"The pending purchase rankles some Westminster faculty and alumni, who question what a longtime maker of steel spans knows about running an elite school whose choirs sang with maestros Leonard Bernstein, Arturo Toscanini and Seiji Ozawa."
I think that sentence provides some insight into the deal. As China becomes wealthier, their aspirations will be elevated as well. There's a lucrative opportunity here where the prestige of an American institution can be used to attract family who have the means and aspirations for their children to be acquainted with cultures and arts other than the ones they are born into.
It's kind of funny to hear people complain about a former steel company taking an interest in music education given the prestige that Carnegie Hall holds in American culture.
> Xu Guangyu, chairman of Beijing Kaiwen and a choral singer in college...
> Westminster’s odd couple may not be such a mismatch, given Xu’s background as a choral singer at Peking University. In the early 1980s, his high-school music teacher in Beijing took students to performances of operas “Carmen” and “Madama Butterfly,” and the ballet “Swan Lake,” he said.
At the very least the buyer does appreciate the art involved.
> At the very least the buyer does appreciate the art involved.
Reminds me a little bit of when Jim Beam, and all of its associated brands, was purchased by Suntory, from a long line of face- and soul-less international holding conglomerates.
Suntory is a family-owned company that has the distinction of being the first distiller of whiskey in Japan over a hundred years ago.
A few people whined and moaned, but I suspect that most bourbon drinkers are happy to see a major distillery back in the hands of people that care about whiskey.
The rich never deserve the benefit of the doubt; if they need their side of the story told, they can, and do, pay for it to be told as sympathetically and skillfully as possible. We are only to look on with as much discernment as possible.
Even without these institutions arts universities of all kinds are overflowing with children from Chinese rich families. It's already a huge, wealthy market. It's just not as funny as a Chinese math genius, so fewer people outside these schools talk about it.
Yes, this is important to realize. I work in a fairly reputable design studio, and we take in interns every year. This year, all of our applicants were Asian students from overseas (mostly PRC) attending art/design schools in the US. In many cases, they do seem to come from wealthy backgrounds (eg went to private high schools abroad, etc). That was definitely not the case 5 years ago.
The only ones who can attend art school anymore are kids coming from very wealthy backgrounds.
> given the prestige that Carnegie Hall holds in American culture.
Carnegie Hall wasn't built by the Carnegie Steel Company was it? It seems totally reasonable to separate the aspirations/interests of the owner of a company with the company that he used to make the money.
>"The pending purchase rankles some Westminster faculty and alumni, who question what a longtime maker of steel spans knows about running an elite school whose choirs sang with maestros Leonard Bernstein, Arturo Toscanini and Seiji Ozawa."
First, that's quite racist.
Have they ever questioned what do the US analogous of "longtime makers of steel spans" and ex-robber barons that have been their patrons, and which have dedicated buildings and schools and auditoriums named after them, know about elite schools?
Vanderbilt, for one, was a poorly educated steamboat and railroad tycoon.
I think that sentence provides some insight into the deal. As China becomes wealthier, their aspirations will be elevated as well. There's a lucrative opportunity here where the prestige of an American institution can be used to attract family who have the means and aspirations for their children to be acquainted with cultures and arts other than the ones they are born into.
It's kind of funny to hear people complain about a former steel company taking an interest in music education given the prestige that Carnegie Hall holds in American culture.