Rumors Of UK Funding Cuts Roil Arts Leaders The arts in England have done well in funding in recent years. But "over recent weeks, some arts boardrooms have veered from paralysis to near-panic. Anticipating austerity, large organisations like the Royal Opera House put in frugally for nothing more than inflation-proofing of their present grant, only for the Treasury to spring a calculated leak that the arts are scheduled for something between zero increase and a five percent cut." La Scena Musicale 12/09/06
Posted: 12/10/2006 7:40 amAlberta Artists Await Newfound Clout "After nearly 20 years of being shut out in the cold, arts and culture have finally found their way back onto the political agenda: During the election campaign, three candidates made increased government arts funding a priority in their platforms. Which can only be a good thing, say those in the arts and their supporters. Despite its flush of oil revenues, Alberta currently ranks 11th out of the 13 provinces and territories in its per capita funding for the arts." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 12/09/06
Posted: 12/10/2006 7:34 am
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Backlash Over Looted Art Claims "Seventy years after the Nazis stole their property, a new wave of Jewish families is winning back valuable artefacts in Germany and Austria. What was once a trickle of successful claims has become a flood. But now there is a backlash. German politicians and museum directors are expressing fears about the break-up of key collections and, after years of recognising the moral rights of claimants, are questioning the motives of those pursuing the claims."
The Observer (UK) 12/10/06 Posted: 12/10/2006 6:06 amHow Basel Miami Got To Be America's Largest Art Fair "Unlike London, where the major museums are setting their exhibition clocks to Frieze Art Fair time, or New York, where the art machine is big enough to swallow almost any art fair whole, Miami offers what might be called a level playing field for different viewing circumstances: i.e., fairs, museums, the private collector/alternative spaces and a few other ventures. All contribute equally to the flow of information."
The New York Times 12/10/06 Posted: 12/10/2006 5:19 amA Return To Printing By Hand "Letterpress, which became obsolete in the 1980s with the rise of desktop publishing, is experiencing a resurgence as artists and consumers rediscover the allure of hand-set type."
The New York Times 12/10/06 Posted: 12/10/2006 5:08 amThe Man Who Is Taking On Museum Donations Senator Chuck Grassley has been going after the way art is donated to museums in America. "The idea that a wealthy collector can win a big tax deduction for giving away something that remains on his walls offends Mr. Grassley. 'Call it what it is, a subsidy for millionaires to buy art. Where I come from the word giving doesn’t mean keeping'."
The New York Times 12/10/06 Posted: 12/10/2006 4:59 am
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World's Oldest Record Store In Danger "Spillers Records in the centre of Cardiff is officially acknowledged as the world's oldest music store by Guinness World Records. Now its future is uncertain - and some of the world's biggest stars are being asked to back a campaign to keep it open." The Independent (UK) 12/10/06
Posted: 12/10/2006 8:04 amIndia Gets A New Professional Orchestra "India, which has never shown much interest in sonata form and suchlike, now has a professional symphony orchestra and this week named a Kazakh violinist as its music director." La Scena Musicale 12/07/06
Posted: 12/10/2006 7:53 amZeffirelli Returns To La Scala It's been 14 years since director Franco Zeffirelli worked at the opera house, and the buzz was considerable. "Tickets reserved for sale online for all 11 showings of Aida sold out in a record two hours. One of the season's most-anticipated cultural events, Aida attracted an audience of leading political, business and cultural figures — among them Italian Premier Romano Prodi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as his guest." The Globe & Mail (AP) 12/10/06
Posted: 12/10/2006 5:57 amWhen Classical Musicians Were Stars "Today, thanks to CDs, DVDs, podcasts and downloads, we have access to more classical music, at our fingertips, than the most visionary composer of the 1970s could have imagined. But the notion of the classical-music composer as a major celebrity was pretty much buried with Britten. Thirty years ago, last Monday." Dallas Morning News 12/10/06
Posted: 12/10/2006 5:45 amTen Best Recordings Of 2006? John von Rhen makes his choices of the year's best... Chicago Tribune 12/10/06
Posted: 12/10/2006 5:38 amUnder The Influence - How To Make The NY Phil Matter More As the New York Philharmonic begins looking for a successor to Lorin Maazel, the orchestra ought to be thinking about getting a leader who will participate more in its community. "The debate about the future of classical music and the role of the symphony orchestra goes on across the country, but the Philharmonic under Mr. Maazel is not part of the conversation. Despite the problems facing orchestras, there are real success stories and encouraging news to report. But is anyone looking to the Philharmonic for answers?" The New York Times 12/10/06
Posted: 12/10/2006 4:45 am
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Iran's Fundamentalist President In Trouble For Watching Dance "President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, who flaunts his ideological fervour, has been accused of undermining Iran's Islamic revolution after television footage appeared to show him watching a female song and dance show." The Guardian (UK) 12/05/06
Posted: 12/10/2006 7:59 am
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London's West End In Song "This year singing shows have been the West End's theatrical success story. Straight theatre productions have closed early but musicals are booked up way into 2007. Since the beginning of 2006 there have been 20 new musical productions in the West End." The Observer (UK) 12/10/06
Posted: 12/10/2006 7:57 amThe Writer As Director (Not So Easy) "The main advantage for writers is their internal ear - which knows the tune of how the lines are 'meant to be'. This is also the great disadvantage. At every first read-through, all the writer can hear is the actors wrecking these rhythms. And the first instinct is to tell them so. The director's (correct) instinct is, 'Not now'." The Guardian (UK) 12/09/06
Posted: 12/10/2006 7:54 amKilling Innovation - One Theatre's Demise Brighton's Gardner Arts Centre is a model of clever interesting programming, but it's closing because of money worries. "Thanks largely to the experience, intuition and artistic courage of the venue's programmer, Claire Soper, the Gardner has built a first-class reputation. It stands for all that an arts venue should be - risk taking, finding and supporting the next Mark Ravenhill or Peter Brook. Its loss will be a calamity, not only for Brighton and Hove, but for the UK's arts industry as a whole." The Observer (UK) 12/10/06
Posted: 12/10/2006 7:30 amA Little Dinner With That Play? Dinner theatre is a special event in many small communities. "Today running a dinner theater can be a struggle. Production and royalty costs are high, and with new food and a different cast each time. The National Dinner Theater Association now has just 32 members, down from 48 two decades ago." The New York Times 12/10/06
Posted: 12/10/2006 5:15 am
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Reporting From Paris Philip Gourevitch is bringing more reporting to the Pais Review. "We're living in complicated and dramatic times, and I feel that our literature, especially the periodical fiction, is rarely up to the wildness and boldness of the times, that it seldom expresses the outlandishness and range of the actors and actions that are shaping our world. Without trying to run a timely publication I feel it's exciting to see what gets thrown off at a glancing angle from the actual headlines: not only as non-fiction narrative, but as fiction, as poetry, even as interview." The Guardian (UK) 12/09/06
Posted: 12/10/2006 7:34 am
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Breakthrough - Hollywood's New Leading Men "In the past two years, black actors have been making bold artistic strides. Not since the '70s, when actors like Robert Redford, Jack Nicholson and Warren Beatty took a hands-on interest in filmmaking, has such a talented bunch of performers delivered such varied, impressive work in a range of movies." Denver Post 12/10/06
Posted: 12/10/2006 5:48 amMovies For God "Ever since 'The Passion of the Christ' grossed $371 million in 2004, Hollywood has been dreaming of capturing the Christian dollar. Only recently, New Line’s 'Nativity Story,' the latest in a series of religious-themed films from mainstream studios, had its premiere at the Vatican and took in a modest $8 million at the domestic box office on its opening weekend. But until now the studios have been largely unsuccessful with Christian films because, as David Kirkpatrick sees it, most executives do not know very much about Christianity." The New York Times 12/10/06
Posted: 12/10/2006 5:12 am
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Nijinsky Awards Announced "The fourth biennial Nijinsky Awards, considered the Oscars of the dance world, were presented Thursday on a stage where, nearly a century ago, legendary dancer and choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky often choreographed, rehearsed and performed: the recently restored Monte Carlo Opera House." Los Angeles Times 12/09/06
Posted: 12/10/2006 8:23 am