Annus Horribilis for the Arts

    Louise Nippert redeemed what was shaping up to be a dreadful year for the arts in Cincinnati.

    Her $85 million gift, announced in December, assured that the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the nation’s fifth oldest orchestra, will continue to be one of its best, and that Cincinnati Opera and Cincinnati Ballet will continue to utilize the CSO and enjoy the artistic edge it gives to their productions.

   Earlier in 2009, a true annus horribilis with the economy in a deep recession, the CSO announced austerity measures including salary reductions, layoffs and a halt to touring and recording activities.  The Opera had been forced to cancel its 2010 new production of Wagner’s “Die Meistersinger” set in Cincinnati's Over-the-Rhine, and the Ballet faced performing without a live orchestra in the pit.  The city’s united arts fund, the Fine Arts Fund, failed to meet its goal for the first time in its history

   Mrs. Nippert’s action exemplified what is the best about Cincinnati, where leaders with foresight and wisdom have always stepped forward when needed maintain her traditions of excellence.  The need was large and that’s how Mrs. Nippert responded, focusing her unprecedented gift on the city’s pre-eminent arts institution where it will have long term impact.  She did it quietly, modestly and genuinely, value for value, as she always does (those in the know have long recognized that the name “anonymous” on a gift usually means Louise Nippert).

   Economic woes were not the only things making headlines for music in Cincinnati in 2009.   The city lost its “music man,” Cincinnati Pops conductor Erich Kunzel, in September after a four-month battle with pancreatic, colon and liver cancer.

   There were new leaders at the Linton Chamber Music Series, co-artistic directors Jamie Laredo and Sharon Robinson, who took over from founding artistic director Richard Waller in March.  Earl Rivers, distinguished music director of the Vocal Arts Ensemble, was succeeded by Donald Nally, chorus master of Lyric Opera of Chicago, in October.

   The new dean of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Douglas Knehans,  resigned in December in the wake of dissatisfaction by the faculty, reportedly for inability to raise money and lack of communication skills.  In June, Knehans spent $4 million for 165 Steinway pianos in order to make CCM an all-Steinway school.  This after all summer programming at CCM, including the innovative MusicX new music series, and Lucca Opera Theater residency in Lucca, Italy were eliminated.

   James Conlon celebrated his 30^th anniversary as music director of the Cincinnati May Festival with a performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 at Music Hall where he was recognized onstage by Ohio Governor Ted Strickland.

   Attempts to reach a consensus on renovation and reconfiguration of Music Hall so that it might meet the needs of the CSO as well as the Opera, May Festival and Cincinnati Ballet – which needs to return to Music Hall to escape the dreadful acoustics of the Aronoff Center -- remained unresolved at year’s end, as did an alternative plan to build a new, smaller hall adjacent to Music Hall.

   Despite the challenges of 2009, the quality of the artistic product remained high (see "Best of 2009" in Features on this site).  The CSO was even able to show it off in splendid form in Japan, where the orchestra led by music director Paavo Järvi toured in October and November with underwriting provided by a group of local supporters to supplement presenters’ fees.

   As Cincinnati Pops associate conductor Steve Reineke (Kunzel's heir apparent) led the toast to 2010 at a post-concert dinner and ball in the Music Hall Ballroom New Year’s Eve.