Denver Museum Narrows The Field "The Museum of Contemporary Art/Denver has chosen six internationally known architects as finalists to design a $3.6 million to $4 million building in Lower Downtown." The finalists range from southwestern specialists to New York glitterati, and include London's David Adjaye, Tucson's Rick Joy, New York's Gluckman Mayner Associates, and Mexican modernist group 'TEN Arquitectos.' Denver Post 12/03/03
Posted: 12/03/2003 6:10 am
Hirst Dove Similar To One By Street Artist? A picture of a dove by Damien Hirst looks awfully familiar to one by a street artist. Taalat Elshaabiny is "not resentful that Hirst can knock out what is very nearly the same image and sell it for so much. 'He's famous. And of course he has the right to paint the picture. If I were famous I would ask the same price. But I am poor and work on Bayswater Road'." London Evening Standard 12/02/03
Posted: 12/02/2003 9:15 pm
Can Barnes Prove It Is Financially Unsustainable? This month the Barnes Foundation goes before a court to try to win approval to move to Philadelphia. As part of its case, the Barnes wants to prove that its financial situation is so precarious it is unsustainable in its current home. "Yet while it is clear that many factors that are beyond the current management's control have put the Barnes in dire straits, the Barnes management failed to control one important thing it has had power over: working within a budget." Philadelphia Inquirer 11/30/03
Posted: 12/02/2003 9:00 pm
Ancient Chariot Under Road Highway builders have discovered an ancient chariot buried in their path in West Yorkshire. "Buried for 2,500 years, the find is a complete chariot containing the skeleton of a tribal leader, with the remains of at least 250 cattle, probably slaughtered for the funeral feast." The Guardian (UK) 12/03/03
Posted: 12/02/2003 8:27 pm
Out Of Italy (There Was More Going On) Art historians used to believe that Italy was the only game in town during the Renaissance. But new understanding has come: "The picture that has emerged is of a Europe in which the courts of the Burgundian, French and German princes were at least the equal of those of northern Italy in their magnificence and political ambition, and of course the patronage and ostentation by which they were expressed. Europe was open, international travel common, and the traffic and exchange between north and south, as much cultural as commercial, flowed in a constant stream." Financial Times 12/02/03
Posted: 12/02/2003 5:21 pm
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From One Generation To The Next Some of the world's most distinguished artists gathered at Lincoln Center on November 10 to celebrate the completion of the inaugural year of the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative. www.rolexmentorprotege.com
Banff Gets A New Director The Banff Centre has announced the appointment of David Hoyt as the new artistic director of its Music & Sound programs. Hoyt's background is as a musician, and he has most recently been artistic director and resident conductor of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. Banff hosts one of North America's best-known summer music festivals. Calgary Herald 12/03/03
Posted: 12/03/2003 6:04 am
Nashville Breaks Ground On New Hall If ever there were a sign that the current North American orchestral "crisis" does not signal the inevitable demise of the form, the Nashville Symphony is it. As other mid-sized orchestras around the country file for bankruptcy, issue general panic alerts, and beg the public for short-term emergency cash infusions, Nashville has quietly and competently gone about raising $100 million of the $120 million it needs to build a new concert hall in the city's vibrant downtown. Construction begins this week, and the hall, which will seat 1,900 and be owned by the orchestra, is expected to be completed by the beginning of the 2006-07 season. The Tennessean (Nashville) 12/03/03
Posted: 12/03/2003 5:40 am
What Is It About Texans And Iraq? Since the end of major combat in Iraq, the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra has gotten a fair amount of press coverage for its dedication and commitment to continuing to perform, even as the country struggles for the bare essentials of life. Still, while the INSO may be a hard-working bunch, they lack many of the basic necessities of a professional orchestra: most notably, a readable collection of written parts for the players. Hearing of the problem, the orchestral librarians of Dallas and Fort Worth have spent the last few months leading a nationwide movement to supply the Iraqis with sheet music. So far, hundreds of works have been donated, and the librarians aren't done yet. Fort Worth Star-Telegram 12/03/03
Posted: 12/03/2003 5:26 am
Is Cold Weather The Strad Secret? A mini-ice age that gripped Europe from the 15th to the 19th century may just hold the secret to the spectacular sound of the Stradivarius violin. According to a theory being advanced by two American researchers, the cold weather yielded an unusually dense grade of spruce, which serves as a near-perfect sounding board for the instruments crafted by Italian master Antonio Stradivari. Chicago Sun-Times 12/03/03
Posted: 12/03/2003 5:20 am
Sing-along Beethoven "Taking familiar pieces, both classical and popular, Robert Kapilow uses compositional theories and vigorous storytelling to deconstruct melodies, harmonies, themes and motifs into the essence of a work's appeal. Lectures, enlivened by audience participation and generally raucous encouragement from Mr. Kapilow, end with a performance by a soloist or orchestra of the complete work analyzed." The New York Times 12/03/03
Posted: 12/02/2003 9:22 pm
Is PR Ruining Classical Music? In pop music "stars are manufactured by TV companies in programmes such as Pop Idol and Fame Academy. But, increasingly, there’s an element of it too in classical music. Not so much from the "talent show" angle - the epitome of which, at least where raw young talent is concerned, is probably the BBC’s serious-minded and professionally engineered Young Musician of the Year competition - as the scurrying efforts by struggling record companies to mould and flog the latest classical superstar." The Scotsman 12/02/03
Posted: 12/02/2003 4:59 pm
California's 'Arts City' Is A Suburb? "Located 25 miles southeast of Los Angeles and 15 minutes from Newport Beach, Costa Mesa has been dubbed the City of the Arts. It's a magical, art-filled cultural and even shopping mecca - from its Orange County Performing Arts Center and South Coast Repertory theater complex to many outdoor sculptures and its world-class 'anti-mall.'" And while L.A. may have Disney Hall, it is this Orange County suburb which has come to embody the spirit of the arts as ingrained in a community's soul. Oh, and it's not bad for tourism, either. The Christian Science Monitor (Boston) 12/03/03
Posted: 12/03/2003 5:50 am
Looking For A Vision A longtime Seattle newspaper editor is issuing a call for a newly invigorated vision for the city's arts scene. Noting that the city's Bookfest is held at a substandard facility, and that it was forced to charge an attendance fee for the first time this year to make up a deficit, Lou Guzzo thinks that the city needs to make the arts a far greater priority, even if it means using tax dollars to match private contributions. "Taxpaying citizens have an equal share in all the cultural organizations that provide not only a wealth of great programming for the public but also the teachers of their children in every phase of music, drama, ballet and all the rest of the arts." Seattle Times 12/03/03
Posted: 12/03/2003 5:33 am
News Flash: Heppner's Human When Ben Heppner made his much-anticipated return to Toronto last week, his voice faltered and he cut short his performance, causing some critics to declare that his much-touted comeback from vocal injuries is already a failure. But the reality is that many concertgoers hadn't even noticed Heppner's faltering until he apologized for it, and Kate Taylor thinks that the whole episode is being way overblown. "We continually parrot the cliché that in a live show anything can happen, but most of the time, at least from the audience's perspective, the experience is safely controlled. Heppner has reminded us that the performer is not a machine; he's a man who can have a great night -- or a bad one." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 12/03/03
Posted: 12/03/2003 6:18 am
- Previously: Heppner - Back In Form After stumbling in recital in Toronto last week, Ben Heppner recovers in Vancouver, writes William Littler. "Whether he is correct in his vocal diagnosis — that he has been suffering from sheer fatigue, rather than something more serious — remains to be determined through the course of future performances. In the meantime, Canada's most important voice on the world's operatic stage appears to be on the mend and the relaxed way in which Ben Heppner bantered with his Vancouver listeners and signed post-concert autographs for a lobby full of them, suggests that its owner, at least, isn't greatly worried." Toronto Star 12/02/03
My Kidney For A Sax A Moldovan musician has sold his kidney to buy a saxophone. "Sergiu, 23 - who as a professional musician has toured parts of Europe - sold the kidney to a Turkish hospital for $10,000 (£5,800). He has since been able to afford the instruments to further his career in the poverty-stricken eastern European country." BBC 12/02/03
Posted: 12/02/2003 3:09 pm
Everybody Wants A Piece "Just like any dedicated arts group, Loose Moose Theatre, a 26-year-old improv company in Calgary, has been going against the grain and bucking a trend -- although certainly not on purpose." The company was forced out of its home in a thriving Calgary neighborhood last winter, and has been searching for a new home ever since. Meanwhile, other theater companies around town have been moving into new spaces with significant help from provincial and federal arts funding programs, and a further influx of public money into Calgary's theater revival seems certain. There may even be some for Loose Moose. National Post (Canada) 12/03/03
Posted: 12/03/2003 6:35 am
When Harry And Sally Went To the West End A musical stage version of the movie "When Harry Met Sally" is headed for London's West End. It's the latest in a string of theatre projects to be made based on movies. "The play is set to open in February for an initial limited run of 16 weeks. The role of Sally - Meg Ryan in the film - was likely to go to an American actress, producer James Tod said." BBC 12/02/03
Posted: 12/02/2003 3:25 pm
Wanna Run For President? Start Writing Now. There are nine announced contenders for the Democratic nomination for president, and as of this week, all nine have either written a book or had one written about them. "Some are good, some are bad. Some are thick, some are thin. Some are short, some are shorter. Some are direct, some are long-winded. And that goes for their books, too." But seriously, when exactly did published authorship become a necessity of a serious presidential campaign? And what makes them think that we're interested in reading their largely predictable tomes? Washington Post 12/03/03
Posted: 12/03/2003 6:50 am
The Joy Of Grammar (As Bestseller) Just how did Lynne Truss' book about the joys of grammar hit the bestseller list? "The book tells you the rules, but is also full of jokes and anecdotes. 'It is a sort of celebration of punctuation. You can't help cheering it on, because it has done such a good job in its humble way.' She speaks of the delights of the semi-colon with relish. She has listened to 'the man from the Apostrophe Protection Society' (yes, it exists) but does not sound like a member of any such group." The Guardian (UK) 12/02/03
Posted: 12/02/2003 8:38 pm
Review In Review - The NYTBR's Golden Age The New York Times Book Review is looking for a new editor. "In looking forward, the Times might want to look back—to what was widely agreed to be the Book Review's golden age, from 1971 to 1975, under the editorship of John Leonard. Nostalgia is obviously a perilous emotion, but in this case, the golden years prove to be more than just the gilt of yesteryear. They provide a useful model for what tomorrow's Book Review could look like—should it choose to." Slate 12/02/03
Posted: 12/02/2003 4:47 pm
Sundance Lineup Star-Heavy, Racially Diverse "The competitive categories of the 2004 Sundance Film Festival will be characterized by big-name actors appearing in films by relatively unknown directors, projects influenced by Sept. 11 and a record-breaking number of projects from black filmmakers. Festival director Geoff Gilmore and director of programming John Cooper made those assessments on Monday as they unveiled three sections of the fest — the Dramatic and Documentary competitions and the American Spectrum program." Toronto Star 12/03/03
Posted: 12/03/2003 6:49 am
Maryland Public Television Faces Scrutiny A state audit has uncovered multiple examples of what the auditor says are questionable financial practices at Maryland Public Television. Conflicts of interest, contracts awarded without proper bidding process, and deliberate attempts to subvert the state's rules on project review are among the charges being leveled at MPT, which insists that the report is overblown. MPT is best known nationally for producing the program "Wall $treet Week." Baltimore Sun 12/03/03
Posted: 12/03/2003 5:57 am
For Want Of A Theatre There is a big shortage of mid-size dance theatres in New York. "The Joyce seeks to place dance at the front and center of the debate over how to redevelop Lower Manhattan, and central issue is space; that New York's dance card is full this year only underscores the demand for it. What is needed, dance producers and company directors say, is a midsize-to-large dance theater (1,000 to 2,200 seats) with stages big enough to accommodate large companies with productions — classics like "Swan Lake," for example — that require more scenery than a backdrop and a few props." The New York Times 12/03/03
Posted: 12/02/2003 9:31 pm
Bolshoi Dancer No "Fourth Swan" Reinstated Bolshoi ballerina Anastasia Volochkova says she won't accept lesser roles now that she's been rehired by the Bolshoi Ballet. "She has objected to comments by the Russian culture minister that she should take any 'fourth swan' role she is given after winning back her job. She said: 'I have played the leading role in nearly every classical ballet'." BBC 12/02/03
Posted: 12/02/2003 3:33 pm
