Architect Problems in Cleveland The Cleveland Museum of Art is well on the way to raising the money it needs for an ambitious expansion and renovation, and museum officials have spent the last several years selling local residents and civic leaders on the necessity of such a project. There's just one problem: "The architect selection process, which the museum hopes to complete by Oct. 31, doesn't match the sophistication of the institution itself." The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) 08/12/06
Posted: 08/13/2006 9:20 am
Hermitage Mastermind May Be In Custody "Russian police have detained a man they believe may have organized the theft of artifacts from the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, according to news reports on Friday. The suspect is the fourth person detained since Russia's famous museum announced on July 31 the theft of 221 items worth over $5 million." CBC Arts 08/11/06
Posted: 08/13/2006 8:23 am
Getty Finance Chief Quits Abruptly The chief financial officer at the beleaguered J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles has stepped down without explanation. "His departure, effective Aug. 23, follows several other resignations among top officials, including Getty Trust President Barry Munitz in February and board Chairman John Biggs earlier this month. The Getty has been the focus of a state attorney general's investigation since last summer, with results expected in coming weeks." Los Angeles Times 08/12/06
Posted: 08/13/2006 8:07 am
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Cleveland Orchestra Bassist Killed Charles Barr, 31, was the ultimate orchestral success story: he graduated from Curtis in 1997, became principal bassist of the Charleston Symphony shortly thereafter, and in 2002, landed a dream job in the bass section of the Cleveland Orchestra. He was an active outdoorsman and avid mountain biker. And all of that came to an abrupt and tragic end last week when Barr lost control of his bike and swerved into the path of a pickup truck. The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) 08/12/06
Posted: 08/13/2006 12:03 pm
Rumors Abound On The Fringes Of Chicago MD Search It's coming up on three years since the Chicago Symphony announced that Daniel Barenboim would step down as music director in 2006, and the ensemble has made no discernible progress in the search for a successor. "The appointment of the dream team of Bernard Haitink as principal conductor and Pierre Boulez as conductor in interim leadership roles, beginning this coming season, has bought the CSO time to conduct the search process as thoroughly as possible... In any case, the search is being carried out under such tight security that the Bush administration would do well to study its methods of forestalling information leaks. That official silence has fanned the flames of outside speculation." Chicago Tribune 08/13/06
Posted: 08/13/2006 10:01 am
Orchestras Struggling With New Flight Rules The strict no-hand luggage measures imposed on UK air travelers following the arrest of 24 individuals suspected of a plot to blow up transatlantic flights is wreaking havoc with touring orchestras accustomed to carrying their instruments on board. Members of the Bolshoi Theatre's orchestra, in the waning days of a summer residence in London, will likely have to travel home by rail to avoid risking damage to their instruments, which cannot safely be stowed in a plane's cargo hold. Meanwhile, at least two American orchestras (Pittsburgh and Minnesota) will be kicking off European tours which include stops in the UK within the next week, and organizers are scrambling to make contingency plans. BBC 08/12/06
Posted: 08/13/2006 9:37 am
Summer Comeback Continues In Minneapolis Summer seasons have long been a touchy issue with orchestras - they tend to lose money, are hard to sell, and frequently require an investment in a special summer venue that may or may not pan out. A few years back, the Minnesota Orchestra's Sommerfest was a textbook example of a failing summer season, playing to half-empty halls and searching for an identity in a city packed full of summer activities. But in the last three years, ticket sales have jumped 30%, a 24-hour marathon kickoff day has become one of the signature events of the year, and this summer, half of the orchestra's Sommerfest concerts sold 95% of capacity or better. The Star Tribune (Minneapolis) 08/12/06
Posted: 08/13/2006 8:49 am
Davis To Have Surgery, Miss Tour The Pittsburgh Symphony will be forced to make its upcoming European tour without its chief conductor on the podium. Sir Andrew Davis, who also serves as music director of Lyric Opera of Chicago, will have arterial bypass surgery in his leg this coming week, and will be out of action for the next several weeks. Leonard Slatkin will replace Davis on the PSO's tour, which includes stops in Greece, Germany, London, Ireland, and Wales. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 08/12/06
Posted: 08/13/2006 8:42 am
Big Fundraising Coming In Cincy Facing the unpalatable possibility of a return to financial instability (even as its artistic fortunes climb,) the Cincinnati Symphony is preparing to launch a major endowment drive, as well as a drive to remodel its concert hall in the city's notorious Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. Music Hall is the largest orchestral concert hall in the U.S. - it seats more than 3,400 - and CSO officials have long contended it is far too large for a city of Cincinnati's size. By comparison, most other major concert halls seat fewer than 2,500 concertgoers. Cincinnati Enquirer 08/12/06
Posted: 08/13/2006 8:24 am
Edinburgh Fest Stunned By Huge Bequest "An Irish spinster who travelled faithfully to the Edinburgh International Festival every year from Dublin has left the organisation £3.7 million - the biggest single gift in its history... The money is to be used for promoting the careers of young artists." The Scotsman (UK) 08/12/06
Posted: 08/13/2006 7:47 am
It's Not A Mirage, It's An Opera Company A bleak, barren desert in the middle of New Mexico might seem an unlikely place for a full-scale, open-air opera house, and Santa Fe, though most definitely a city, is hardly regarded by most outsiders as a major arts center. So the very existence of Santa Fe Opera "represented a gamble that people from far away would come to regard Santa Fe as they already regarded England's Glyndebourne, as a pilgrimage destination for opera. And the gamble has clearly paid off. The current 50th anniversary season of five operas, running in repertory until Aug. 26, is virtually sold out, with visitors from around the world." Toronto Star 08/12/06
Posted: 08/13/2006 7:20 am
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Fighting Through To The Heart Of The Music Conductor/pianist Daniel Barenboim is well-known for his sometimes controversial efforts to bring Israelis and Arabs together under the banner of art. In the wake of the ongoing violence in Northern Israel and Southern Lebanon, Barenboim's "Peace Orchestra" is experiencing the same tensions and anger that are exploding across the region. But according to those in the ensemble, whatever tensions exist can always be channeled into the performance, and some observers even say that the orchestra sounds better than it ever has as a result of the emotionally charged backdrop of current events. BBC 08/12/06
Posted: 08/13/2006 8:56 am
A New Wave Of AIDS Art This summer, Toronto hosted the 16th International AIDS Conference, and the city's artists took the issue to heart. "Artists have every reason to want to respond to AIDS since the arts community has proven to be more likely than most to lose members due to the consequences of the disease," and AIDS-related art is now on view throughout Canada's largest city. Toronto Star 08/12/06
Posted: 08/13/2006 7:31 am
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Grass: I Was A Teenaged Nazi Author Gunther Grass has admitted to a German newspaper that he served in Hitler's Waffen SS during World War II. "Grass, 78, is regarded as the literary spokesman for the generation of Germans that grew up in the Nazi era and survived the war... He was long been active in left-wing politics as a sometimes-critical supporter of the Social Democratic Party and is regarded by many as an important moral voice who has opposed xenophobia and war." He says that a deep sense of shame has consumed him for years regarding his service in the Third Reich's much-feared paramilitary force. CNN 08/13/06
Posted: 08/13/2006 9:34 am
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New Face Will Try To Revive Colorado Shakespeare Fest The Colorado Shakespeare Festival has tapped veteran actor Philip Charles Sneed as its new producing artistic director, replacing Richard Devin. Sneed inherits a struggling organization with budget problems and "plummeting attendance." Denver Post 08/12/06
Posted: 08/13/2006 9:03 am
An Unusually Dull Fringe This year's Minnesota Fringe Festival- the largest such fest in the U.S. - wasn't bad, exactly, says Dominic Papatola. But it sure wasn't very exciting. "Most of the political theater I saw had a rote, unimaginative quality about it, as if artists couldn't think of anything new to be mad at President Bush about but still felt compelled to be angry. The comedy shows I took in were amusing but not fall-down funny. Clever ideas seldom resulted in equally clever execution. And as for the usually plentiful nudity at the Fringe? I saw a grand total of one bare backside the whole of the festival." St. Paul Pioneer Press 08/13/06
Posted: 08/13/2006 7:51 am
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Caught Up In Events Multiculturalism has been a defining goal for European societies for decades, but terrorism fears have recently caused many to question whether certain groups (namely, hardline Islamists) should have a role i western societies. For a generation of young Islamic authors living in Europe, it is more than an idle debate. "Until the literary world is fully integrated (both in terms of the authors out there, and what they write), and in light of the unnerving events that rattled the world this week, writers... wonder if they will continue to face questions about representation and authenticity ad nauseum." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 08/12/06
Posted: 08/13/2006 9:12 am
Betting On The Newbies The publishing industry is a bit of a gambler's paradise: after all, success depends on correctly guessing what the reading public will want to buy in the coming months and years. When you're dealing with established authors with an existing audience, the game is fairly simple. But when you're pursuing "one of the biggest prizes in publishing: a book by a new writer that catapults to enormous commercial success," it's a whole different story. The New York Times 08/12/06
Posted: 08/13/2006 8:17 am
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Beijing Bans Foreign Cartoons In an effort to promote homegrown productions, the Chinese government has banned foreign-made cartoons from prime-time television schedules. "Foreign cartoons, especially from Japan, are hugely popular with China's 250 million children and the country's own animation studios have struggled to compete. Communist leaders are said to be frustrated that so many cartoons are foreign-made, especially after efforts to build up Chinese animation studios." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 08/12/06
Posted: 08/13/2006 10:07 am
AMPAS Grant Goes To SF Film Fest "The San Francisco International Film Festival, approaching its 50th anniversary, has received a three-year grant from the Academy Foundation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The grant, totaling $150,000, has been awarded to only two festivals in past years: the Los Angeles Film Festival and the Telluride Film Festival." San Francisco Chronicle 08/12/06
Posted: 08/13/2006 9:29 am
Gaming Seeks Broad Appeal Video games have largely replaced violent movies and rap music as the primary target for groups intent on protecting children from what they see as damaging influences. Worse, when gaming isn't being blamed for everything from obesity to school shootings, the mainstream media largely ignores it entirely. So how can the industry remake its image and appeal to the wider culture? "That reflects the biggest, broadest problem facing the game industry today: in the United States, at least, playing video games just isn’t normal." The New York Times 08/12/06
Posted: 08/13/2006 8:11 am
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The End Of The Vegas Showgirl? Las Vegas shows have gone completely over the top in recent years, with dazzling special effects, copious nudity, and massive set pieces all serving as expensive marketing gimmicks designed to lure the maximum number of tourists in the door. So where does all this leave the traditional Vegas showgirl? Nowhere good, unfortunately. The New York Times 08/13/06
Posted: 08/13/2006 9:49 am
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