The Lebrecht Interview - Michael Kaiser

Norman Lebrecht talks to president of the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Michael Kaiser. Known as 'the turnaround king' of performing arts, Kaiser has saved numerous artistic organisations from closure. The American describes himself as 'very gloomy' about the effect of the current economic situation on the creative world and says a lot more damage will be done to many more artistic companies by the recession. Advocating spending more money on the arts in time of economic difficulty, he also reflects on the turbulent years he spent rebuilding the Royal Opera House over a decade ago, on how he struggled to get the support of the New Labour government and how time working in Britain was the biggest challenge of his career.