MoMA's New Cover Charge May Be A Trendsetter The Museum of Modern Art's decision to hike its single entry fee by a whopping 67% seems like a calculated attempt to play to the museum's base, even if it costs MoMA in the number of casual gawkers it draws. "The upscaling of MoMA is the clearest example of the ways that the nation's top art museums are trying to change their business model. With attendance flat in recent years and many costs, like insurance and utilities, growing, museum directors see ticket-price increases as a way both to raise funds and to push more visitors to become members." The New York Times 09/26/04
Posted: 09/26/2004 10:53 am
- Previously: MoMA To Charge $20 Admission "When the Museum of Modern Art reopens its expanded midtown Manhattan home at 11 W. 53rd St. in November, an adult admission will cost $20, 66 percent more than the previous $12 fee. Industry experts say that's an unprecedented level for an urban museum and the highest tab in New York City." Newsday 09/22/04
Rembrandt Reclining, With Handguns The theft of Edvard Munch's The Scream from an Oslo gallery last month has caused museums across Scandinavia to rethink their security measures. This weekend, a Rembrandt up for auction will go on display in Stockholm flanked by armed guards, a marked departure from the usual low-key security one sees in most galleries. The asking price on the Rembrandt is upwards of $46 million. The Guardian (AP) 09/25/04
Posted: 09/26/2004 9:02 am
Inuit Art: The Final Frontier? "Instant communication and easier international travel have made the art world more homogeneous than ever, but isolated, overlooked pockets of offbeat creativity still exist. One of the most surprising can be found on or near Hudson Bay in northeastern Canada, where dozens if not hundreds of indigenous artists in government settlements have produced an extraordinarily original body of work." But it's only recently has Inuit art begun to garner attention outside of Canada, despite a centuries-old tradition of carved objects and a burgeoning body of work from the modern era. Denver Post 09/25/04
Posted: 09/26/2004 8:37 am
Barnes Debate: Long On Passion, Short On Evidence The battle over the Barnes Foundation's proposed move to Philadelphia has become so fraught with emotion that it almost resembles a religious war. Both sides are asking the judge in the case to allow a deviation from Albert Barnes's stated intentions for his collection, but "ironclad facts were hard to come by in four days of hearings" this week, despite the judge's order several months ago that ironclad facts were exactly what he expected both sides to provide more of. The New York Times 09/25/04
Posted: 09/26/2004 8:00 am
- Is There A Middle Ground? A third voice has entered the Barnes debate, and despite the efforts of some powerful Philadelphia interests to silence him, a Lower Merion official may find a sympathetic ear in the judge hearing the case. The new proposal: to construct a 700-foot access road to allow the Barnes to sidestep local ordinances limiting the number of visitors to its current location. Philadelphia Inquirer 09/26/04
Posted: 09/26/2004 7:59 am
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La Scala Alleging Dirty Tricks in Muti Flap The war of words between Milan's La Scala and London's Royal Opera House ratcheted up considerably over the weekend, with La Scala releasing a raft of correspondence which, it claims, show that conductor Riccardo Muti was not out of line in withdrawing from an ROH production. Meanwhile, the London house has announced that Antonio Pappano has agreed to cancel several U.S. engagements to replace Muti on the podium. The Independent (UK) 09/26/04
Posted: 09/26/2004 10:29 am
- Previously: Muti Quits Touring Production Conductor Riccardo Muti has withdrawn from a touring La Scala production of La Forza del Destino set for London's Royal Opera House, in a dispute over, of all things, scenery. The argument centers on several small chunks of wall used in the Milan production, which the ROH had deemed too large for its stage. After several weeks of argument, Muti had had enough, and abruptly quit the project. The Independent (UK) 09/24/04
Silk Road's Next Stage "Over the last four years the Silk Road Project has brought traditional music from distant countries and cultures -- from countries along the old trade route between Italy and China -- to Western audiences, performed by masters of ancient arts, instruments, and vocal techniques and by a floating ensemble of freelance virtuosos on Western instruments." Now, a new series of workshops aims to "take the project to the next level by bringing a new generation of performers and composers into the process." Boston Globe 09/26/04
Posted: 09/26/2004 10:08 am
Downloading Music Without Context Is digital music distribution threatening the complex history of jazz? That might be overstating it a bit, but it is a fact that the new generation of digital downloads, portable MP3 players, and track-by-track purchasing habits is creating a musical universe nearly devoid of context, which could be seen as antithetical to complex forms such as jazz and classical music. "Millions of young listeners are buying music that is sold without liner notes, correct recording dates and session information. Even the musicians' names are often removed from their performances... The information that has been removed from jazz albums can still be replaced. But consumers probably will have to demand it first." Newsday (NY) 09/26/04
Posted: 09/26/2004 9:51 am
Come For The Buzz, But Stay For The Quality San Jose's beautiful new California Theatre has been generating plenty of excitement in Silicon Valley and beyond. But a full house is dependant on much more than buzz, and for the California to be a success in the long run, it will be necessary for it to mount consistently high-quality presentations. That's asking a lot of a city which recently saw its symphony replaced with a decidedly part-time ensemble, and which features an opera company which is still just beginning to come into its own. San Jose Mercury News 09/26/04
Posted: 09/26/2004 9:45 am
The Next Great Tenor, Part CLXVI Whatever one may think of the Three Tenors phenomenon, there is no doubt that Messrs. Pavarotti, Domingo, and Carreras significantly upped the popular interest in opera. Now, the 'next great superstar tenor' has been anointed, and he is Juan Diego Florez, "described by Pavarotti as the singer who could replace him." Florez, like so many other great tenors of the new breed, has built his reputation on substance rather than flash and dash. But will the allure of superstardom prove too strong to resist? The Guardian (UK) 09/25/04
Posted: 09/26/2004 9:10 am
Warming Up For The Cliburn This year's jury has been named and the rules have been set in the runup to the 12th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, Texas. "This time, the competition will present only two categories of medals. Up to four medals will be awarded, in any combination of gold and silver. Both gold and silver medals will carry $20,000 cash awards, concert management for three years and a compact disc recording on the Harmonia Mundi label." Another change will require the finalists to perform a 50-minute solo recital in addition to playing concertos with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. Dallas Morning News 09/25/04
Posted: 09/26/2004 8:27 am
Is "Austin City Limits" Too Successful? "Austin City Limits" used to be the name of a nice, genteel little television program presenting live music to a Texas-based studio audience. But these days, ACL is an institution, and a wildly successful festival that is rapidly outgrowing its capacity. "ACL got huge in just three years, and the growing pains are obvious. Last Saturday, when the attendance passed 75,000, ACL felt like rush hour in a subway station with people walking in all directions, cellphones pressed to their ears, oblivious to the music... Monstrous crowds may generate excitement and boost the local economy, but they can just as easily turn a festival into one big drag." Dallas Morning News 09/24/04
Posted: 09/26/2004 8:22 am
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What Makes A Metro? In Washington, D.C., as in so many cities across the U.S., a battle for the soul of the region is being waged between those who live in the suburbs, and those who reside in the urban core. But the combatants may be missing the point: "There is a panache and prestige to being downtown -- baseball owners nationwide have learned that, theaters and nightclubs have capitalized on it and retailers who fled cities after the 1960s riots are rediscovering it. And there is an ease and convenience to the burbs -- as retailers, football teams and movie theater chains have long known." In other words, cities and their surrounding areas have changed in the last 50 years, and both sides need each other more than they care to acknowledge. Washington Post 09/26/04
Posted: 09/26/2004 10:21 am
An Artists' Haven In The Midst of A Man-Made Hell The little town of Terezin, in the Czech Republic, is known throughout Eastern Europe by the strangest of descriptions: "best of the Nazi hells: a ghetto with a swing band, a concentration camp with shoe stores and cafes... At a time when Jews were banned from going to school, Terezin became their university: 2,430 lectures took place, on such topics as the Jews of Babylon, the theory of relativity, Alexander the Great and German humor." For many, Terezin was merely a waystation on the horrible road to Auschwitz, and yet, its denizens have had an outsized impact on Jewish art and culture in the region. Philadelphia Inquirer 09/26/04
Posted: 09/26/2004 10:01 am
Artists Rallying Where Governments Fear To Tread The ongoing genocide in Sudan has gotten precious little attention from some Western governments, and even less from North American media outlets. In response to what they see as an outrageous abdication of national responsibility, a group of musicians and actors is mounting simultaneous live shows in six Canadian cities, featuring "live music and a mock debate of the UN Security Council using the actual minutes from recent UN meetings on Darfur." Toronto Star 09/25/04
Posted: 09/26/2004 9:33 am
No, It's Not Just A Big Pastry It's rare that a national government will get directly involved with a major art exhibition, but Denmark's leaders have apparently decided that the country's artistic riches offer the best way to promote tourism and knowledge of Danish culture. Thus, Canada's largest city is now playing host to "SuperDanish: Newfangled Danish Culture, a mammoth showcase that features 13 artistic disciplines, 143 individual events, over 200 artists, and 85 education programs that will reach 3,000 students." It's partly about exporting culture, of course, but SuperDanish is also an exercise in extroverted self-discovery for a country that is just beginning to diversify. The Globe & Mail (Canada) 09/25/04
Posted: 09/26/2004 8:43 am
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Tony-Winning Playwright Caught Plagiarizing "A prominent criminal psychiatrist and a writer for The New Yorker have accused the English playwright Bryony Lavery of lifting parts of dialogue, structure and characters from their work and using them in her drama Frozen, which closed on Broadway last month and was nominated for a Tony Award. [The accusers] say that they have found at least a dozen instances of word-for-word plagiarism in the play, as well as thematic and biographical similarities to a 1997 New Yorker profile... and a 1998 book." Independent comparisons clearly bear out the claims, and Lavery isn't commenting. The New York Times 09/25/04
Posted: 09/26/2004 8:17 am
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Are eBooks Finally Ready To Take Over? Ever since the mid-1990s, tech-obsessives have insisted that the printed page is on its last legs, and that the eBook is the wave of the future. So far, such bold predictions have proved to be almost completely unfounded, despite the increasingly popularity of online periodicals. "But advances in hardware, coupled with figures showing a growth in sales, suggest that more than a decade after ebooks first came on to the market the concept could finally be about to take off." The Independent (UK) 09/25/04
Posted: 09/26/2004 9:20 am
But No Lap Dances From Margaret Atwood! "The organizers of the first-ever Descant Book Ball, to be held Thursday, have concocted a truly unusual fundraising scheme to support [Canadian Literature]. For a nominal fee, guests will be escorted to a private peep-show salon, where the ball's organizers promise they'll get 'up-close and personal' with their favourite artist or literary figure... For $20, fans will get five to 10 minutes of one-on-one time with their CanLit idol of choice, say, a private reading from novelist Russell Smith, a personal sketch from illustrator Laurie McGaw, or take part in a sexually liberating video and poetry experiment with Louise Bak." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 09/25/04
Posted: 09/26/2004 8:56 am
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Glitter Sneaks In, And Substance Takes A Back Seat The San Sebastián International Film Festival made its name with a willingness to push the envelope and present works at which more prominent fests turn up their nose. But with reputation comes commercial viability, and Hollywood has begun to "discover" San Sebastián. The result, say observers, is a decided uptick in the festival's glitter factor, and a noticable downplaying of the feistiness for which it is known. Still, San Sebastián continues to fill a unique role in the development of new and innovative film artists, and no amount of Hollywood involvement seems likely to change that overarching mission. The New York Times 09/25/04
Posted: 09/26/2004 8:10 am
A Critical Darling, But For How Long? Most critics agree that HBO has raised the bar for quality television in recent years, and a slew of awards back up the theory. But how did a pay-TV network created to show commercial-free movies become the official breeding ground for groundbreaking original shows? And more importantly, how long can its place at the top of the heap last, given the industry's notorious habit of copycatting? The New York Times 09/25/04
Posted: 09/26/2004 7:54 am
