Just in case any artists or arts presenters out there were worried about YouTube being too low-brow for them/their organization, this just in from the Associated Press:In recording a video message to the Iranian people marking the Iranian New Year, Nowruz, and distributing it online, Obama seized upon one of the Web tools which he used so effectively during his presidential campaign....The 3min 35sec video entitled "A New Year, A New Beginning" was posted on the White House website at whitehouse.gov/Nowruz with captions in Farsi and also on the … [Read more...]

...but potentially bad PR for other artists. Pianist Emanuel Ax has waived two concert fees for the Columbus Symphony this weekend. This is an unquestionably classy and genuine act, but I have to wonder: does it set a dangerous precedent for soloists going forward? Hefty artist fees are often blamed for high concert ticket prices, so will fee-waiving be expected, or - worse -  will artists who do not play with orchestras that can't afford their fees be perceived as greedy by the concert-going public? Also, can Mr. Ax/will Mr. Ax write the … [Read more...]

Last week, Anthony Tommasini of The New York Times wrote a feature about CD box sets. In it, there's a fascinating quote from Nonesuch president Robert Hurwitz about Nonesuch's recently released Elliot Carter collection:Mr. Hurwitz expects this set to sell satisfactorily, he said. But if it does not, so be it. "We have had a lot of longstanding relationships with important composers and performers over the years," he added. "At different times it seems to me to make sense to put together recordings without thinking about a target … [Read more...]

I recently sat in the row behind two important New York City critics at a concert. Both were scribbling throughout the performance, and since they were just across the aisle from one another, I wondered if when one heard a pen scratching to his left, would he surreptitiously glance over and wonder if he should be writing something down, too, and vice versa? … [Read more...]

I had to go to four (4) stores today to find a copy of the April issue of Opera News. Eric is profiled in it, and I got all jealous that friends at his Carnegie Hall/Philadelphia Orchestra performance last night had seen the piece before he and I had. I went to the Borders at Columbus Circle, then the Metropolitan Opera gift shop, then the Barnes & Noble at 66th street, and finally the trailer version of the under-construction Juilliard bookstore, which had two copies left. Which now has no copies left. I asked all these places if the April … [Read more...]

I was en route to 33 Variations two Friday nights ago, and was stopped in my tracks by the presence of a Metropolitan Museum of Art BILLBOARD in TIMES SQUARE:What the deuce? Didn't anyone tell The Met that the world economy collapsed and the arts are dying a slow and painful death? How the Pierre Bonnard Late Interiors can they afford a billboard in Times Square?? More power to 'em, I say, but what about the 74 recently fired employees?The ad appears to be the result of a recent Flickr photo contest, which is equally awesome. Speaking of 33 … [Read more...]

I reached either the highest or the lowest point of my career this week. A journalist has been wanting to write about my client Gabriel Kahane for some time now, and e mailed asking for assistance crafting a specific story about him.  I responded with a paragraph or so about a piece I thought would fit nicely both with the publication he was pitching and with what was going on in a sliver of the industry, focused on Gabriel. The journalist wrote back and said thanks so much for your help, but unfortunately my idea was just  "too … [Read more...]

From the Financial Times via You've Cott Mail, more good stuff from our European friends:The latest, and perhaps most ambitious, innovation in the world of classical music is that of the digital concert hall. Last year MonteVerdi.tv established a virtual forum for enthusiasts and musicologists, offering downloads and a live monthly broadcast, but the most comprehensive project so far was launched by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra this January with sponsorship from Deutsche Bank. Under the tagline "Any Place, Any Time" their website offers … [Read more...]

Excerpt from Nico Muhly's recent post:I had this piece in LA, right, a few weeks ago. And the organization putting it on has what I guess is a publicist whose email address is at AOL.com. It is a truth universally acknowledged that when people still have an AOL address they are either some kind of a genius or a crazy person. Anyway, I've been getting emailed reviews of the show by this AOL address, and it sent one the other day that is so outrageous that it took me three full reads through to see if it was written by an Illiterate Person or if … [Read more...]

Nobody likes a fat publicist, so I've been subjecting myself to these absurd Zumba classes on Thursdays and Sundays at my gym. Click here to see what I decidedly don't look like doing it (although I do bear an uncanny resemblance to that woman in the back in the lime green top). I would characterize Zumba as dance, though the whole thing is so branded (the word "Zumba" pops into the songs, the instructor wears "Zumba" gear...) that it's probably closer to aerobics. It is dance-esque, though, which had me thinking mid-shimmy #17 on Thursday that … [Read more...]

Hey Upper East Siders, Gossip Girl here...and I have the biggest news ever. One of my many sources, NYTimez1851, sends us this: spotted on the set of a hit TV show, script in hand: theater critic Charles Isherwood. Was it only a five years ago our It-Boy mysteriously disappeared for quote "The New York Times"? And just as suddenly, he's on television. Don't believe me? See for yourselves: lucky for us, The CW will have proof. You know you love me. xoxo. … [Read more...]

I locked myself out of my apartment last night en route to the laundry room. Fortunately, my neighbor Kenny (also known as "Dog") works in the building, so he called his co-worker to say we had a "911" on the 23rd floor.  My sister Aliza - who was coming over for dinner at this exact moment - and I then waited in Dog's apartment, where he and his friend were watching the VH1 show For the Love of Ray J. "Who's Ray J?" I asked. "See!" Dog's friend said emphatically. "This is just what T.I. was talking about in that interview. Nobody knows … [Read more...]

The following occurred a few years back in the management comp seats at an orchestra performance that included a world premiere:Amanda, flipping through program, sees composer's headshot: He's hot. Friend: Good thing, because his music sucks. Amanda, squints and sees composer up in a box: Oh, not as hot in person. Friend: Too bad, because his music sucks. [first half of the concert begins, ends, intermission comes]Nice older gentleman, gesturing to the empty seat between him and his wife and Amanda and her friend: Excuse me, would you mind if … [Read more...]

I am that girl. Odds are, if I see a revival of a musical I will know most of - if not all of - the songs.Sitting at West Side Story last night, I not only knew every lyric, but could hum all the musical interludes as well. (My beatbox-esque execution of "Mambo" while waiting for a cab after the performance was especially inspiring.) And since the West Side Story choreography CAN NEVER BE CHANGED thus trapping us in the late-1950s until the end of the known universe, I generally know the dance numbers as well. Assuming Joe the Audience Member … [Read more...]