Book Talk
MEET THE AUTHORS ... Kepler’s Books’ grand reopening party is set for Tuesday, Oct. 16, from 7 to 10 p.m., kicking off with an interactive discussion with Michael Doyle and Christin Evans about Doyle’s new book, “Radical Chapters: Pacifist Bookseller Roy Kepler and the Paperback Revolution.” Other upcoming authors at Kepler’s, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park, include: Greg Bardsley, “Cash Out: A Novel” (Oct. 13, 7 p.m.); Timothy Egan, “Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis” (Oct. 17, 7 p.m.); Jasper Fforde, “The Last Dragonslayer,” “The Woman Who Died a Lot: A Thursday Next Novel” (Oct. 18, 7 p.m.); Michael Chabon, “Telegraph Avenue” (Oct. 25, 7 p.m.); and Heidi Kling, Pam van Hylckama Vlieg and Lee Mackenzie, “Two and Twenty Dark Tales,” and Ingrid Paulson, “Valkyrie Rising” (Oct. 30, 7 p.m.). Info: keplers.com AT STANFORD ... Novelist Adam Johnson, will give a free talk on the techniques and joys of writing at Stanford University on Oct. 23, with writer and Stanford lecturer Hilton Obenzinger. The event is planned for 7:30 p.m. in Geology Corner (Building 320), Room 105. Other authors set to give free talks at Stanford include: Kathryn Lofton, “Oprah: The Gospel of an Icon” (Oct. 17, 5:15 p.m., Levinthal Hall in the Stanford Humanities Center); James Cuno, “Whose Muse? Art Museums and the Public’s Trust” (Oct. 18, 5:30 p.m., Annenberg Auditorium); Michael Erard, “Babel No More” (Oct. 24, 6 p.m., Stanford Bookstore); Catherine Albiston, “Institutional Inequality and the Mobilization of the Family and Medical Leave Act: Rights on Leave” (Oct. 25, 4:15 p.m., Bechtel International Center; and Alan Kubitz, “The Elusive Notion of Motion” (Oct. 25, 6 p.m., Stanford Bookstore). Info: events.stanford.edu BOOKS INC. BOOK TALKS ... Authors speaking at Books Inc. at Town & Country Village in Palo Alto this month include: Libba Bray, “The Diviners,” Malinda Lo, “Adaptation” and Rachel Cohn, “Beta,” all on Oct. 15 at 7 p.m.; Debra Dean, “The Mirrored World” (Oct. 16, 7 p.m.); Lisa Stander-Horel and Tim Horel, “Gluten-Free Canteen’s Book of Nosh” (Oct. 18, 7 p.m.); Christy Hale, “Dreaming Up” (Oct. 20, 6 p.m.); Marilyn Yalom, “How the French Invented Love” (Oct. 24, 7 p.m.); Barbara Moritsch, “The Soul of Yosemite” (Oct. 29, 7 p.m.); and Lance McVay, “Lighthouse Tales” (Oct. 30, 7 p.m.). Info: booksinc.net
Title Pages A monthly section on local books and authors
by Gennady Sheyner “The Perilous Life of Symphony Orchestras,” by Robert J. Flanagan, Yale University Press, 240 pp., $50
W
hen the Philadelphia Orchestra announced in April 2011 its plan to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the news thundered through the arts community in the City of Brotherly Love like a gong in the middle of a Chopin sonata. Since its founding in 1900, the beloved institution has risen to prominence as one of the nation’s Big Five, along with the New York, Boston, Chicago and Cleveland orchestras. But with expenses hovering far above revenues and labor concessions out of reach, the orchestra’s trustees decided that bankruptcy was the only way to close a gaping deficit. It became the largest orchestra in the nation’s history to file for Chapter 11. To those who have been tracking trends in the symphonic scene, the move probably didn’t seem so jarring. Orchestras have never been cash cows. Even in the best of times, ticket
sales have consistently failed to cover performance costs, forcing musicians to rely on patrons, endowments and government grants for sustenance. These revenue sources become particularly critical during economic downturns, just as they become scarcer. Still, bankruptcies have been limited largely to smaller organizations: the Louisville Orchestra in 2011, the Honolulu Orchestra in 2009 and the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra in 2003. Philadelphia’s was remarkable because of the prominence of the institution. The financial crisis for orchestras has many sources, including unsustainable labor costs, a diminishing audience, a sluggish economy and dwindling government support. So what’s an orchestra to do? That’s the question at the heart of “The Perilous Life of Symphony Orchestras: Artistic Triumphs and Economic Challenges,” a new book by Stanford professor Robert Flanagan. By collecting and analyzing data from dozens of American orchestras large and small, Flanagan offers a sober-minded and, as the title implies, sobering look at today’s symphony scene. With an accountant’s precision, he tracks the
orchestras’ historic trends, pores through their financial books, and carefully tracks current and historic levels of private contributions, endowments, musician salaries and government support. He compares the business models of America’s orchestras to their counterparts abroad, analyzes the labor trends in the symphony scene and segregates the short-term impacts of economic recessions from the longer-term effect of the “cost disease” inherent in their business models. What emerges is a portrait of an industry filled with interrelated problems and few good solutions. Not all of these problems are unique to orchestras. The most basic pitfall — expenditures that rise faster than revenues — is familiar to the auto industry, to name one of many possible examples. But orchestras have one distinct disadvantage. A carmaker may lay off workers or seek cheaper parts abroad; an orchestra can’t outsource its woodwind section to China during a performance of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy.” A carmaker can adopt technology to boost efficiency and improve the company’s productivity — the only sure-fire way to keep up with rising labor costs. But a concerto will
AN UNFINISHED
SYMPHONY STANFORD SCHOLAR ROBERT FLANAGAN DIGS INTO THE FINANCIAL TROUBLES OF AMERICAN ORCHESTRAS
OVER AT OSHMAN ... Palo Alto’s Oshman Family Jewish Community Center at 3921 Fabian Way also hosts author talks. Future speakers include: David Makovsky, “Beyond the Election: Middle East Challenges Facing the U.S. and Israel” (Oct. 24, 7:30 p.m., $10-$15), and Mordechai Bar-On, “Moshe Dayan: Israel’s Controversial Hero” (Oct. 29, 7:30 p.m., $8-$15). Info: paloaltojcc.org.
Items for Book Talk may be sent to Associate Editor Carol Blitzer, Palo Alto Weekly, P.O Box 1610, Palo Alto, CA 93202 or emailed to cblitzer@paweekly.com by the last Friday of the month. Page 18ÊUÊ"VÌ LiÀÊ£Ó]ÊÓä£ÓÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V