Idiocy Is The New Intellectualism "We live in a curious age of relettering ('Hi! I'm Cyndee!'), reversals (Red Sox = world champions), and rejiggering. Paid flacks are the new journalists, fiction is the new truth, war is the new peace. The New York Times announced this week that Kiev is the new Prague. Does that mean we have to start drinking Ukrainian beer? I hope not. Osama bin Laden has famously declared that America is the new Rome... Perhaps you are familiar with the ladies' apparel phenomenon known as vanity sizing. Here is all you need to know: Size 6 is the new 8." And of course, absolutely everything is the new black. Whatever happened to the world just being itself? Boston Globe 04/07/05
Posted: 04/07/2005 5:37 am
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Architects, Pop Stars: Who Can Tell The Difference Anymore? How do you know when the whole architect-as-superstar phenomenon has gotten completely out of control? When Frank Gehry shows up to play himself on an episode of The Simpsons... San Francisco Chronicle 04/07/05
Posted: 04/07/2005 6:23 am
Will Resale Royalties To Artists Hurt UK Art Market? Staring next year artists in the UK will earn a percentage of the resale value of their work when it changes hands. "The measure would earn artists royalties of 4.5% on sales of up to £50,000, with a sliding scale coming into effect above that. However, royalties to the handful of artist millionaires would be capped at £9,000 for each sale. The payments would help some well-known artists." But some say that the plan will chase art sales out of the country to the US The Guardian (UK) 04/07/05
Posted: 04/06/2005 6:40 pm
Texas Finds Its Muscle In The Art World "Until the last quarter of the 20th century, Texas hardly existed on the cultural map of America. Virtually every one of the state's major museums was built in the past 35 years. And, during the last decade or so, a new museum seems to open every year, inevitably designed by a leading international architect. Art follows money, and Texas money comes not only from oil but also from cattle, land development, banking, and insurance. You only have to set foot in a Texas museum to realise how generous wealthy Texans can be. But they are also sophisticated collectors who have filled their museums with works of art of the highest quality." The Telegraph (UK) 04/06/05
Posted: 04/06/2005 5:24 pm
UK Government Committee: Art World Needs Code Of Conduct "Artists, art dealers, galleries and auction houses should have a set of rules to ensure all deals are fair, a committee of MPs has recommended. And public money should not be given to artists or art institutions unless they sign up, the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee said." BBC 04/06/05
Posted: 04/06/2005 4:35 pm
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Possible New Mozart Work Found In Vienna Austrian state television is reporting that experts are examining newly discovered sheet music found in Vienna's famed Musikverein concert hall to determine if they could be part of a previously unknown composition by Mozart. New York Daily News (AP) 04/07/05
Posted: 04/07/2005 6:09 am
Putting It Together In San Antonio The San Antonio Symphony, one year removed from bankruptcy and hoping to stabilize its financial situation, has received a $250,000 challenge grant from the Kronkosky Foundation. The money "will help fund five free concerts, co-sponsored by Radio Disney, that will target youth and families and, symphony leaders hope, reinvigorate interest in the orchestra among old and new audiences." San Antonio Express-News 04/07/05
Posted: 04/07/2005 4:54 am
Levine: A Man Of Two Cities Leading the Boston Symphony and the Metropolitan Opera are (at least) two full time jobs. But "those who doubted that James Levine could juggle two of the most demanding and prestigious music directorships in the United States have been proved wrong. Moreover, in Boston, the question of his physical health and stamina has been a nonissue. But what about his creative health and stamina?" The New York Times 04/07/05
Posted: 04/06/2005 6:56 pm
How Muti Was Edged Out Of La Scala Riccardo Muti's departure from La Scala was a long time coming. He maintained artistic standards in the opera house, but elsewhere in Italy opera is in decline. "Artistic standards have plummeted. With so many jobs to fill, orchestras and choruses are enfeebled. Most of the great voice teachers long ago emigrated to the richer pastures of American campuses, and the quality of native singing is now in terminal decline. Against such corruption and mediocrity, Muti has resolutely set his face. Like all dictators, he ultimately overestimated his own power and allowed his ego to get the better of his judgment. But La Scala will be hard pushed to find a successor - Riccardo Chailly? Daniele Gatti? - to match his charisma and idealism." The Telegrpah (UK) 04/06/05
Posted: 04/06/2005 6:43 pm
Court: Naxos Not Allowed To Release Old Recordings A US court has ruled that a recording company was wrong to release old recordings. "New York's highest court said Naxos was wrong to release classical recordings by Yehudi Menuhin and others - even though they were out of copyright. The court said such recordings were still covered by common law. The victorious Capitol label, which owns the rights, said the decision had enormous importance." BBC 04/06/05
Posted: 04/06/2005 5:16 pm
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Kaiser Fires Back At GAO Kennedy Center chairman Michael Kaiser defended his organization's construction cost overruns and fire safety plans before a Congressional committee yesterday, taking issue with a General Accounting Office report which harshly criticized the performing arts complex. "Kaiser argued that the center overhauled its management of construction finances in 2003, after the GAO first found accounting problems." The Kennedy Center is accountable to Congress rather than to a city entity, because Washington, D.C.'s civic budget is largely controlled by the federal government. Washington Post 04/07/05
Posted: 04/07/2005 6:27 am
If You Can't Beat 'Em, Regulate 'Em "Armed with colour-coded charts that show an embarrassingly small amount of truly Canadian programming on TV or Canadian feature films in our theatres, [two prominent Canadian actor-directors] lambasted the federal government yesterday for doing next to nothing to support or promote Canadian culture." The union representing workers in the Canadian film and TV industries is demanding that Ottawa institute new regulations which would more or less require cinemas, video stores, and television networks to devote a certain percentage of their space to homegrown content. CanCon laws, as they are known, have been on the books for decades, but the regulations have been loosened in recent years, just as many see the threat of creeping Americanism growing stronger. The Globe & Mail (Canada) 04/07/05
Posted: 04/07/2005 5:55 am
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Whatever Happened To Sondheim? Stephen Sondheim is as legendary as it gets in theatre circles, yet he hasn't had a bona fide hit in more than a decade. Yet "even as his own creative powers appear to dim, Sondheim is enjoying a golden age of revivals, reassessments, retrospectives and tributes." In fact, many Sondheim shows now being revived to great acclaim were popular and critical failures the first time around (Assassins, for instance.) "Wise and mortality-haunted beyond his years, he's made a career exploring themes that others on Broadway rarely touch -- emotional ambiguity, moral ambivalence, the impermanence of love, the terrors of connection, death. But somehow now, more than ever, Sondheim seems a man out of joint with his time." San Francisco Chronicle 04/07/05
Posted: 04/07/2005 6:20 am
Frank Conroy, 69 Frank Conroy, who "headed the Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa for 18 years, published just five books, a relatively small number for a writer of his reputation. But one of them was the lucid and evocative 1967 memoir that has been a model for countless young writers - the sort of book that is passed along like a trade secret. But Mr. Conroy was a personal model as well, a sympathetic but exacting teacher who at Iowa helped shape the early careers" of scores of writers. The New York Times 04/07/05
Posted: 04/06/2005 7:02 pm
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Underwhelmed At Humana This year's Humana Festival of New American Plays was something of a disappointment. "If the playwrights showing new works at the festival earned marks in the category of social significance, their grades in other, more artistically relevant subjects were middling at best. Admiration for their desire to inspire audience interest in tangled social and political issues mingled with disappointment at their inability to channel these concerns into potent theatrical forms." The New York Times 04/07/05
Posted: 04/06/2005 6:59 pm
Comics: Edinburgh Fringe Has Priced Us Out Comedians say that the Edinburgh Fringe Festival is becoming too expensive to perform in. "Venue charges, accommodation and promotional costs have prevented new acts from taking part, they claim." BBC 04/06/05
Posted: 04/06/2005 4:27 pm
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Weisbach To Head Miramax Books Simon & Schuster exec Rob Weisbach has been named to run Miramax Books. "Plans call for Disney to take over Miramax Books' catalog and to keep the imprint going after the Weinsteins give up control on Sept. 30, 2007, the companies announced Wednesday." Yahoo! (AP) 04/06/05
Posted: 04/06/2005 5:02 pm
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Shut Up About The iPod, Already! The whole iPod cult is getting a wee bit out of control, says Kevin Cowherd. Yes, it's a fine invention and all, perfect for those people who feel the need to be on the cutting edge of every new technological revolution, but honestly, it's just a music player! "Not all of us want to live every moment of our lives in a cocoon of blaring music. Not all of us want to sit at our office computer terminals, bopping our heads to an invisible beat, a blissed-out expression on our faces... Why, some of us even enjoy extended periods of silence, which we use to think about things." Baltimore Sun 04/07/05
Posted: 04/07/2005 5:32 am
Pub Radio Finds Success In Alternatives To Pledge Drives Public radio listeners hate on-air pledge drives. So some stations are looking for ways to eliminate the drives... and finding success. "With the help of well-timed renewal letters and on-air plugs for the mailings and website, WUWM’s fall donations were 73 percent higher without a pledge drive than in last year’s same period — with a nine-day on-air drive. The station also increased renewals by 296 percent and saw a slight upward bump in underwriting income." Current 04/06/05
Posted: 04/06/2005 4:56 pm
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Dancing Into Tomorrow The National Ballet of Canada is quietly shaking up its repertoire and reassessing its focus during a trip to New York. Artistic director James Kudelka wants the company to focus on new works that can bring an audience to a deeper understanding of contemporary dance and solidify the company for the future, despite the mostly conservative bent of its home audiences. But the initial steps don't seem to be going so well - today's New York Times includes a scathing review of the National's appearance at the cutting-edge Brooklyn Academy of Music. The Globe & Mail (Canada) 04/07/05
Posted: 04/07/2005 5:49 am
Philanthropist To Head Dance Theatre Of Harlem The troubled Dance Theatre of Harlem has named Catherine B. Reynolds as its new chairwoman. "Mrs. Reynolds is chairwoman of the Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation, a nonprofit group based in McLean, Va., that supports education and the arts. She is also the chairwoman and president of EduCap Inc., which administers privately financed student-loan programs. She founded Servus Financial Corporation, which creates and markets consumer loan programs. She has been a major benefactor of a number of organizations, including the Kennedy Center, the National Gallery of Art, Ford's Theater, the National Symphony and the Black Student Fund." The New York Times 04/07/05
Posted: 04/06/2005 6:54 pm
Bourne: Let Me Tell You A Story Matthew Bourne is reinventing storytelling through dance. Bourne says it is "modern" but that the storytelling aspects make it "dance theatre," or "narrative dance," or "theatrical dance." That should make it apparent that one had better be able to tell a story to be onstage in his works. Back Stage 04/06/05
Posted: 04/06/2005 4:46 pm
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