In a move that has shocked many in the classical music business, IMG Artists
laid off five key staff members from its New York office this past week.
The move came in response to a weakened global economy and a growing uncertainty
surrounding artists' projects and touring since the disasters of
11 September.
Edna Landau, senior vice president and managing director for IMG, characterized the layoffs as an unfortunate necessity. "With the recent downturn in the economy, this reflects part of a larger staff reduction throughout IMG's worldwide offices and not only here in New York," says Landau.
The cuts came over a two-day period, with four staffers let go on Tuesday 13 November: orchestra booking manager Claudia Alaimo, artist manager Steven Shaiman, and, from the vocal division, contracts administrator Meredith Borden and artist services associate Cory Lippiello. The following day it was announced that Earl Blackburn, vice president and manager to such artists as pianist Lang Lang, violinist Vadim Repin and conductor John Nelson, was also laid off.
Though Blackburn was unavailable for comment, his colleagues described him as "stunned" by the news. "We're all shocked by this," said one. "To be let go after seven years with the company. It hasn't been an easy couple of days. Extremely difficult."
What remains to be seen is the future management status of Blackburn's artists, although his most high-profile star, Lang Lang, will now come under the supervision of Landau. She notes that no decisions have been made yet with regard to his other clients.
The restructuring at IMG reflects a growing industry retrenchment since 11 September as many artists, citing safety concerns, have canceled or scaled back tours. Industry insiders point out that presenters are responding to the emergency by cutting back on soloists who have wavered during the crisis and by trimming major projects for the coming concert seasons.
The layoffs also represent a sea change for IMG. In recent years, the eighteen-year-old company has been a rapidly growing presence in the classical music industry, benefiting from prominent manager (and by extension, artist) defections from other major agencies. This growth particularly benefited the vocal division as the company assembled a roster including (among others) sopranos Renée Fleming, Barbara Bonney, Dominique Labelle, Catherine Malfitano, Karita Mattila and Dawn Upshaw; mezzos Larissa Diadkova, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson and Susanne Mentzer; countertenor David Daniels; baritones Dietrich Henschel and Gerald Finley and bass Willard White.
Among other high-profile musicians to grace IMG's roster are pianists Evgeny
Kissin, Murray Perahia and Leif Ove Andsnes; violinists Joshua Bell, Hilary Hahn
and Itzhak Perlman; cellists Lynn Harrell and Truls Mørk; bassist and composer
Edgar Meyer; flutist James Galway; conductors Ivan Fischer, Philippe Jordan,
Hans Vonk and Franz Welser-Möst; and ensembles the King's Singers, the Emerson
String Quartet and Steve Reich and Musicians. Along with its New York
headquarters, the company has sister offices in Paris, London and Kuala Lumpur
and affiliates in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney.
