A writer in the New York Times recently dated the contemporary period in art as beginning in 1970, writes Hilton Kramer. Oh really? And just how are we defining “contemporary?” – New York Observer
Month: January 2000
HIGH ANXIETY
Not yet 30, Dave Eggers is already shaping up as the Andy Kaufman of New York letters. The buzz on his first book, due out next month, is so frenzied that The New Yorker has bought an excerpt, editors at Time are clamoring for him, and his hero, David Foster Wallace, has provided a back-cover blurb so effusive it’s almost embarrassing. It’s not all smooth, though – the book is a memoir spilling family secrets so sad and self-revelations so awful that he sometimes wishes he had never written it. – New York Magazine
ON OUR OWN
Two seasons ago, faced with a dwindling number of affordable touring shows to book into their theaters, a couple of East Coast theater presenters entered the business of producing on their own. Nothing big budget, nothing flashy, but at least the shows fit these 1,200-seat venues. – Philadelphia Inquirer
SOPRANOS, BEAUTY —
— big winners at Golden Globes. – St. Louis Post-Dispatch 01/24/00
- AMERICAN BEAUTY big winner at Golden Globes. – BBC 01/24/00
- New York Times account. 01/24/00
- GOLDEN GLOBE WINNERS listed. – BBC 01/24/00
CONTENT OF FORM
Robert Redford reflects on the dance of independents as Sundance opens. – Variety 01/24/00
DEBATING ARTS EDUCATION
This week education directors from around the US will gather in Los Angeles to talk about the current state of arts education – what works, what doesn’t, and what to do. – Orange County Register
COURTING THE STAR CONDUCTOR
Simon Rattle has his pick of orchestras to lead, and almost any of them would be thrilled to have him. He chose Berlin, or rather they chose him, but already the speculation about his future is interesting. – New York Times
BERLIN OPERA CRISIS
Four-part series examines a behind-the-scenes crisis in Berlin’s opera landscape. Part I examines the Deutsche Oper – Last October, on the day of the important premiere of a new production of Schönberg’s “Moses und Aron,” fifteen members of the orchestra phoned in “ill,” forcing the company to frantically phone around several European cities and fly in replacements literally at the last second. Within days the entire orchestra was out on a full-blown strike, resulting in numerous cancelled performances, including all subsequent presentations of “Moses und Aron.” – Die Welt
SING LIKE AN EGYPTIAN
Contemporary opera is suddenly hot, and amid the wave of premieres, other late 20th Century operas are also getting a rehear. Among them Philip Glass’s “Akhnaten,” revived at Boston Lyric Opera, the work’s first production in 11 years. Glass reflects on the piece and the business of modern opera. – Boston Globe
QUAKEPROOFING FOR ART
A $150 million retrofit of San Francisco’s old public library for a museum of Asian art is the Bay Area’s most ambitious museum reaction to its earthquake problem. – San Francisco Chronicle
- St. Louis Museum ponders a quake of its own. – St. Louis Post-Dispatch