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Monday, April 4




Ideas

Of Right And Wrong (And What Does This Mean On The Internet?) The Internet and its fermentation tank of constantly emerging technologies makes it unclear what 'winning' means anymore. It's called right and wrong. It may seem quaintly old school to suggest that people should stop downloading culture without paying simply because it's the right thing to do. But that may be the best option available. For starters, if "the people" don't solve this problem themselves, Congress will, and you won't like the solution--unless you enjoy the tax code. OpinionJournal.com 04/01/05
Posted: 04/03/2005 6:38 pm

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Visual Arts

Historic Britain - Have The British Fallen Out Of Love With The Past? "It is no secret that historic buildings have not been a government priority in recent years. While museums and the Sports Council have seen their grants rise, English Heritage has been starved of cash. Perhaps more importantly, the British public appear to be losing interest in our stately homes and grand buildings. Seekers of our country's cultural past are more likely to want to look inside the home where John Lennon grew up in Liverpool rather than an elegant country house." The Observer (UK) 04/03/05
Posted: 04/04/2005 8:47 am

Art Since 1900: Adding Up A Century The big new art history "Art Since 1900" is "formidably high-brow." It "is spectacular, gargantuan and painstakingly conceived so that it can be read in a number of ways. The authors have selected what they consider to be a defining event for every year and written essays about each one. But within those essays are signposts to other entries, so that if you were interested in a particular strand of thought, you could follow it throughout the century. The possibilities of this are endless and it's not long before you realise that the book could be not 700 but 7,000 pages long, depending on the historical maps you choose to draw up for yourself." The Guardian (UK) 04/03/05
Posted: 04/04/2005 8:44 am

Protesting Tibetan Treasures Show "For the first time, treasures from Lhasa's Potala Palace, the 300-year-old Vatican of Tibetan Buddhism, from the Norbulinka Summer Palace and the six-year-old Tibet Museum are being seen outside Tibet. Everywhere, the exhibition has been greeted with protests and demonstrations. On this third leg of the tour, an alliance of the Students for a Free Tibet, the Tibetan Women's Association and the Tibetan Youth Congress has denounced the exhibits as stolen "art from Chinese-occupied Tibet"." Financial Times 04/04/05
Posted: 04/04/2005 8:04 am

LA County Museum Director's Resignation A Surprise. Longtime director Andrea Rich's announcement was unexpected. "Her resignation comes just weeks after the museum announced that $156 million had been raised for an ambitious expansion and renovation, enough for construction to begin by year's end on the first round of architect Renzo Piano's plans for the Wilshire Boulevard facilities. That announcement marked a major turning point for the museum, which had to abandon an earlier, more sweeping plan for the museum complex after failing to raise enough money." Los Angeles Times 04/04/05
Posted: 04/04/2005 6:49 am

  • LA County Museum Director To Retire Andrea L. Rich, president and director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art for nearly 10 years, will retire in November. "During her decade at the museum, Ms. Rich has beefed up the institution's public programming and more than doubled its endowment, to more than $100 million from $49 million. She has also added to the museum's collections." The New York Times 04/04/05
    Posted: 04/04/2005 3:23 am

A Plan To Pump £100 Million Into UK's Regional Museums A plan to spend £100 million on museums across the UK should make a major impact on regional museums say officials. "The money from the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) - under the Renaissance banner - is intended to transform regional museums. he government created hubs in each of the nine English regions, consisting of a leading museum and up to three partner museums. The plan is that they would work together to provide leadership in museum practice and improve standards in the museums sector." BBC 04/03/05
Posted: 04/03/2005 5:42 pm

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Music

Planners For Seoul Opera House Look To Copenhagen Seoul is going to build an opera house, and is looking to Copenhagen's new theatre for inspiration. The project will cost $247 million. "Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak, just back from a tour of Europe, said Monday the Opera House in Copenhagen, Denmark, seemed to make the best benchmark for Seoul in terms of location and characteristics. Seoul City will select an architect in an international contest, with construction slated to start early next year." Chosun Ilbo 04/04/05
Posted: 04/04/2005 8:55 am

Ring-Heads: Roaming The World For Wagner What is it about Wagner's Ring cycle that provokes such passionate fans? "Not surprisingly, hard-core classical music addicts who travel the world in search of their next Ring fix have dubbed themselves Ringheads. Think Deadheads, the devotees of the Grateful Dead -- minus the preshow, herb-laden party in the parking lot." Chicago Tribune 04/03/05
Posted: 04/04/2005 8:12 am

Gender-Casting - Fighting The "Lady-Harpist" "Historically, until recently the harpist might well have been the only woman in a symphony orchestra. Orchestras had been an all-male preserve except for one, lone instrument - the harp. Played by the lady harpist. From the days when Marie Antoinette and her kind sat around in salons and plucked in a gracious, ladylike way, the harp has usually been seen as a feminine instrument. Which is limiting." The New York Times 04/03/05
Posted: 04/04/2005 8:08 am

Jessye Norman Pulls Out Of Opera Premiere Jessye Norman has pulled out of the $2 million premiere of a new opera written with her in mind. "Composed by Richard Danielpour with a libretto by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison, "Margaret Garner" tells the story of a fugitive slave who kills her children rather than raise them in bondage. Norman was slated to sing all five performances as Cilla, the sympathetic mother-in-law to Margaret. Danielpour tailored the role for Norman's dynamic voice and dignified carriage, and he said in an earlier Free Press interview that the moment the opera became real to him was the moment she agreed to participate." Detroit Free Press 04/04/05
Posted: 04/03/2005 7:28 pm

Domingo's Opera Harvest Placido Domingo has made his mark not only as a singer but as a developer of opera companies. In Washington and Los Angeles he has taken companies to new heights. "While other American opera companies, such as San Francisco and the Met, have struggled through financial or political turmoil recently, Domingo's houses have sailed along relatively unscathed. "I am very happy and proud of my companies," he said. "We are just behind the Met and Chicago in terms of artistic quality and importance. That's not to say that we don't have problems. One of the biggest challenges is raising money. It's not easy; especially since Sept. 11, things have become more difficult. But we have been working miracles in comparison [with other U.S. houses], and we are in good shape." Chicago Sun-Times 04/03/05
Posted: 04/03/2005 6:48 pm

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Arts Issues

Vegas Rediscovers The Theatre Theatre and pop singers are big in Vegas right now. "Pop superstars and Broadway hits with their own dedicated theaters are the town's new royalty. Resorts without such anchors are scrambling to catch up. And outside of town -- most notably in New York -- jaws are dropping at the huge sums now staked on wooing such entertainment." Yahoo! (Reuters) 04/03/05
Posted: 04/03/2005 5:59 pm

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People

Alexander Brott, 90 "Canadian conductor, composer and violinist Alexander Brott has died. He was 90. With his late wife and cellist Lotte, Brott was the founder and music director of the McGill Chamber Orchestra, which is now in its 65th year. He also conducted the Kingston, Ont., symphony, started a series of pop concerts in Montreal and set up a program to train young musicians." CBC 04/03/05
Posted: 04/03/2005 5:48 pm

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Theatre

The Making Of A Lion King Musical It's been seven years since the Lion King went to Minneapolis for a tryout. "Every square foot of the theater — including the lobby, basement and bathrooms — was filled with costume stitchers, prop painters and carpenters, busily assembling the show. There was even a trailer in the parking lot, jammed with accountants." St. Paul Pioneer-Press 04//03/05
Posted: 04/03/2005 5:10 pm

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Publishing

A Run On Pope Books Publishers and book stores are bracing for a run on books about Pope John Paul II. "Sales of books by and about Pope John Paul II have soared since his death Saturday, with several quickly reaching the top 20 of Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com." Yahoo! (AP) 04/04/05
Posted: 04/04/2005 11:17 am

New York Mag - A Successful Makeover In Search Of Readers It's been a year since Adam Moss took over as editor of New York Magazine. "New York has enjoyed some journalistic success under Mr. Moss, with three National Magazine nominations. But it has been slower to find financial success. Though its advertising is up, the level is not as high as it was as recently as 2001, and circulation is flat, with newsstand sales down. The magazine is losing money, although executives would not say how much." The New York Times 04/04/05
Posted: 04/04/2005 10:24 am

Will Steinbeck's Hometown Close Its Public Library? Could it be? Salinas, California, the place that proudly calls John Steinbeck its native son, may close its public library? "Unless the city can raise $500,000 by June 30, the John Steinbeck, Cesar Chavez and El Gabilan Libraries will be shuttered, victims of the city's $9 million budget shortfall. If the branches are closed, Salinas will become the nation's largest city without a public library." The New York Times 04/04/05
Posted: 04/04/2005 9:03 am

Canadians And Their Reading Habit Canadians are voracious readers, spending $1.1 billion on books last year. "In fact, money spent on books is the third-highest category of cultural spending in the country, just after newspapers ($1.22-billion) and visits to movie theatres ($1.18-billion). Significantly more dollars are shelled out for books than are spent on live performing-arts events ($824-million) and more than double the amount spent on live sports events ($451-million)." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 04/03/05
Posted: 04/04/2005 8:38 am

A New Generation Of 9/11 Books Bookstores are heavy currently with books having to do with 9/11 in some way. "These books are at the forefront of a second wave of creative works related to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The first wave included predictable spasms of simple-minded jingoism and commercial calculation, from bullying country music ballads to cloying hagiographies of political figures eager to make hay out of the nation's grief. But now we're getting the good stuff." Chicago Tribune 04/03/05
Posted: 04/03/2005 6:58 pm

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Media

Big Music, Movies Courting College Students W/ New Download Services "In the search for online customers, entertainment companies are aggressively pursuing college students, who cannot remember life before the internet. This generation works off laptops more than it watches television, plugs into high-speed university networks, uses the web for homework and headlines -- and on average carries around more than 1,000 songs on a hard drive. Already, dozens of schools are rolling out downloading services from Ruckus Network, RealNetworks, Napster and Sea Blue Media. So important is this university market that Sony BMG Music Entertainment, the world's largest label, has paid the entire bill at some schools during trial semesters." Wired 04/03/05
Posted: 04/03/2005 6:18 pm

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Dance

Much Ado About Nothing? (Well, What's The Something?) Jérôme Bel's new show is a hot ticket. But while Tobi Tobias is "intermittently" charmed, she wonders what all the fuss is about. "The stage is quite bright now. Still no one there. A third song starts. I guess the idea is that if you look at nothing for a very long time, you’ll be fascinated by anything that finally shows up. There’s some truth in this, but you’re less likely to perceive wonders in vacancy when you know some director type is using the sensory-deprivation strategy as a gimmick." Seeing Things (AJBlogs) 04/04/05
Posted: 04/03/2005 7:24 pm

Does National Origin Matter In Dance? "Look at the rosters of important American ballet companies, many once directed by former Balanchine dancers. At the Boston Ballet, 17 of 20 of the top dancers are foreign born and at least initially foreign trained. In San Francisco, only 4 of the 17 principals were born in this country. American Ballet Theater has long welcomed foreign-trained stars. The same pattern prevails in many other big companies. The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago still seems to be predominantly American, as does City Ballet, though it has always had foreign stars, too, like the Danish Peter Martins, its current director, or the French Sofiane Sylve. In our era of globalization, is this a problem, or merely a swing of the pendulum from internationalism to nativism and back again?" The New York Times 04/03/05
Posted: 04/03/2005 7:10 pm

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