Cincinnati orchestra president to retire

Cincinnati orchestra
president to retire

CINCINNATI — The president of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is retiring in June after 30 years. Steven Monder was hired in July 1971 as the production manager of the nation’s fifth-oldest orchestra and was promoted five years later to chief executive. He is the longest-tenured chief executive of a major orchestra in the United States, according to the League of American Orchestras. “Well, it had to be sometime,” Monder, who will turn 63 in March, said of his departure. “I had been thinking about it for a while. There is a strong staff that easily can keep the ship on course while the board finds my successor. And I thought I would like to take a nice, long vacation.” During his tenure, the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra was created, and the symphony built Riverbend Music Center as an outdoor concert venue and summer home for the orchestra.

Maazel to end stint
at N.Y. Philharmonic

NEW YORK — Lorin Maazel will close out his seven years as music director of the New York Philharmonic by conducting Mahler’s “Symphony of a Thousand.” “It seems to be an appropriate closing statement,” Maazel said at a news conference last week announcing the orchestra’s 2008-09 season. The Philharmonic’s 167th season opens Sept. 17 with Maazel conducting a concert on PBS featuring James Galway in Ibert’s Flute Concerto. Subscription concerts at Avery Fisher Hall begin the next night with the U.S. premiere of composer Steven Stucky’s “Rhapsodies.” The 77-year-old Maazel, who first conducted the Philharmonic when he was 12, succeeded Kurt Masur as music director of the nation’s oldest orchestra in fall 2002. He will be succeeded by Alan Gilbert, who turns 41 in February.

Thieves resentenced

OSLO, Norway — The Norwegian Supreme Court on Friday increased the sentences of two men convicted in the theft of Edvard Munch masterpieces “The Scream” and “Madonna” and ordered a new trial for a third convicted man. The paintings, which are considered priceless, were stolen in August 2004 in a daylight raid on the Oslo city-owned Munch Museum. They were recovered by police nearly two years later, and are undergoing repairs for scrapes, punctures, loose paint, and moisture damage. In its ruling, Norway’s highest court said sentences for two of the men, Petter Tharaldsen and Stian Skjold, were too low. The court increased Tharaldsen’s sentence by one year to 10 1/2 years, and Skjold’s sentence by six months to six years.

Today’s birthdays

Country singer Liz Anderson is 78. Actress Frances Sternhagen is 78. Comedian Rip Taylor is 74. Actor Billy Gray is 70. Actor Richard Moll is 65. Rock musician Trevor Rabin is 54. Rhythm-and-blues musician Fred White is 53. Actor Kevin Anderson is 48. Actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus is 47. Rock singer Graham “Suggs” McPherson (Madness) is 47. Country singer Trace Adkins is 46. Actress Penelope Ann Miller is 44. Actor Patrick Dempsey is 42. Actress Traci Bingham is 40. Actor Keith Coogan is 38. Actress Nicole Eggert is 36. Actor Orlando Bloom is 31.