Musical Chairs

Last week Minneapolis Symphony Concertmaster Isidor Saslav acquired a new title: he is now the Elbert L. Carpenter Concertmaster of the Minneapolis Symphony. It makes him sound more like a university professor than a violinist -- and there's the point. Borrowing a bit of academic fund-raising technique, the orchestra announced that it will establish 19 permanently endowed chairs, one for the principal player of each major instrument. Saslav's will be endowed by retired Minneapolis Lumber Executive Leonard G. Carpenter in honor of his late father, a founder of the orchestra. Minimum price tag for the plan, the first such for any U.S. orchestra: $500,000 for the concertmaster's chair, $250,000 for the others.

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