Wayne Shilkret

While we at the Pasadena Symphony are flattered to have our binaural recording of Saint-Saens' "Organ" Symphony and Strauss' "Also sprach Zarathustra" compared to the excellent quality of a Deutsche Grammophon recording, we feel critic Timothy Mangan missed the point concerning the technology of the recording (Alla Breve, May 28). The liner notes point out that headphones afford a sensory impression superior to that of listening through conventional loudspeakers. Since your reviewer did not indicate that he listened to the recording through headphones, he may have missed the entire point of why the limited-edition recording was produced.

Wayne Jay Shilkret, longtime Southern California arts impresario who most recently served as executive director of the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, died Thursday night of pancreatic cancer at his home in Cerritos. He was 66. As executive director of the center, Shilkret was noted for his skill at balancing classical moneymakers with more esoteric fare. Under his leadership, the hall, which opened in 1993, showed continual increases in ticket sales and revenue.

Unconfirmed reports say that the Los Angeles Philharmonic will today announce the appointment of Wayne Shilkret as executive director of the Hollywood Bowl, upon the departure of current general manager Robert Harth. Shilkret will report to Philharmonic Managing Director Ernest Fleischmann. As executive director of the Ambassador International Cultural Foundation--sponsor of concerts at Ambassador Auditorium and other major local halls--for the past 12 years, Shilkret, 55, has long been Fleischmann's only major rival in Southland impresario ranks.

Wayne Shilkret, executive director of the Pasadena Symphony Assn. for seven years, has been named executive director of the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, effective July 21. Shilkret, 63, was executive director of performing arts at the Ambassador Foundation in Pasadena from 1976 to 1989, when he became the Hollywood Bowl's general manager. He joined the Pasadena Symphony the next year.

Wayne Shilkret, executive director of the Pasadena Symphony Assn. for seven years, has been named executive director of the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, effective July 21. Shilkret, 63, was executive director of performing arts at the Ambassador Foundation in Pasadena from 1976 to 1989, when he became the Hollywood Bowl's general manager. He joined the Pasadena Symphony the next year.

For the past decade, Wayne Shilkret, performing-arts director of the Ambassador International Cultural Foundation, has been perceived as the chief impresarial rival of Los Angeles Philharmonic Managing Director Ernest Fleischmann. But now that Shilkret, 55, has been named new general manager of Hollywood Bowl, succeeding the outgoing Robert Harth on July 1 as second in command at the Philharmonic, Fleischmann will be his boss. In naming Shilkret to the newly created position, Fleischman commented he was following the dictum, "If you can't beat 'em, have 'em join you."

Together, they control funds well in excess of $15 million annually. In booking their seasonal rosters of artists--particularly young ones--they affect hundreds of lives and careers. In choosing--as they must do with clocklike regularity--one composer or one string quartet or one pianist over another, they are taste makers. Powerful taste makers.

Dust off the picnic baskets, it's summertime. A jug of wine, a loaf of bread and thou under the stars at Hollywood Bowl, and the living doesn't get much easier. Orchestras throughout the country head outdoors during the summer, but while many have to contend with the season's heat and humidity, the Los Angeles Philharmonic basks in the temperate climes of Southern California--a major factor in the ambition and success of the Bowl season.

Wayne Jay Shilkret, longtime Southern California arts impresario who most recently served as executive director of the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, died Thursday night of pancreatic cancer at his home in Cerritos. He was 66. As executive director of the center, Shilkret was noted for his skill at balancing classical moneymakers with more esoteric fare. Under his leadership, the hall, which opened in 1993, showed continual increases in ticket sales and revenue.

Surprisingly, Marc-Andre Hamelin, who played a splendidly energizing and musically probing recital in Founders Hall at the Orange County Performing Arts Center on Thursday night, had never before appeared in Orange County. And his single L.A.-area performance had happened years earlier, on Wayne Shilkret's Gold Medal series in Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena, in early 1986. But the French-Canadian pianist is hardly unknown.

While we at the Pasadena Symphony are flattered to have our binaural recording of Saint-Saens' "Organ" Symphony and Strauss' "Also sprach Zarathustra" compared to the excellent quality of a Deutsche Grammophon recording, we feel critic Timothy Mangan missed the point concerning the technology of the recording (Alla Breve, May 28). The liner notes point out that headphones afford a sensory impression superior to that of listening through conventional loudspeakers. Since your reviewer did not indicate that he listened to the recording through headphones, he may have missed the entire point of why the limited-edition recording was produced.

Dust off the picnic baskets, it's summertime. A jug of wine, a loaf of bread and thou under the stars at Hollywood Bowl, and the living doesn't get much easier. Orchestras throughout the country head outdoors during the summer, but while many have to contend with the season's heat and humidity, the Los Angeles Philharmonic basks in the temperate climes of Southern California--a major factor in the ambition and success of the Bowl season.

For the past decade, Wayne Shilkret, performing-arts director of the Ambassador International Cultural Foundation, has been perceived as the chief impresarial rival of Los Angeles Philharmonic Managing Director Ernest Fleischmann. But now that Shilkret, 55, has been named new general manager of Hollywood Bowl, succeeding the outgoing Robert Harth on July 1 as second in command at the Philharmonic, Fleischmann will be his boss. In naming Shilkret to the newly created position, Fleischman commented he was following the dictum, "If you can't beat 'em, have 'em join you."

Unconfirmed reports say that the Los Angeles Philharmonic will today announce the appointment of Wayne Shilkret as executive director of the Hollywood Bowl, upon the departure of current general manager Robert Harth. Shilkret will report to Philharmonic Managing Director Ernest Fleischmann. As executive director of the Ambassador International Cultural Foundation--sponsor of concerts at Ambassador Auditorium and other major local halls--for the past 12 years, Shilkret, 55, has long been Fleischmann's only major rival in Southland impresario ranks.

Together, they control funds well in excess of $15 million annually. In booking their seasonal rosters of artists--particularly young ones--they affect hundreds of lives and careers. In choosing--as they must do with clocklike regularity--one composer or one string quartet or one pianist over another, they are taste makers. Powerful taste makers.

Wayne Shilkret, general manager of the Hollywood Bowl, has been appointed executive director of the Pasadena Symphony Assn., effective July 1. Shilkret, 57, will oversee the association's $800,000 yearly operating budget. The 64-year-old symphony has 85 to 100 members and performs six concerts a year in the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. Before becoming manager of the Hollywood Bowl, Shilkret was director of performing arts at the Ambassador Foundation in Pasadena from 1976 to 1989.