Ex-EMI Chief to Salzburg Easter Festival

The scandal-ridden Salzburg East Festival is to get a new director in Peter Alward, former head of EMI Group Ltd.’s classical music division, according to the Austrian weekly magazine News. Alward, who may start as soon as next week, succeeds Michael Dewitte, the former managing director, who is being investigated for fraud and is still being sought by police.

Losses to the festival could be as high as $2.76 million.

“Eliette von Karajan, the widow of the festival’s founder Herbert von Karajan, told News she has known Alward more than 30 years and valued his work with her husband. The Easter Festival is an annual 10-day event that cooperates with the Berlin Philharmonic. Its artistic director is conductor Simon Rattle.”

Alward’s appointment will be for three years, initially.

See "Ex-EMI Executive Leads Salzburg Easter Festival, Magazine Says."