WTC Memorial Design Chosen The memorial at the site of the World Trade Center has been chosen. It will be a teeming grove of trees above two deep reflecting pools within the outlines of the twin towers. "The announcement followed weeks of contentious debate in a city whose citizenry quickly scrutinized the eight finalists' plans. The discussion underscored the difficulty of choosing one from the total of 5,201 entrants in the competition for a memorial that would encompass heroic sacrifice and unfathomable loss." The New York Times 01/06/04
Posted: 01/06/2004 8:21 pm
After 18 Years: New Sydney Theatre After 18 years of planning, the new Sydney Theatre opens. "Snuggled into one of Sydney's most artificial topographies is a new house of artifice. Its facade, dominated by that huge romanesque proscenium, declares up front a commitment to reality remade. Yet, at the same time, Walsh Bay's new Sydney Theatre, opening on Saturday, is profoundly shaped by intimacy. You can call it ironic. Or you can relax in the knowledge that probing this truth-illusion relationship is theatre's core business." Sydney Morning Herald 01/07/04
Posted: 01/06/2004 7:38 pm
Fans Flock To New Smithsonian Air/Space Museum Annex The Smithsonian's new National Air and Space Museum annex at Dulles Airport has attracted 250,000 visitors since it opened three weeks ago. "The facility houses 81 air- and spacecraft, including the space shuttle Enterprise, an SR-71 Blackbird spy plane, an Air France Concorde and the B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay." Washington Post 01/06/04
Posted: 01/06/2004 7:21 pm
Shanghai Museums Being Forced Out Shanghai has more than 60 private museums. But "after some 20 rough years, many private museums are now facing serious hardships in Shanghai, the birthplace of private museums. In the 1990s, the country had about 80 private museums. The figureincreased to 200 by 1996. But behind the glorious image of private museums, balancing thesheets is becoming a common problem facing almost all private museum owners. Insiders predicted that half of the private museums in Shanghai now have such problem." China Daily 01/07/04
Posted: 01/06/2004 5:56 pm
Director: London Museum Should Rebury 20,000 Skeletons The Museum of London has a collection of 20,000 skeletons, and its director says he believes they should be reburied. "The skeletons' fate has prompted debate among academics. Many of whom have previously said they should be held back for research into human origins and history. But Jack Lohman, the museum's director, said it was an 'ethical issue' and that artefacts found alongside them suggested 70% of the skeletons unearthed in London in the past three decades had received Christian burials." The Guardian (UK) 01/06/04
Posted: 01/06/2004 5:53 pm
Glasgow Art School Starving For Support "The Glasgow School of Art could be forced to move after a review of its buildings found it would cost several million pounds to bring them up to standard. Even the main building, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and internationally renowned, could close." The Herald (Glasgow) 01/06/04
Posted: 01/06/2004 5:39 pm
The 2 Columbus Circle Debate All this angst about what to do with the peculiar building at 2 Columbus Circle in New York. Ada Louise Huxtable weighs in: "The most basic preservation question is not being asked at all. What will be lost, and what will be gained? The proposal being rejected out of hand is a promising solution by a talented young American practitioner that will reclaim an abandoned building of debatable merit for a desirable cultural facility. We do not lose the building; everything that is good about it will be retained - its size, its scale, and its intimate relationship to the street. What is bad about the building - the dark, cramped and virtually useless interior and those faux harem walls that close off spectacular views - will be changed." OpinionJournal 01/07/04
Posted: 01/06/2004 5:12 pm
Back And Better Than Ever Ann Arbor, Michigan just happens to be home to one of America's great concert halls, and after nearly two years of construction, Hill Auditorium will unveil its $38.6 million renovation later this month. "The restoration is the first face-lift for the four-story red brick auditorium since it was completed in 1913. Designed by the famous Detroit architect Albert Kahn, Hill is listed on the National Register of Historic Places." Hill is a regular stop for international orchestras touring the U.S., and is renowned for both its architecture and acoustics. Detroit Free Press 01/07/04
Posted: 01/07/2004 6:14 am
Music, War, and Priorities The Gaza Music Institute, in the Israeli-occupied territory of the Gaza Strip, was once a hub of the community, a place where Palestinians of all ages and interests could come to learn, practice, and perform just about any type of music, from traditional regional folk instrumentals to symphonic music. But today, with the Intifada raging, and Israeli restrictions of Palestinian residents growing ever more severe, the Institute has been hit hard. It is down to eight students, and the director is keeping the school running with money out of his own pocket. "Music has many lovers in Palestinian society," he says, "but unfortunately the search for food has become the priority at this point in time." Al-jazeera (Qatar) 01/07/04
Posted: 01/07/2004 5:45 am
Pittsburgh's White Knight? On the list of American orchestras badly hurt by the economic downturn, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is near the top. But Lawrence Tamburri, a Pittsburgh native and the PSO's new executive director, is eager to turn the organization around, and he believes it can be done without the sort of draconian cuts to the artistic side of the ledger to which some troubled orchestras have resorted. "Tamburri's perspective on the recent financial problems afflicting virtually all American orchestras is refreshingly devoid of hysteria," and he points out that the industry has weathered similar storms in the past. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review 01/07/04
Posted: 01/07/2004 5:37 am
Little Orchestra, Big-Time Politics The chairman of the Kitchener-Waterloo (Ontario) Symphony Orchestra has stepped down following a wave of protest over the recent dismissal of the orchestra's principal conductor. However, a group of donors which had gathered 500 signatures opposing Martin Fischer-Dieskau's dismissal, and had called for the entire board of directors to resign, is still angry, saying that the resignation of one man is unlikely to convince the board to reverse its decision. Most of the frustration seems to stem from the board's unwillingness even to explain the reasons for Fischer-Dieskau's dismissal. Toronto Star 01/07/04
Posted: 01/07/2004 5:25 am
- Previously: Patrons Protest Orchestra Conductor's Dismissal "One of the Kitchener-Waterloo (Ontario) Symphony's most generous financial supporters is demanding the resignation of the entire board of directors for the "unjust dismissal" of conductor Martin Fischer-Dieskau." Toronto Star 12/30/03
Columbia House Drops Classical Music Is Columbia House getting out of the classical music business? Greg Sandow writes: "Go to the Columbia House home page, and click the "join the Music Club" link (I can't link there directly to save you that step). You'll see a long list of musical genres to choose from, and classical isn't one of them. Rotten corporate behavior. Columbia House stopped selling classical music, and (as Lang's experience confirms) never even told its members. They even reassigned club membership, without asking permission (something members probably agreed to in advance, without knowing it, by signing off on some fine print when they joined)." Sandow (AJBlogs) 01/06/04
Posted: 01/06/2004 9:09 pm
Mexico's New Music "There's a wave of alternative music coming from Mexico that belies the country's tradition-laden and glitzy commercial images, one that provides a soundtrack to a very different - and very modern - world. It's boldly experimental, with antennae tuned around the globe, bringing in electronica, hip-hop, ska, rock, punk and more, sometimes (though not always) mixing it with traditional Mexican genres and spitting it back out in a new Mexican sound. It's music that's open-minded, politically aggressive and sophisticated, music that rattles and echoes with the sound of a culture reinventing itself." Miami Herald 01/06/04
Posted: 01/06/2004 8:12 pm
The Paradox Of Glamour Philanthropy As arts groups across North America struggle to find the funds to stay afloat, Kate Taylor notes that there is a basic fundraising problem which is largely to blame: "It is easier to get people to donate millions to build museums, concert halls and theatres than the thousands needed to keep programming in their galleries and on their stages... There is, however, some more cheerful middle ground worth examining, in the form of arts stabilization funds, schemes that can attract donors to activity rather than buildings by giving arts groups a different kind of capital." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 01/07/04
Posted: 01/07/2004 6:20 am
San Francisco's New Arts Mayor? San Francisco has a new mayor, and the city's cultural community is optimistic. "As Gavin Newsom takes center stage in City Hall with his swearing in Thursday, San Francisco's panoramic arts world awaits the new perspectives and conceptual shifts that may come with a new mayoral administration. Fingers are crossed - with some eyes skeptically rolling at the idea - that a kind of arts renaissance could be in the works for San Francisco in 2004 and beyond." San Francisco Chronicle 01/06/04
Posted: 01/06/2004 9:45 pm
Lloyd Webber Rules The Roost "Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has been named the most influential man in UK theatre for the fourth year in a row by industry newspaper The Stage. The 55-year-old has recently enjoyed success with Tell Me On A Sunday, as well as the lavish musical Bombay Dreams... Lloyd-Webber is also the biggest theatre owner in London's West End thanks to his Really Useful Group, which owns and manages 13 venues." BBC 01/07/04
Posted: 01/07/2004 5:06 am
Report: Australian Theatre Crisis An Australian government report declares that more than half of the country's mid-size theatres are in financial difficulty. "The report warns of "a coming crisis, unless action is taken" to prevent a negative spiral of declining quality, audiences and sponsorship." Sydney Morning Herald 01/07/04
Posted: 01/06/2004 7:34 pm
Broadway Gets A Mid-Winter Perking Up Broadway had a particularly tough autumn. But "as the New York theatre world welcomed in 2004, it seemed to have popped a couple of hits of Viagra, putting a temporary spring in its step from big Christmas and New Year's weeks, supported by last-minute rushes for tickets to shows closing out their long runs. Cabaret and Take Me Out shuttered on Sunday, and Urinetown will follow on Jan. 18." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 01/06/04
Posted: 01/06/2004 7:16 pm
Keep That "Gay Stuff" Away From The Kids! Even as gay culture continues to become more mainstream in American society, the crusades of "family-friendly" organizations to keep such themes away from children are gathering steam. In recent years, a number of children's books have dealt with gay themes, either directly or indirectly, in an effort to find factual, non-threatening ways to introduce the subject to kids who might otherwise grow up with the same prejudices as past generations. But the authors of such books are finding that they are a tough sell to librarians, who are afraid of the backlash from right-wing pressure groups. St. Paul Pioneer Press (LA Times) 01/07/04
Posted: 01/07/2004 6:33 am
Whitbread Finalists Announced The Whitbread Prize for Book of the Year won't be announced until the end of the month, but the list of finalists (one winner in each of the Whitbread's sub-categories) is out. DBC Pierre won Best Debut Novel for his biting satire of Texan/American culture, Vernon God Little, and Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time was named Best Novel. A detailed portrait of George Orwell won the biography category, and the children's book prize went to David Almond for his story, The Fire-Eaters, "a tale set in Newcastle at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis." BBC 01/06/04
Posted: 01/07/2004 4:57 am
Time For A Colon-ectomy "Over the last two decades, academic titles have become increasingly cumbersome, and it is rare to find an academic book title that is not lashed together with a subtitle and its colon. Some books even boast two subtitles, glued tenuously to the title with two colons. 'We joke about the title and the subtitle needing colonoscopies. People have gone hog-wild with colons'." Chronicle of Higher Education 01/06/04
Posted: 01/06/2004 9:01 pm
Scotland: Land Of Publishing Opportunity Sensing opportunity, the big English publisher Hodder Headline opens a house in Scotland. The company’s move to Scotland was "partly inspired by the huge success of both Edinburgh publisher Canongate, whose Life of Pi won the Booker Prize, and the success of the best-selling Edinburgh author, Alexander McCall Smith." Plans are to seek out and promote new Scottish authors. The Scotsman 01/06/04
Posted: 01/06/2004 7:40 pm
Indian Mob Destroys Ancient Manuscripts "An Indian mob has destroyed 30,000 ancient manuscripts and rioted in retaliation for Oxford University Press publishing a book about a Hindu king. The incident was sparked by an allegedly objectionable observations by author and teacher James Laine in a book on the parentage of Maratha warrior king Shivaji." Ananova 01/06/04
Posted: 01/06/2004 4:56 pm
Turkish Ararat Screening Off "The Canadian writer-director of a controversial film about Turkey's historical genocide says he's surprised a country that seemed so committed to starting a dialogue about its painful past has postponed screening the film amid fears of attacks. Atom Egoyan, whose award-winning film Ararat was scheduled to begin showing in Turkey on January 16, said he's still waiting to hear more details from the Turkish film distributor about why its screening was scuttled... The Armenian National Committee of Canada said the film distributor, Istanbul-based Belge Films, pulled the film's release after receiving threats from Ulku Ocaklari, a group with ties to the Grey Wolves, a nationalist paramilitary group, as well as the Turkish military and intelligence units." Toronto Star 01/07/04
Posted: 01/07/2004 6:41 am
Can't We All Just Get Along? Apparently Not. "With the courts making it harder for the music industry to battle online piracy through lawsuits, you might think that the major record labels would be ready to cut deals with the leading file-sharing networks, transforming them from hotbeds of illegality into revenue-generating partners. Think again. Despite a recent survey that reported the percentage of Americans who download music online has been sliced in half, the gulf between the labels and the companies behind Kazaa, Blubster and other file-sharing networks seems as wide -- and impossible to bridge -- as ever. Not only are significant business and legal hurdles in the way, but there's also an ocean of bad blood between the two sides." Chicago Tribune 01/07/04
Posted: 01/07/2004 6:11 am
Coming Soon: Digital Rush Limbaugh! In what is being touted as the biggest technological advance in the radio industry since the FM band made its debut, stations around the U.S. are preparing to begin broadcasting digital signals in addition to their standard analog transmissions. The new technology will allow radio stations to broadcast CD-quality sound, include text with the music, and even to broadcast more than one program on the same frequency. Consumers will need a digital receiver to pick up the new transmissions, and currently, only one station (in Cedar Rapids, Iowa,) has begun digital broadcasting, but industry observers are expecting digital to become the new standard within the next decade. Wired 01/06/04
Posted: 01/07/2004 5:12 am
Theatre Hit Producers Will Be Made Back Into Film The Broadway hit The Producers is adapted from a 60s movie. Now the stage update is being adapted further...as another movie. The movie will star Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane, the thea production's original stars. The New York Times 01/07/04
Posted: 01/06/2004 8:35 pm
Writer's Guild President Resigns The head of the Writer's Guild of America has resigned after a 13-hour meeting with the union's board of directors. "The upheaval at the union comes on the eve of critical negotiations with Hollywood studios and television networks over a new three-year contract on conditions for entertainment industry writers. The current contract expires in May." The New York Times 01/07/04
Posted: 01/06/2004 8:29 pm
Threats Deter Turks From "Ararat" "Terrorist-style threats in Turkey are preventing people there from seeing Atom Egoyan's Ararat and learning the truth about the country's violent past, the Armenian National Committee of Canada says." Toronto Star 01/06/04
Posted: 01/06/2004 7:31 pm
What Defines A Blockbuster? More than 25 movies grossed more than $100 million at the box office in 2003. A hundred mil is the traditional mark for declaring a film a blockbuster. But some of these "blockbusters" didn't even recoup their production costs. "Many analysts and even studio executives say that it's time to redefine the term "blockbuster" — or throw it out. Some argue that the label should be reserved for movies that take in $200 million because that remains rarefied air: Six movies topped that mark in 2003." USAToday 01/06/04
Posted: 01/06/2004 7:27 pm
Unwanted But Profitable Boston Ballet's production of The Nutcracker is being thrown out of its home at the Wang Theatre next year in favor of a touring holiday show, but the classic Christmas ballet is apparently still a profitable enterprise. The 2003 run of Nutcracker pulled in a record $6.6 million, more than $1 million above the company's projections. As much as $2 million may be needed to transition the production to a new venue, and Boston Ballet still isn't sure where that venue will be. Boston Globe 01/07/04
Posted: 01/07/2004 6:04 am
Kirov Returns To America The legendary Kirov Ballet returns to America. Tobi Tobias: "Granted, today’s Kirov corps is not the ensemble it once was, with every head inclined just so, every wrist angled exactly, every leg raised in arabesque to some preordained height, the uncanny unison work not mechanical but buoyed by the music. Still, the current group resembles the corps de ballet of the old days in kind if not degree, and it is a fine sight to behold. The rest of the dancing was dispiriting." Seeing Things (AJBlogs) 01/07/04
Posted: 01/06/2004 9:31 pm
