenged almost wherever one looks, claims Naím. Check out the book’s subtitle:
From Boardrooms to Battlefields and Churches to State, Why Being in Charge Isn’t What It Used to Be
(New York: Basic Books, 2013).
2
. For a classic account of the economics of nonprofit performing arts organizations, see William J. Baumol and William G. Bowen,
Performing Arts—The Economic Dilemma: A Study of Problems Common to Theater, Opera, Music and Dance
(New York: The Twentieth Century Fund, 1966).
3
. The following books were published by or in association with John Wiley & Sons, Inc., and/or Lincoln Center. They are listed in alphabetical order by author: Kyle Froman,
In the Wings: Behind the Scenes at the New York City Ballet
(New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2007); James Galway,
Man with the Golden Flute
(New York: Turner Publishing, 2009); Rob Kapilow,
All You Have to Do Is Listen: Music from the Inside Out
(New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2008); Rob Kapilow,
What Makes It Great: Short Masterpieces, Great Composers
(New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2011); Reynold Levy,
Yours for the Asking: An Indispensable Guide to Fundraising and Management
(New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2008); Lincoln Center,
Poet-Linc: Poetry Slam
(London: Black Dog, 2013); John Pizzarelli and Joseph Cosgriff,
World on a Sting: A Musical Memoir
(New York: Turner Publishing, 2012); Charles A. Riley,
Art at Lincoln Center: The Public Art and List Print and Poster Collections
(New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2009); Lesley Rosenthal,
Good Counsel: Meeting the Legal Needs of Nonprofits
(New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2012); Stephen Stamas and Sharon Zane,
Lincoln Center: A Promise Realized, 1976–2006
(New York: Turner Publishing, 2006); Hao Jiang Tian,
Along the Roaring River: My Wild Ride from Mao to the Met
(New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2008); and Carl Vigeland,
The Mostly Mozart Guide to Mozart
(New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2009).
Chapter 3
1
. See Willard Spiegelman’s story, “Nights in Full Swing in Damrosch Park This July,”
Wall Street Journal
, July 16, 2008.
2
. The Lincoln Center Programming department, led by Jane Moss, Ehrenkranz artistic director, includes such talented staff as Hanako Yamaguchi, director, music programming; Jon Nakagawa, director, contemporary programming; Lisa Takemoto, production manager; Bill Bragin, director, public programming; Charles Cermele, producer, contemporary programming; Kate Monaghan, associate director, programming; Jill Sternheimer, producer, public programming; and Mauricio Lomelin, associate producer, contemporary programming.
3
. Nigel Redden, the director of the Lincoln Center Festival, enjoys some very gifted colleagues. They include general manager and producer, Erica D. Zielinski; senior producer, Carmen Kovens; director of production, Paul E. King; producer, Boo Froebel; and assistant general manager, Barbara Sartore.
Chapter 4
1
. By constituent, here was the breakdown for a pretty typical year: New York Philharmonic, $1.8 million; Jazz at Lincoln Center, $1 million; Chamber Music Society, $362,000; New York City Ballet, $1.9 million; Metropolitan Opera, $3.5 million; Lincoln Center Theater, $1.1 million; The Juilliard School, $1.9 million; the Film Society, $780,000; and The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, $270,000.
2
. My confidence in Lincoln Center’s collective ability to climb the fund-raising mountain required by redevelopment sparked a memory. It was the end of 1988 and I had served sixteen months as the president of the IRC. If the IRC were an American, its age would have entitled it to Social Security payments. And yet institutionally, it possessed no endowment and only a minuscule cash reserve. I was convinced that an endowment drive was both necessary and possible. My cochairs needed to be persuaded.
Appendix A
contains the essence of the case I then advanced to the IRC’s cochairs, Dr. James Strickler and Winston Lord, in an effort to convince them that it was past time to launch its first-ever capital campaign. When I left the IRC for Lincoln Center it enjoyed pledges to an endowment nearing $50 million. Today it totals $140 million. This asset has permitted the institution to act far more confidently and decisively in discharging its mission.
3
. Mr. Bennack approached fund-raising with energy, purposefulness, and a sense of humor. In a long feature story by Matthew Gurewitsch, “The Maestros of Lincoln Center,”
Wall Street Journal
, May 1, 2007, you will discover quintessential Frank, combining a serious point with a tongue-in-cheek warning:
In the end a project of this size needs very broad based support from the business community—and we’re getting it. Anyone whose feelings are hurt because we haven’t gotten around to them yet can take heart. We will.
4
. The most comprehensive analysis and description of the design and redevelopment of Lincoln Center was written by Diller Scofidio + Renfro. It is lavishly illustrated. The quote can be found on
page 13
of
Lincoln Center Inside Out: An Architectural Account
(Bologna, Italy: Damiana, 2012).
5
. A fuller excerpt from each of these laudatory reviews follows:
At Last, Heavenly Acoustics Are Heard in the Hall
The most remarkable and it seems to me indisputable achievement of the [Tully Hall] renovation . . . is that the Starr Theater, though not any smaller, now feels intimate and warm.
—Anthony Tommasini,
New York Times
, February 23, 2009
Rebirth of the Alice Tully concert hall
Lincoln Centre embarked on an extraordinary plan to reinvent itself. And, despite being clobbered by 9/11 and the present [economic] slump, the city’s great and good seemed determined to make it happen; which is remarkable when you consider that it will cost a staggering $1.2 billion.
The Tully transformation is the first fruit and it’s a triumph.
—Richard Morrison,
The Times Online
, February 20, 2009
From Spartan to Super: New Yorkers have reason to celebrate the makeover of Lincoln Center’s Tully Hall
Normally, New Yorkers never agree on anything. But everyone seems to think the new and improved Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center’s supersized “chamber music” venue, is swell.
—Mark Swed,
Los Angeles Times
, March 3, 2009
Now that construction huts have been removed, the exterior of the building is truly breathtaking. The entrance to Alice Tully Hall used to be concealed beneath the overhang of The Juilliard School. Now the corner of the building is all glass, curving upward like the prow of an ocean liner. The lobby is huge and inviting.
The interior of the hall seems more spacious and also more inviting. The hall now seems like a piece of sculpture. The woods used on the walls, both in their textures and the way that they are lit, convey the feeling of a kind of sacred space, which a hall of music in some ways should be.
—Howard Kissel,
Daily News
, February 29, 2009
Nip and tuck: The latest Lincoln Center refurbishment is a complex piece of urban surgery
Formerly a building that seemed to revel in its appearance as a kind of bleak service area, the architectural firm Diller and Scofidio + Renfro extended the public areas out towards Broadway, created a new sunken public plaza, opened the institution out to the city and radically remodeled both the concert hall itself and The Juilliard School, which sits awkwardly on top of it.
This is an extremely sophisticated and complex piece of urban surgery addressing a number of issues that made the old building deeply unsatisfactory.
The architects to their huge credit, have managed to achieve almost seamless transition from Belluschi’s [the original architect of The Juilliard School] modernism to a sculptural theatricality.
—Edwin Heathcote,
Financial Times
, March 14–15, 2009
6
. A comprehensive account of the design and development of the new Charles H. Revson Fountain was written by John Seabrook and published in the January 11, 2010, issue of the
New Yorker
.
Chapter 5
1
. See Reynold Levy,
Yours for the Asking: An Indispensable Guide to Fundraising and Management
(New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2008).
2
. See William Whyte,
The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces
(New York: Project for Public Spaces, 1980).
3
. These included, but were hardly limited to, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York Department of City Planning, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, the Public Design Commission of the City of New York, the Landmarks Preservation Commission, the New York City Department of Transportation, the Department of Buildings, the New York City Department of Environment Protection, the New York City Police Department, the New York City Fire Department, the New York City Economic Development Corporation, the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, the Office of Management and Budget, the Metropolitan Transit Authority, and the Corporation Counsel of the City of New York.
4
. Diller Scofidio + Renfro,
Lincoln Center Inside Out
, 18.
5
. E. B. White,
Here Is New York
(New York: Little Bookworm, 1999), 53.
6
. Joseph Volpe with Charles Michener,
The Toughest Show on Earth: My Rise and Reign at the Metropolitan Opera
(New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006).
7
. The original architects were Edward J. Matthews, Philip Johnson, Jo Mielziner, Wallace K. Harrison, Eero Saarinen, Gordon Bunshaft, Max Abramovitz, and Pietro Belluschi.