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RECORDINGS:

Giuseppe Verdi Otello. [Act II - excerpt] Berlin Philharmonic. Herbert von Karajan. Jon Vickers, Tenor. Peter Glossop, Baritone. Musical Heritage Society 524381M.

Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 1 "Titan". [Second Movement] Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. Rafael Kubelik. Polydor International 463 739-2.

Leoš Janácek Katya Kabanova. [Act II - excerpt] Vienna Philharmonic. Sir Charles Mackerras. Elisabeth Söderström (Katya); Petr Dvorsky (Boris), Nadezda Kniplova (Kabanicha), et al. Decca 421 852-2.

Franz Schubert Sonata in B flat, D. 960. [Second Movement] Alfred Brendel, Piano. Philips 5266859.

Serge Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet. [Excerpt] Berlin Philharmonic. Claudio Abbado. Deutsche Grammophon 289 453 439-2.

[Introduction]

Kaplan: Chairman of a global advertising group, Chairman of Lincoln Center, and a music lover. Bruce Crawford, on today's edition of "Mad About Music."

[Theme music]

Kaplan: He startled both the business community and the opera world when he left his position as the head of one of the world's leading advertising firms to become the General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera. After a successful three and a half year stint, he returned to advertising, to become CEO of Omnicom, by some measures, the world's largest advertising and marketing group with more than 5,000 clients in 100 countries. But last summer, the siren call of music lured him back to Lincoln Center, as Chairman this time of the whole enterprise; and this time he kept his day job at Omnicom as well. Bruce Crawford, welcome to "Mad About Music."

Crawford: I'm very happy to be here.

Kaplan: Now, musicians often feel that business types simply don't have the sensitivity to understand that the arts are not another business and business people on the other hand often accuse arts institutions as being run amateurishly. Now, you've had the opportunity to see both, to run both, what is the difference?

Crawford Well, I think that there are differences, of course, but I think there are great similarities. For instance, I believe that whether you're in the for-profit world or the not-for-profit, in these types of organizations, you really have to focus on resolving conflicts, and there are plenty of conflicts, whether they're in the advertising world or whether they're in the opera world.

Kaplan: What would be an example of those, in each kind of institution? Say, at the Met. What are the kind of problems that came up there that had to be solved?

Crawford: Well, there are always conflicts in terms of what the professional people wish to do artistically, and what that may translate into in terms of box office, the financial implications, etc. There are also endless conflicts between various aspects of the artistic staff - I mean, the director versus the conductor, or the principal singers, and so forth.

Kaplan: All right, we'll talk more about the Met and Lincoln Center and your role there later, but first, tell me, when did you fall in love with opera and when did you first attend the Met?

Crawford: Well, I fell in love with opera as a teenager, and I first attended the Met in New York City in 1946. It was a performance of Verdi's Otello and the cast included Torsten Ralf as Otello, and Stella Roman, a very well known Romanian soprano, as Desdemona. I was waiting in the standing room line in order to get in when a lady came up to me and introduced herself as the private secretary to Madame Roman and said that the prima donna wished to have me as her guest that day. And I was ushered to an orchestra seat and my first experience was, I was comped and I had one of the best seats in the house. It was an auspicious beginning. It was my introduction to the Met. I particularly liked the opera, it's not only that event, and one of the favorite portions of it for me is the duet between Iago and Otello.

[Music]

Kaplan: The duet that concludes Act II of Verdi's Otello, sung by Jon Vickers and Peter Glossop, with the Berlin Philharmonic under the baton of Herbert von Karajan, the first selection of my guest on today's edition of "Mad About Music", the Chairman of Lincoln Center, Bruce Crawford. Now, one of the criticisms often leveled at opera houses and orchestras in America is the failure to attract younger people. In Europe, this doesn't seem to be the case. With your background in advertising and marketing, perhaps you can offer some insight as to why we have failed to do this.

Crawford: Well, I'm not certain that we have failed. The obstacle most anywhere is the cost of seats. It is just terribly expensive. That is why when I went to the Otello, I was in the standing room line, and later, when I was at university and used to go to performances, I used to come up on the weekends and get the seats from tired businessmen leaving at intermissions and thereby saw all the back ends of operas. It's an economic hurdle that is quite large for most young people.

Kaplan: But there's also a lack of interest, I feel. That even among the orchestral concerts with $10 seats in the balcony, young people don't come. Some say it's just the attraction of pop music and alternatives, but one also feels that maybe the institutions haven't done enough to try to lure them in.

Crawford: I'm not sure that marketing is at fault in this case. In fact, in the opera world, I do think that you get a lot of young people, particularly in the cheaper seats, and I'm not certain that it's a failure. There is no doubt that our culture here is a mass culture, and that the bulk of people always are attracted more to the pop end of the spectrum by far. But I'm not at all certain that marketing should get such black marks.

Kaplan: Well, you know today of course, it's not just young people when it comes to ticket sales. The economy is certainly having its impact, and I'm wondering, what is the extent of the sell-off in tickets at Lincoln Center at the moment?

Crawford: Most of the constituents at Lincoln Center are having box office problems. It is something that - worse than I've ever seen in the last 25 years. And the striking thing, for instance, in the opera world is that the standard repertory is suffering as much as anything else. One would expect in difficult economic times to have some problems. They seem worse this time by far.

Kaplan: But often a short fall in ticket sales can be overcome by contributions, but there must be a significant problem there also in this kind of economy.

Crawford: Contributions are not increasing at all significantly on an annual basis. Where contributions are really a problem is in capital fund raising. It's very difficult to initiate any capital fund raising in this climate.

Kaplan: Now you mentioned that this is not the atmosphere in which one can raise substantial capital, and yet the Lincoln Center has announced a very bold initiative to raise billions. I would assume that has to be slowed down somewhat now.

Crawford: Well, billions is a bit much. I mean, I think that eventually the idea will be, in terms of the next ten or twelve years, to raise several hundred million dollars to improve various aspects of the plant and that I believe will get done. But it will not be anything along the lines that was previously set out in the initial stages. It won't be quite that dramatic. It will be rescheduled and it will, to some extent, be cut back.

Kaplan: I thought that at some point, there was even an estimate of some three to four hundred million would be required for a new hall or rebuilding Avery Fisher Hall itself.

Crawford: Yes, that is correct, that the initial estimates - well, what the cost would be to demolish the current Avery Fisher Hall and start all over, that the total cost when you get through with it with some increase in endowment for the Philharmonic and a fund for performing out of house and everything, could reach $400 million. It is not highly probable that that course will be followed. It would be much likely that what we would end up creating an auditorium within the existing structure and that would cost significantly less.

Kaplan: Well then, let's return to music and I see that your next selection is Mahler's First Symphony. What is your connection to that music?

Crawford: Well, Mahler's First, again, is something special. By chance in 1968, we were in Europe and planning to go to Paris, but there was an uprising at the Sorbonne, and we had never been to Venice, and we rescheduled and went to Venice. One performance featured Mahler's First, which, Mahler has always been a composer that both my wife and I have enjoyed, so we chose to go to that performance, and ever since then Venice has occupied a very special place for us. We've been there almost every year for over 30 years, and I'm very active in the Venetian Heritage there, which is concerned with the preservation of the city and its artworks. The Mahler First is a favorite symphony for me. And beyond that, the conductor then, who at one time, of course, was at the Met, was Rafael Kubelik. And so that recording occupies a special place for me.

[Music]

Kaplan: The Second Movement of Mahler's First Symphony, the Bavarian Radio Orchestra led by Rafael Kubelik, a work and a recording selected by my guest on today's edition of "Mad About Music", the Chairman of Lincoln Center, and of the global advertising firm Omnicom, Bruce Crawford.
When we return, we'll explore a composer that Bruce Crawford has come to champion at the Metropolitan Opera. Meanwhile, you can learn more about Bruce Crawford or listen to any of our prior shows by logging on our website at WNYC.org.

[Station break]

Kaplan: This is Gilbert Kaplan with my guest, the Chairman of Lincoln Center, Bruce Crawford. Now I see on your list today an opera by Janácek, a composer whose revival has been spearheaded by the Met.

Crawford: Yes, ever since the new production of Katya Kabanova, back in the late 80s, with Jonathan Miller as the Producer, the Met has exhibited more interest in this composer. So as I became involved in the Metropolitan Opera as General Manager, several composers that I didn't know very well became more and more important to me, and one of these was Leoš Janácek. And I find that my favorite opera by him is Katya, and it's a truly beautiful and gripping work, and I think this particular segment of it is very special.

[Music]

Kaplan: The concluding moments of Act II of Janácek's Katya Kabanova. The Vienna Philharmonic with soloists led by Sir Charles Mackerras. A selection by my guest on today's edition of "Mad About Music", the Chairman of Lincoln Center and Chairman of the Omnicom Group, Bruce Crawford. Now, you mentioned that you were enthusiastic about Janácek and encouraged his performance at the Met. What are the rights of the General Manager of the Met versus the Artistic Director to make such an initiative?

Crawford: The ultimate responsibility rests with the General Manager. The initiative is usually taken by the Artistic Director, that is, he proposes and the General Manager disposes.

Kaplan: What about the area of engaging artists? Does the General Manager have prerogatives too? For example, suggest conductors that might be invited?

Crawford: The General Manager will suggest conductors. I always did and that will be discussed and decided upon. Basically, again however, that in terms of casting, the artistic department usually proposes, again for various reasons, the General Manager may question it, what is proposed; and again, decisions will emanate from the discussions surrounding that. But basically, the last word is the General Manager's. He signs the contracts.

Kaplan: But still, you mentioned that the General Manager can in fact propose ideas from the beginning, artistic ideas. I mean, can you mention one that was your idea?

Crawford: Well, we go back to 1986. The situation at that time, with two great tenors, Luciano Pavarotti and Placido Domingo, were in great demand, and of course have been for many years in the opera world. However, Luciano had stopped singing at the Met, and there were various reasons for that. As the new General Manager, I decided that one way to insure that we had a particularly vibrant repertory that had great appeal to lots of people would be to have both Pavarotti and Domingo for a great many performances each season, because we could anchor the subscriptions on this basis and do other things. And they were both automatic sell-outs. So I devised a plan whereby if Luciano and Placido would guarantee, each would guarantee us 15 performances a season, then we would do certain things to accommodate them and their desires. This plan actually worked and for several years following we had 15 performances each from them, and that constituted 15% of the repertory and was the basis for highly successful seasons artistically and at the box office.

Kaplan: Well, if you accomplished nothing else as the General Manager, I'm sure that the listeners, the ticket holders were grateful for that decision. Now, this brings up another idea. You've had contact with all these artists over the years. Have any of them become good friends?

Crawford: There are good friends. For instance, the current Music Director at the Bastille, James Conlon, has become a good friend, and we talk often by phone and meet whenever he is here. He's in the process of returning to this country and I look forward to seeing more of him. I think that Jimmy Levine and I, having dealt together for 20 years, are friends. And I think - there are a few others that I treasure. One that was a very close friend for a number of years was Leonie Rysenak, and I certainly miss her dearly.

Kaplan: All right, well then that paves the way for me to ask you a question I'm sure you've been asked over the years when you were the General Manager. There is a feeling that the Met does not attract the star conductors in the world. And I know there are reasons for this. But nonetheless when you look at, for example, this season, except for Valery Gergiev, who's officially part of the Met. I don't think one could characterize the other conductors in the season as representing the "stars."

Crawford: They may not be stars; there are some very, very accomplished conductors. The problem with getting what you call the "star" conductors is largely that they do not want to come and spend a long period in New York. Particularly if it's a new production, which is the kind of thing they are generally most interested in; it means a commitment of two or three months, given the rehearsal period and the performances.

Kaplan: Well, this brings up the question of Lorin Maazel, who was a guest on our show some time ago when he became appointed the Music Director of The New York Philharmonic, and I asked him about his own involvement with the Met, and he made a joke saying, the last time he was invited, it was 1961. I don't know if he did something wrong then; of course, this is not an area you're involved with now, but wouldn't it make sense for Lorin Maazel to be able to walk across the plaza and conduct at the Met?

Crawford: I don't know about Lorin Maazel. One of his predecessors at The New York Philharmonic was Zubin Mehta. When I was General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera, Zubin was the Music Director of the Philharmonic. I made more than one effort to interest him and offered him new productions. Again, he felt that his schedule wouldn't permit it. I don't know what the history of Lorin Maazel is; but I think now in his present position, again, scheduling might make that quite difficult.

Kaplan: All right, well, let's then turn from the exuberant world of opera to a more intimate setting, the solo piano. Now I see you selected the Andantino movement from Schubert's last sonata. This is a work, by the way, chosen by two other of our guests: former Prime Minister of England, Edward Heath. He said that for him, it had a quality of eternity. And the Metropolitan Museum of Art Director Philippe de Montebello described it as "achingly nostalgic and going deep into your soul." Do you have this sort of intimate connection with this music also?

Crawford: I don't know that I would describe it as that kind of intimate connection; I certainly feel that I'm in good company with those two gentlemen. And I personally believe it's probably one of the most beautiful pieces of music I have ever heard, if not the most beautiful.

[Music]

Kaplan: The Second Movement of Schubert's Sonata in B flat with Alfred Brendel at the piano. A selection of my guest today on "Mad About Music", the Chairman of Lincoln Center, as well as the Omnicom Group, Bruce Crawford. When we return, we'll hear Bruce Crawford's final selection, a memory of a special night in Moscow.

[Station Break]

Kaplan: This is Gilbert Kaplan with my guest on "Mad About Music", the Chairman of Lincoln Center, Bruce Crawford. Now, you were one of the few business luminaries, a highly successful person in business, who loves music, needs music, and it's been my observation that there are not many like you. I'm wondering if you have any thoughts about why is it that the people who really reach the top in business, they'll listen to music, they might go to a gala, but they don't really love music. They don't go all the time, they don't listen, they don't need it.

Crawford: Well, I think that's true. I often found it hard to find people to invite to musical events that were clients of our firm. Most of them are not opera-lovers; they don't attend that many musical events. There are exceptions, and what I do is hunt for those exceptions.

Kaplan: Now I understand that you're one of the people who actually uses music to entertain clients now and then, and that one of the highlights of this experience took place in Moscow some years ago.

Crawford: Yes, it took place on the 100th anniversary of the Bolshoi in Moscow. CBS decided to telecast that performance, and a commercial sponsor was necessary, and one of BBDO's oldest and most important clients, General Electric, undertook to underwrite the whole performance. The hostess for the evening was Mary Tyler Moore, and it was a quite unusual event, one of a kind. And it was broadcast, which was very rare, on prime time, on a Sunday night, from 8:00 PM to 11:00 PM. So we were there at that performance. The entire diplomatic community turned out and the performance was Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet ballet. By chance, that was the first recording, as a boy, that I ever bought. And so this piece of music has a great deal of resonance for me.

[Music]

Kaplan: An excerpt from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet, the Berlin Philharmonic with Claudio Abbado on the podium, the final selection of my guest on today's edition of "Mad About Music", the Chairman of Lincoln Center, Bruce Crawford. You know, you've been so close to the opera stage for decades, but never really, I suppose, on it. Not as a performer, and I wonder if you were to be a singer, what would be the role you would aspire to?

Crawford: Well, I suppose, I am quixotic enough to pick the most difficult role and certainly one of the most difficult roles, and that is Siegfried. Wagner's a special composer, and Siegfried is as tough as it comes.

Kaplan: Well, if you did, you might be one of the few people who could sing it today!

Crawford: That's true.

Kaplan: Well, with the role you are playing as the Chairman of Lincoln, which is so urgently needed during this challenging time, Bruce Crawford, we wish you great success and thank you for appearing today. This is Gilbert Kaplan for "Mad About Music."

[Theme Music]
[Credits]

More about Bruce Crawford:

Bruce Crawford serves as Chairman of the Board of Omnicom Group Inc. Omnicom is the leading marketing and communications holding company in the world, providing advertising, strategic media planning and buying, direct and promotional marketing, public relations and other specialty communications services to over 5,000 clients in more than 100 countries. Included in its roster of companies are some of the world's most renowned advertising agencies, among them BBDO Worldwide, DDB Worldwide Communications Group Inc, TBWAWorldwide, and Goodby, Silverstein & Partners.

Mr. Crawford entered the advertising business in 1956, and worked for Benton & Bowles and Ted Bates advertising agencies before joining BBDO in 1963. He was named to head BBDO's international operations in 1969 and, in 1974, he was given the additional responsibilities of managing the agency's financial and internal operations. Then in April 1985 he was elected BBDO's Chairman of the Board.

A year later Mr. Crawford left the advertising business to become General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera. Three and a half years later, he returned to the business world as President and CEO of Omnicom while continuing to serve at the Met as President and Chief Executive Officer. In 1999 he was named the Met's Honorary Chairman of the Board.

In June of 2002, Mr. Crawford became Chairman of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc.; he also serves on the Boards of Venetian Heritage and The Animal Medical Center. He lives in New York with his wife, Christine, an interior designer.