What Is Infrasound? "The big brother of ultrasound, infrasound means frequencies too low to be heard by the human ear. Infrasound occurs naturally - from waves pounding shores, storms, earthquakes, meteors hitting the atmosphere. Longer pipes in church organs also create infrasound, which many believe gives the music a particular atmospheric power. Humans have a hearing range of roughly 20 to 20,000 Hz (the lowest note on a piano is around 33Hz). Sounds that fall below that threshold are not audible - but they are felt." And musicians are learning to play with it. The Guardian (UK) 05/16/03
Posted: 05/15/2003 7:46 pm
Enron's Art It may be last year's news, but the defunct Enron Corporation is still trying to pay off its accumulated debt, mainly through asset liquidation, and the company's art colection is the latest asset to hit the block. When it was acquiring the collection, Enron hoped to eventually be the caretaker of an eye-popping collection of important contemporary art, but the open disdain of auction attendees would suggest that Enron's taste in art was as flawed as its bookkeeping. Washington Post 05/16/03
Posted: 05/16/2003 6:36 am
A Museum Worthy Of Its Name Washington, D.C.'s new City Museum is an exciting addition to a city which too often seems hesitant to admit that it is a city, says Benjamin Forgey. "Splendidly tucked into the old central library, a century-old Beaux-Arts building in Mount Vernon Square, the new institution is a museum with an attitude. Washington is a capital city, the familiar saying goes, and the emphasis here falls definitively on the city side of that equation. It's a healthy shift of emphasis. The functional and symbolic monuments of the nation's capital do, after all, get plenty of attention. The city itself deserves a space to call its own." Washington Post 05/16/03
Posted: 05/16/2003 6:33 am
DeCordova Expansion Ambitious But Achievable The Massachusetts-based DeCordova Museum is going ahead with plans for an ambitious $10 million expansion and renovation. The plans include a sculpture 'zoo,' a new visitors' center, and loads of behind-the-scenes improvements designed to better protect and house the museum's collection. The fund-raising will be a challenge, but the museum's director insists that "ten million dollars is not really a lot of money," and with no signs of imminent economic recovery nationally, the DeCordova's decision underlines a feeling by many arts groups that forward progress can no longer be put on hold simply because conditions are less than perfect. Boston Globe 05/16/03
Posted: 05/16/2003 5:34 am
A New Museum With Something To Say The Dia Foundation's new outpost in beacon, an hour north of New York City, "changes the landscape for art in Ameria" writes Michael Kimmelman. "The museum, the largest one yet for contemporary art, enshrines part of a generation of big-thinking artists in a former Nabisco factory, a building with nearly a quarter of a million square feet of plain exhibition space." The New York Times 05/15/03
Posted: 05/15/2003 8:11 pm
Security Scandal At Austrian Museum Results In Major Theft Security at the Austrian museum where a valuable Celline was stolen last weekend was lax to the point of absurdity. "The Florentine set, valued at about ?50m (£35m), was stolen at about 4am on Sunday. The burglary was bold, but accomplished with ease. Entry through a first-floor window was aided by some convenient scaffolding and the thief then smashed the unprotected glass display case. Entry to escape with the exquisite 25cm object can have taken no more than 54 seconds, according to a police reconstruction. Halfway through that brief period the museum's alarm system rang. The guard switched it off - before it could have alerted the police - assuming that it was yet another false alarm of the type that occurs in the museum once a week on average. It was left to a cleaning lady to discover the theft more than four hours after the event." The Guardian (UK) 05/16/03
Posted: 05/15/2003 7:28 pm
New Names, New Responsibilities The L.A. Opera is hoping that a few changes in title will spark renewed enthusiasm among its staff and patrons, even without anything much changing in the way of personnel. Placido Domingo, who has been top dog at the company for several years, will now be the 'general director,' and Kent Nagano goes from 'principal conductor' to 'music director,' a move designed to draw him closer to the day-to-day operations of the company. "In many respects, the [Domingo] promotion formalizes a shift in power that became apparent in late 2001, when the opera's then-executive director, Ian White-Thomson -- nominally Domingo's equal in the company hierarchy -- abruptly resigned, complaining that the tenor's frequent travel made collaboration impossible." Los Angeles Times 05/16/03
Posted: 05/16/2003 5:58 am
- Domingo In Demand On the same day that he accepted his new title as general director of the L.A. Opera, Placido Domingo was named to the same job with the Washington (D.C.) Opera, a company where he has been artistic director since 1996. But unlike L.A., no one in Washington seems entirely sure of what, if anything, the change in title will mean for Domingo or the company. Washington Post 05/16/03
Posted: 05/16/2003 5:57 am
Atlanta's New Hall "For its new Symphony Center, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra has approved a risky, radical interior design that departs from traditional concert halls. The unorthodox plan... features surround seating and a ceiling that moves up and down, one of the few of its kind in the world. The center -- expected to open in 2008 -- is intended to lift the 58-year-old orchestra up from its acoustically atrocious Symphony Hall." Atlanta Journal-Constitution 05/15/03
Posted: 05/16/2003 5:28 am
Happy With Their Choice The Cleveland Orchestra must really like its new music director. Just a year into the Franz Welser-Möst era, the orchestra has extended the young conductor's contract through 2012, a nearly unprecedented move obviously designed to showcase the organization's confidence in him. Welser-Möst's appointment was somewhat controversial, as might be expected when a young and relatively unknown conductor takes the helm of an ensemble widely regarded to be among the top five in the world. But the musicians are reportedly more than happy with Welser-Möst's leadership, and he is now guaranteed a place in Cleveland for the next decade. The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) 05/15/03
Posted: 05/16/2003 5:20 am
Pittsburgh Sym To Stay Home In 2004 The board of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra has canceled a major European tour planned for summer 2004. The PSO's continuing budget crisis prompted the move, and the orchestra insists that it still considers international touring to be an essential component of its mission. The PSO estimates it would have lost as much as $200,000 had the tour gone on as scheduled. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review 05/15/03
Posted: 05/16/2003 5:14 am
LA's New Disney Hall - Could It Be Great? "After 16 troubled years and a seemingly endless series of setbacks and reverses, the Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall, which many predict will be one of the world's greatest concert halls, is at last on target for its twice-postponed dedication, now scheduled for October 23. The gloriously dramatic, undulating expanse of shimmering stainless steel is finally almost completed, gleaming on a 3.6-acre city block at the corner of Grand and First Streets in the centre of Los Angeles. It is expected to become a landmark which will bring new life and vitality to the area as well as providing a striking addition to the city's cultural and architectural landscape and a new home for the Los Angeles Philharmonic." The Telegraph (UK) 05/15/03
Posted: 05/15/2003 8:05 pm
An Exclusive Opera Institution Force To Advertise Glyndebourne is the UK's most exclusive festival. So why is it advertising? This year "for the first time, Glyndebourne promoted its festival season. Indeed, it actually placed - shudder at the vulgarity - discreet advertisements. Why place the ad now? Well, last year Glyndebourne underperformed at the box office. This seems odd, since tickets are famously hard to come by. Traditionally, most are snapped up by festival society members, who have priority booking. However, when a faintly unconventional season such as last year's (which featured two rarely performed works and a much-seen revival) was not leapt upon by the Glyndebourne faithful, the public didn't even know about it." The Guardian (UK) 05/16/03
Posted: 05/15/2003 7:50 pm
Stuck With The Tux - Orchestra Fails To Find Alternative Concert Wear Britain's Halle Orchestra had hoped to find a new concert costume for its players - something not so stiff and formal. "But for the 2003-04 season, details of which were announced yesterday, the Hallé's men will continue to wear the white ties and tails that males have worn for 150 years. 'We have talked about this a lot. But we got stuck. We could not really find a practical alternative'." The Guardian (UK) 05/16/03
Posted: 05/15/2003 7:40 pm
In search Of Rach 3 What made 41-year-old Jonathan Phillips remortgage his house, buy a Steinway - and decide he wanted to play Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3? With an orchestra. In public. The Guardian (UK) 05/16/03
Posted: 05/15/2003 7:23 pm
Criticisms Of Aussie Arts Funding Increase The Australian government has pledged an increase in arts spending of $19 million over the next four years. But some are disappointed. A report last year recommended a $9 million a year increase. And there are strings attached to the money that is offered. "The Federal Goverment's pledge, which averages out to $4.75 million a year, falls a little short, and comes with strings attached - it is contingent on the states and territories matching the amount dollar for dollar." The Age (Melbourne) 05/16/03
Posted: 05/15/2003 7:14 pm
Protesting Arts Cuts In New Jersey Some 500 arts supporters gathered in New Jersey's state capital to protest proposed cuts in the state's arts budget. The governor had originally proposed eliminating arts funding, but has recently suggested that half the cut might be restored. "This is a national calamity. It's going to leave us a poorer and dumber nation. And we're dumb enough." Trenton Times 05/15/03
Posted: 05/15/2003 7:08 pm
In The (Culture) Zone A proposal in the New York state legislature would create culture zones in cities. "The program would provide for designation of culture-zone areas, and calls for tax incentives for owners to improve properties and provide low rents for artists. Local governments would receive the ability to identify specific geographic areas that would benefit from 'enhancements to the local arts community'." Backstage 05/15/03
Posted: 05/15/2003 7:02 pm
A Colony Of Their Own The MacDowell Colony is one of about 100 artist colonies in the US that offer refuge for artists. "The 20 or 30 artists in residence at any given time gather each evening at Colony Hall, the large administrative building, for a family-style meal (served promptly at 6:30 p.m.) and informal activities such as pool and ping-pong. Other than breakfast, it's the only time they are likely to see one another. The rest of the day the "colonists," as the artists are called, scatter to some 30 studios that dot the rolling, wooded property. There they sculpt, paint, write, design, or compose. They don't even have to account for how they spend their time." Christian Science Monitor 05/16/03
Posted: 05/15/2003 6:53 pm
Ravi Shankar's Jazz-Star Daughter Norah Ravi Shankar is one of the world's gret musicians. He always assumed his children would be involved with music. And they are. But he never figured on having a jazz star for a daughter. And Norah Jones has become one of the hottest stars of jazz. "Shankar lost contact with Norah for eight years after her mother decided she did not want to see him. Those lost years are a source of regret for him." The Guardian (UK) 05/15/03
Posted: 05/15/2003 7:56 pm
Book Sales Plunge In March "The word circulating throughout much of publishing in recent weeks was that March was one of the worst sales months in a very long time." Preliminary figures suggest sales were down 11 percent in bookstores. Publishers Weekly 05/14/03
Posted: 05/15/2003 8:24 pm
Glitter, Glamour, and Glitch "The excitement of attending the Cannes film festival fizzles quickly when you discover that you've landed in the midst of a general strike -- in France, where anarchist endeavours are something of a national pastime." Trains are delayed or cancelled altogether, nothing seems to happen on time, and even getting to Cannes becomes a major endeavor in the face of the labor strife currently ongoing. Still, Cannes is Cannes, and most of the glitterati are finding a way to make the best of the situation. Vancouver Sun 05/16/03
Posted: 05/16/2003 6:28 am
Strange Bedfellows As the FCC continues steamrolling towards what now seems to be an almost inevitable loosening of the rules governing media ownership, a bizarre coalition of opponents has come together to agitate for the necessity of diverse media voices. Perhaps the most unexpected participant in the organized opposition is the National Rifle Association, which is concerned that its message will go unheard in a media world dominated by a few large conglomerates. In joining the masses of artists, liberals, and media critics who oppose the changes, the NRA is taking a bit of a political risk, since the Republican politicians proposing the changes are frequently the gun lobby's most reliable supporters. Montreal Gazette 05/16/03
Posted: 05/16/2003 6:11 am
