“Ghastly ad” followup

From Joshua

Kosman, the fine classical music critic of the San Francisco Chronicle,

comes this reaction to my post about the Shostakovich ad:

The SF Symphony had a marketing director

once who was perfectly capable in many areas, just not really as marketing

director of a symphony orchestra. She lasted a *very* short time. The best

mistake she made — the one people still cackle over — was the ad she conceived

and approved in connection with the Symphony’s performance of Babi Yar on 2/14.

I can’t remember the details, but it was actually a Valentine’s deal, something

like "Treat your honey to Shostakovich’s great Symphony No. 13" or some damn

thing. No one who knew better saw it until it was way too late.

That

symphony, for those who might not know it, is a vocal piece in many movements,

premiered (not exactly to the delight of the Soviet communists) in the early

1960s. It condemns Soviet anti-Semitism, worries that Stalin’s terror will

return, and commiserates with beaten-down Soviet women lined up for hours to buy

food.