John Towers (businessman) Nick Stephenson and John Edwards, Towers formed Phoenix Venture Holdings (PVH) which bought Rover Group for £10 in April 2000. In addition they also bought the Studley Castle, a conference hotel. They subsequently purchased Midland Powertrain, MG Rover's engine plant from BMW for £20. Finally, for £50 along with an undisclosed sum from the Royal Bank of Scotland, they purchased Rover Capital, (now MG Rover Capital) a book of Rover car loans. Kevin Howe was appointed MG Rover's Managing Director in July 2000. In April 2005, MG Rover went into administration, following the collapse of takeover talks with Shanghai Automotive
From the Towers of the Moon for string quartet, were recorded as "Music from the Towers of the Moon" by the Balanescu Quartet. The opera premiered on the March 27, 1992 at the Minnesota Opera, in a production conducted by David Rudge and directed by Nic Muni. The part of the Emperor was performed by baritone Peter Halverson; the part of the girl was performed by Elisabeth Comeaux. Assistant conductor was Carl Witt. While librettist Michael John LaChiusa was an artist-in-residence at the University of North Carolina, UNC Opera presented the U.S. east coast premiere of the opera. Music from the Towers of the Moon was