The Olympic Architecture Left Behind (It matters) "A successful Olympics is measured not just by the gold medal tallies, the firework displays that accompany the opening ceremonies or the receipts from the television rights and the sponsorship money, but most conspicuously by what it leaves behind. With its soaring roof rising out of the Yoyogi park, Kenzo Tange's Olympic pool for the Tokyo Games is still a landmark 40 years after it was built. It served to mark Japan's coming of age as a modern state after post-war reconstruction. And Frei Otto's stadium in Munich - despite the horror of the assassination of the Israeli athletes at 1972 Olympics - is a magical structure. Its elegant tent-like roofs are so popular that there was an outcry when there was a move to demolish it. But in the case of Montreal, and now sadly Athens too, the Olympic legacy is mainly seen in the form of debt." The Guardian (UK) 07/11/05
Posted: 07/12/2005 8:25 am
I Work In A Showpiece Famous buildings are celebrated for their style, even as pieces of art. But what is it like to actually work inside a celebrity structure? The Guardian (UK) 07/12/05
Posted: 07/12/2005 8:24 am
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New Jersey Symphony Climbs Out Of Hole The troubled Jersey Symphony Orchestra, which recorded a $900,000 defict last season announced yesterday it has finished its 2004-05 season "within $100,000 of break even" on a budget of about $14 million. The orchestra also announced two major grants. Newark Star-Ledger 07/12/05
Posted: 07/12/2005 8:37 am
The Hidden Performer Inside All Of Us? "The desire to perform is, I think, universally present, but the horror of failure or ridicule is almost as strong. Many people have had a eureka moment with music; a spark, a fuse, an explosion which might be talent revealed or, at least, the start of an enduring interest, love, even obsession. But perhaps the talent for hearing and enjoying music is actually separate from the ability to produce it." The Observer (UK) 07/10/05
Posted: 07/12/2005 8:26 am
Liverpool Philharmonic Signs Russian Conductor "The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic has appointed 29-year-old Russian conductor Vasily Petrenko to lead the orchestra into the city's capital of culture year in 2008.He has signed an initial three-year contract as principal conductor and will conduct up to 25 concerts. He will be the youngest principal conductor of any leading British orchestra, although he cannot beat the record of Sir Simon Rattle, who took on the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra at 25." The Guardian (UK) 07/12/05
Posted: 07/12/2005 8:23 am
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Virginia Performing Arts Center's Rocky Road A planned performing arts center for Richmond, Virgina is being criticized after significant changes were made in the project... Richmond Times-Dispatch 07/10/05
Posted: 07/12/2005 8:30 am
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Pianist Alexei Sultanov, 35 The controversial Van Cliburn Competition winner had suffered a series of strokes over the past decade. "He was always one of a kind, always unique. He was always at the center of attention, always fiery, brilliant. People loved him or hated him, but more people loved him. Whatever one thought of Sultanov's playing, there are many worse epitaphs than that." Washington Post 07/11/05
Posted: 07/12/2005 8:26 am
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Philadelphia Theatre's Boffo Year This past season was a terrific one for Philadelphia theatre, with artistic success and strong box office. "Great," "phenomenal," "pretty fabulous" were among the adjectives employed by management of the Philadelphia Theatre Company, the Walnut Street Theatre and Arden Theatre Company respectively, the organizations that are finishing the season with grand slams. Philadelphia Inquirer 07/12/05
Posted: 07/12/2005 8:37 am
Lloyd Webber Sells Theatres Andrew Lloyd Webber has sold four of his West End theatres. "
Lord Lloyd-Webber said the £10m proceeds would be put towards the refurbishment over the next five years of his eight remaining music houses, including the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. 'These wonderful, treasured buildings have always been my first love and I am so pleased that we can ensure that they will be preserved and modernised,' he said." The Guardian (UK) 07/12/05
Posted: 07/12/2005 8:21 am
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Author: Should I Promote My Novel About A London Terrorist Attack? Chris Cleave's first novel Incendiary was supposed to launch last week in Britain. But the book is about a terrorist attack on London, and the book's cover art depicts the attack. The book was hastily withdrawn from shelved after the real attack. Now Cleave is appealing to readers to tell him whether to continue to promote the book or not. The Globe & Mail (Canada) 07/12/05
Posted: 07/12/2005 8:33 am
The Story Reading Machine Tired of reading to your kid? Now there's a website that will do it for you. "One More Story is a new online library where children can choose a book - complete with narration, highlighted text, and the book's original illustrations - and listen as they read along on the computer." Christian Science Monitor 07/11/05
Posted: 07/12/2005 8:33 am
Judge Orders Readers Not To Talk About Harry A Canadian judge has ordered the 14 people who were mistakenly allowed to buy copies of the new Harry Potter book this week not to divulge anything about the story. "The book was sold to 14 people who snagged a copy of J.K. Rowlings' much anticipated "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," when it landed on shelves last Thursday at a local grocery store. The book, officially set for release this coming Saturday, has been shrouded in secrecy and its debut has been highly orchestrated to enable everyone — readers, reviewers, even publishers — to crack it open all at once. It's the sixth in Rowling's seven-book fantasy series on the young wizard." Yahoo! (AP) 07/12/05
Posted: 07/12/2005 8:31 am
Google Libray? Time To Ask Questions... There are plenty of big questions to ask about Google's library digitization project, writes Christopher Allen Waldrop. There's the privacy issue for one. "The fight's just beginning and no one can say how long it will go on or how it will end. Google's partners need to get their common sense back and take this opportunity to start asking the hard questions about what the Google Library Project means for libraries, their patrons, and the future. It's the one area where the problem is not too much information but too little." MobyLives 07/11/05
Posted: 07/12/2005 8:29 am
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Time To Scrap PBS? "The Public Broadcasting Service is unfixable. Never mind the laughably utopian notion that member stations drive the bus. The real woe rests with the highly charged, artistically stifling politicizing that is destroying PBS. When PBS was founded in 1969, there was a brilliant idea to have an endowment that would fund it in perpetuity. PBS would be a trust fund raconteur, enlightening the masses on all kinds of topics. For a number of reasons -- taxation, the power of the National Association of Broadcasters - - that went nowhere, and Big Bird, lo these 36 years, has been begging for scraps from Uncle Sam. Inaction led to chaos. It's been a mess ever since." San Francisco Chronicle 07/12/05
Posted: 07/12/2005 8:38 am
It's Official - Hollywood's In Trouble Even though Hollywood snapped its 19-week losing streak last weekend, it's clear the movie business has a big problem, as even well-reviewed movies are failing to find audiences. "Theater admissions for 2005 are down about 10.4% from a year ago and almost 8% from 2003. Summer admissions are off almost 14% from 2004 and about 9.5% from 2003. What's also striking about this summer's multiplex news is the way in which the moviegoing malaise appears to be spreading to films considered to be good, rather than just tired remakes, sequels and TV show adaptations." Los Angeles Times 07/12/05
Posted: 07/12/2005 8:36 am
Satellite Radio - Music Sure, But Baseball! Baseball has become a big hit on satellite radio, where you can get live broadcasts of every major league game. "Satellite radio was initially conceived in part so music aficionados could skip between dozens of commercial-free stations playing classic rock, hip-hop and assorted other tunes as well as talk shows. But when XM included 16 channels devoted to baseball games this season, the company learned that its customers were as interested in hearing Vin Scully and Bob Uecker as Kid Rock and Eminem. The reaction was incredibly emotional and incredibly personal." The New York Times 07/12/05
Posted: 07/12/2005 8:35 am
Senior Senators Oppose Public Broadcasting Budget Cuts Two senators endorsed overturning cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting proposed by the House of Representatives. "Last month, the House of Representatives voted to restore some cuts to the public broadcasting system's budget when it approved a measure to keep the corporation's budget at $400 million. But it also cut the $23 million "Ready to Learn" program, which contributes to some children's shows on public television, and also rejected proposals to provide an additional $50 million for upgrading public broadcasting's aging satellite technology and $39 million for converting to digital television." The New York Times 07/12/05
Posted: 07/12/2005 8:34 am
Ads Flood The Movie Theatre Why are people staying away from the movie theatre? Perhaps it's the deluge of ads that now hit us before the show. "I've seen TV show ads in theaters before. But somehow the sheer absurdity of the idea didn't really register until watching the "Loser" spot. Imagine being a studio executive sitting in a movie theater — the once-sacred palace where we saw glorious dreams in the dark — being exhorted to stay home next Tuesday night to watch "The Biggest Loser." Wouldn't you fear for your future?" Los Angeles Times 07/12/05
Posted: 07/12/2005 8:34 am
Hollywood - At War Over The Next DVD Big movie studios are so far unable to agree on which of two new DVD formats will be the standard. "Hollywood has been unable to throw its weight behind one format, and because the rival discs are largely incompatible, the studios have been unable to persuade the manufacturers to reach a compromise or to get one side to withdraw. Compounding matters, many Hollywood executives have staked their reputations - both corporate and personal - on one technology or the other, making it politically difficult for them to switch sides." The New York Times 07/11/05
Posted: 07/12/2005 8:32 am
The New Home Movies (It's A Very Big Show) "Today's cash-rich, time-poor masters of the universe have found a new and creative way to preserve their family history. Welcome to the age of the professionally produced family movie, where budgets almost rival broadcast TV productions. Well-heeled City bankers, consultants and the like are spending as much as £40,000 on having experienced TV crews shoot biographical documentaries about their own family, for private viewing. These productions - some 200 a year are being made by the leading company in the field - are put together with all the skill, resources and production values of proper documentary television." The Independent (UK) 07/11/05
Posted: 07/12/2005 8:27 am
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Tharp: Dance In Popular Form How do you bring dance to a wider audience? You make it a hit in the popular venues, says Twyla Tharp. Her Billy Joel musical has been a breakout hit: "The musical passed the thousand-performance mark in June and still grosses nearly a half million dollars weekly on Broadway. The national tour that arrives at the Dallas Summer Musicals Wednesday has been on the road for 18 months." Dallas Morning News 07/12/05
Posted: 07/12/2005 8:36 am
When Ballet Met Modern (Ooooh... Not Good) This mashing together of modern and ballet has turned into an artistic dead end. "The results are often mind-numbingly generic work in which ballet is watered down and modern dance is watered down, leaving a list of choreographic cocktails that simply never should have been mixed in the first place." The New York Times 07/12/05
Posted: 07/12/2005 8:29 am
Russia's Greatest Ballerina Today Uliana Lopatkina is only 30, but "despite her tender age, is now lionised almost universally as the greatest ballerina today in Russia, a country where they know about such things. Effortlessly, it seems, in the 10 years since a 5ft 9in beanpole with a square jaw and an apparently boneless body emerged from the juniors of the Kirov Ballet, a living legend has grown up around her." The Telegraph (UK) 07/12/05
Posted: 07/12/2005 8:28 am
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