CAMBODIAN DANCERS DEFECT

At least six members of a touring group of dancers and musicians from Phnom Penh abandoned the troupe’s US tour Monday and appeared to be planning to seek US residency. “In Cambodia as a performer, you can hardly survive on that profession. There are no stages to perform on. There’s only one theater, and it’s been burned down. The government has no money to fix it up.” Washington Post 10/05/01

CANADIAN DANCER DEFECTS

Last spring Royal Winnipeg Ballet star Tara Birtwhistle quit the Winnipeg and joined Alberta Ballet. The Winnipeg is one of Canada’s top companies, and the move was seen as a coup for Alberta. But only a few weeks into the new season, Birtwhistle has quietly left Alberta and rejoined the Winnipeg… National Post (Canada) 10/05/01

ROYAL TURMOIL

Ross Stretton has only been director of London’s Royal Ballet for about a month, but already the complaints are starting. Stretton says “I need to change the concept of what ballet is”. But that concept won’t include star dancer Sarah Wildor. Wildor suddenly announced her resignation last week after it was obvious she didn’t figure high in Stretton’s plans. The Royal’s subscribers are also less than pleased by some of Stretton’s other moves. Sydney Morning Herald 10/03/01

Issues: October 2001

Wednesday October 31

ALL-KNOWING: Australia’s opposition Labour Party wants to get elected on a “knowledge nation” platform. The party promises to transform the country, injecting $176 million for 600 new specialist teachers, focusing on literacy and numeracy, $493 million for a fund to improve the quality of teaching and learning at universities, doubling the number of research fellowships and creating a new category of elite fellowships at a cost of $38 million, a new University of Australia Online, with 100,000 new online undergraduate places by 2010, costing $320 million, and 35,000 new high skill apprenticeships, costing $105 million. Sydney Morning Herald 10/31/01

NEED FOR MORE ART IN SCHOOLS: Prince Charles officially opens Tate Britain’s expanded building. “Opening the gallery, the prince said that art history and art practice should be part of education.” BBC 10/30/01

Tuesday October 30

ART IN THE NEW CENTURY: The new head of the Australia Council says digital art is a revolution. It is “new in the same way film and television were the defining cultural drivers of the 20th century, I cannot believe that digital arts and digital technology won’t be the comparable driving force in this century. It’s not just about how we produce art, it’s how it will change the nature of audiences, how it will change the access and distribution to culture that will change.” Sydney Morning Herald 10/30/01

ADELAIDE FUNDING RESTORED: Australia’s Telstra has decided to reinstate its $500,000 support for the Adelaide Festival. The company had pulled its sponsorship after the festival ran ads featuring images of Hitler. The Age (Melbourne) 10/30/01

  • Previously: HITLER ADS PROVOKE ADELAIDE SPONSOR: The Adelaide Arts Festival has lost a major $500,000 sponsorship after the festival aired ads featuring Adolf Hitler. “A black-and-white television commercial shows the German World War Two dictator behind a camera apparently taking a photograph, then with his head superimposed on to the body of the painter Pablo Picasso, and again sitting in a film director’s chair.” CNN.com 10/28/01

Monday October 29

HITLER ADS PROVOKE ADELAIDE SPONSOR: The Adelaide Arts Festival has lost a major $500,000 sponsorship after the festival aired ads featuring Adolf Hitler. “A black-and-white television commercial shows the German World War Two dictator behind a camera apparently taking a photograph, then with his head superimposed on to the body of the painter Pablo Picasso, and again sitting in a film director’s chair.” CNN.com 10/28/01

  • SELLARS MIA: The embattled Adelaide Festival will announce its lineup next week. But festival director Peter Sellars won’t be there. “The absence of Sellars has caused comment and private outrage in arts circles and South Australia’s opposition arts spokeswoman, Carolyn Pickles, said yesterday it was highly unusual for him not to be present. The program launch, usually a closely orchestrated affair attended by national media, has typically been the moment at which the director unveils and explains his or her vision.” Sydney Morning Herald 10/29/01

THE ART OF SHOCK: There have been “two longstanding fetishes in the history of art since the Enlightenment: that an artist is a kind of sacred warrior and art an ‘attack’ on societies that need to be refashioned. Artists, of course, are not terrorists, but Stockhausen was right to notice the affinity between their hard work, their discipline, their commitment to a message, even their sometimes macabre imagination. What he missed, besides the obvious fact that artists create and terrorists destroy – and this is as fundamental as good and evil – is that terrorists insist you get the message. Great artists have more grace.” Washington Post 10/28/01

Sunday October 28

GIVING TO ARTS/CULTURE DRYING UP: Contributions to non-profits are down about 20-25 percent this year due to the bad economy. “The nonprofits in the most jeopardy are arts and cultural institutions, smaller organizations, those relying on only one or two large sources of funding and, especially, any group that hasn’t worked diligently over the last several years to nurture its donor base and demonstrate its value.” BusinessWeek 10/25/01

PERFORMING AS AN ART: When is performance art an art and not just embarrassing everyday life? “Performance became accepted as a medium in its own right in the 1970s, when conceptual art was in its heyday. Conceptual art demanded an art of ideas over product, and an art that couldn’t be bought and sold. Performance became the demonstration and execution of those ideas.” The Guardian (UK) 10/27/01

Friday October 26

SOUTH AFRICA’S RAW EDGE: South Africa’s post-apartheid arts and artists are struggling. “The institutional framework for the arts, culture and heritage has changed significantly and for the better since 1994. The list of new policies, structures and legislation generated by the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology is impressive, but adequate funding and efficient implementation are lacking in all areas, and some are in crisis.” Daily Mail & Guardian (South Africa) 10/24/01

THE LANGUAGE THAT REFUSES TO DIE: “Dead” languages are those which no one uses any more. So, is Latin a dead language? That’s the general attitude, but there’s evidence to suggest it’s reviving; perhaps it never died. “If Latin could survive being a required subject, it can survive anything. Epitaphs – even lapidary ones in capital letters – are premature.” The Guardian (UK) 10/25/01

Thursday October 25

ALWAYS THE FIRST TO GO: The city of Phoenix is feeling a bit of a financial pinch, and members of the city council are turning against funding for local arts groups. The city’s ballet and opera companies have been specifically targeted for cuts by two powerful councilmen. Arizona Republic 10/24/01

Wednesday October 24

A LESSON FROM HISTORY AND LITERATURE: For most of us, biological terror seems a distant reality, or it did until a couple weeks ago. Yet it is a constant element in literature and in history. The Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse, Pestilence, has always been nearby. The Globe & Mail (Canada) 10/24/01

Tuesday October 23

LINCOLN CENTER RESIGNATION: Lincoln Center loses another top exec. “Marshall Rose, who has served as the unpaid chairman of the center’s redevelopment corporation, said he was stepping down because he had completed his work on a master plan. But it was widely known within Lincoln Center that he was intensely frustrated with the internecine battles that were hindering the project’s advancement.” The New York Times 10/23/01 (one-time registration required for access)

TESTING THE STANDARDS: Is the American SAT test endangered? “Today’s critics have opened an assault on the use of what is essentially an IQ test to measure students’ ability to learn. The outcome of the debate will affect how colleges with competitive admissions pick students, how racially diverse those students will be, and how high-school students prepare for college.” Chronicle of Higher Education 10/22/01

Monday October 22

HOW EUROPE RULED THE WORLD: Why did Europe come to dominate world civilization? “Why did a relatively small and backward periphery on the western fringes of the Eurasian continent burst onto the world scene in the sixteenth century and by the nineteenth century become a dominant force in almost all corners of the earth? Until recently, two responses have dominated…” Lingua Franca 11/01

WHERE’S THE DEBATE? Since September 11, many college campuses have seen “attacks on professors who have been censured by administrators, deluged with hate mail, or otherwise intimidated for claiming that the United States is to blame for the terrorist assaults. In large measure, responsibility for the tattered condition of our campus culture of free speech must be assigned to the very professoriate that now seeks the shelter of that tradition’s tolerance. Students, and the public at large, no longer believe that the academy is capable of providing the country with a balanced assessment of our national dilemma.” Chronicle of Higher Education 10/22/01

Sunday October 21

RAISING MONEY FOR THE ARTS IS HARD TIMES: As the economy sours, what is the impact on arts organizations? Ticket sales are back up, but the effects on fundraising still aren’t certain. “Generosity thrives on health and wealth. When the economy sours, and when disaster relief understandably attracts a sizable amount of available dollars, arts managers naturally worry.” Chicago Tribune 10/21/01

SORTING OUT THE “A” IN A&E: In a world of entertainment, where did art go? If entertainment is now considered art because it reaches more people and therefore has greater impact, and art is entertainment because it tries to reach more people, then what do the distinctions of art in culture mean? The Globe & Mail (Canada) 10/20/01

Friday October 19

CORK AS CULTURE CAPITAL: The Irish city of Cork has been named as Europe’s Culture Capital for 2005. Previous cities named as culture capitals have been Barcelona, Lisbon and Helsinki, “while Glasgow’s reign in 1990 had a positive and long-lasting impact on the city’s economic and cultural fortunes.” Gramophone 10/16/01

SURREALISM AS WAY OF LIFE: “Surrealism’s most obvious legacy is a linguistic one. We call on the word ‘surreal’ in response to any situation where the fabulous or the bizarre impinges on our lives, where the boundaries between waking consciousness and the world of dreams seem temporarily blurred. Such occurrences have always been with us, the only difference being that now we have a handy, catch-all phrase with which to indicate and categorise them.” New Statesman 10/15/01

Thursday October 18

ARTS IN IRELAND – THE BAD AND THE GOOD: On the one hand, “it seems the Arts Council has a reputation for being paternalistic, furtive and secretive in the way it has conducted its business.” On the other, “the Republic is perceived, by observers in Britain at least, as particularly enlightened in the way it has passed legislation to support artists financially.” The Irish Times 10/18/01

HAMBURG’S CULTURAL BATTLE: “As a center of the arts, Hamburg has always had a unique aura, extending far beyond Germany’s borders.” But the city has elected a new right-center government less receptive to Hamburg’s adventurous cultural reputation. But new culture minister Nike Wagner, Richard Wagner’s great-granddaughter and long a candidate to take over directorship of the famous annual Bayreuth Festival, is likely to champion the city’s arts progressiveness.” Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 10/18/01

CREATIVITY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN A CELL PHONE: A French court agreed with composer Gabriel Yared that a cell phone relay tower “impaired his creative concentration,” and ordered France Télécom to remove it. Fearing a rash of similar suits, France Télécom has left the tower standing, and is paying a fine while it appeals to a higher court. London Evening Standard 10/17/01

Wednesday October 17

IS THE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER DEAD? “What Lincoln Center and South Bank have in common is their desperate need for a facelift. Both are showing their age. Both clung to the Sixties conceit that people who like classical music, for example, can be ‘led’ into other arts simply by having them in close proximity. Human nature, however, has changed since then. Citizens in open societies are not inclined to be led: they prefer to discover. The arts centre is a thing of the past, filled with superfluities.” The Telegraph (UK) 10/17/01

SAFETY TRUMPS RIGHT TO LAMPOON: A prominent U.K. comedian has publicly condemned the nation’s proposed antiterrorism legislation pending in the House of Commons. Rowan Atkinson (best known in the U.S. for his turn in Four Weddings and a Funeral) claims that a measure in the bill designed to prevent religious hate speech would have the effect of making the satirizing of religion a crime. He is backed by seveal of Britain’s top satirists. BBC 10/17/01

Tuesday October 16

TRADING ON CULTURE: Canada’s cultural minister wants to remove cultural issues from the purview of the World Trade Organization. She “wants either a new agency – or an existing one like UNESCO – to take over the responsibility for disputes on culture matters.” She says it’s essential “to be the work we are doing to get international support for an instrument on cultural diversity so culture is not traded off at the table of the WTO.” CBC 10/16/01

Sunday October 14

HIGH ART OFTEN SPEECHLESS IN A CRISIS: “Although the artistic fruits of the recent national crisis and the current war have only begun to appear, the fine arts have not been particularly responsive to the major crises of American history.” The enduring images of such times tend to be produced by non-artists whose work takes on artistic meaning after the fact. The New York Times 10/14/01 (one-time registration required for access)

NICE CHUNK OF CHANGE FOR AUSSIE TOURING: “The [Australian] government yesterday handed out more than $2.8 million in the latest round of the performing arts touring program.” The Age (Melbourne) 10/14/01

SILENCING MUSIC’S POTENTIAL: Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers have banned many things since coming to power five years ago. Some of the bans, like education for women and shaving for men, had an immediately visible impact. But when the hard-liners banned music, they may have taken away one of the most powerful forces for national unity. Music unites, as patriotic anthems the world over show. But can lack of music actually divide a people? The Guardian 10/13/01

Friday October 12

PARIS MUSEUMS CLOSED BY STRIKE: Several museums and tourist attractions in Paris have been shut down by striking workers, who are protesting a cut in their workweek. The Orsay Museum and the Arc de Triomphe were closed all day, while “the Louvre opened its doors only in mid-afternoon [Thursday], a day after workers let all visitors in for free as part of the protest.” New Jersey Online(AP) 10/11/01

Thursday October 11

LINCOLN CENTER SQUABBLE: A dangerous game of politics is being played at New York’s famous performing arts complex, and the future of a massive $1 billion redevelopment project is at stake. Sorting out exactly who among the center’s many resident organizations wants what is difficult, but it is safe to say that no one is backing down without a fight. The New York Times 10/11/01 (one-time registration required for access)

SETTING PRECEDENT, OR JUST MUDDYING THE WATERS? “Finding the intersection between decades-old copyright law and where it applies in the digital world remains far off the map in the wake of a critical Supreme Court decision on Tuesday.” Wired 10/10/01

ARTS AS AN ECONOMIC PLUS: The conventional wisdom in the U.S. has always been that the arts, while important, are fated to be a fiscal drag on society. But in Massachusetts, a mayor is on a crusade to show the world that public investment in the arts can be “an economic engine” for the community, and he’s got the numbers to prove it. Boston Globe 10/11/01

LEGACY OF A DYING TONGUE: A culture has no more basic manifestation than its language. More than simply a method of communication, language tells us an astonishing amount about the priorities, the relative prosperity, and the values of the people who speak it. So what is lost when a language dies out? It’s happening right now to a native American tongue called Dakota. City Pages (Minneapolis/St. Paul) 10/10/01

Wednesday October 10

SUPREMES SAY YOU GOTTA PAY: “In the second computer-age victory this year for free-lance journalists who contend they were cheated by big media companies, the Supreme Court turned down an appeal Tuesday from National Geographic over reprinted photos. The court, without comment, refused to take up a lower court ruling that the magazine should have paid free-lance photographers for pictures compiled on a compact disc.” Wired 10/09/01

ON THE QUESTION OF REBUILDING: What, ultimately, should go where the World Trade Center once stood? Consider the decision at the other major US terrorism site. “In Oklahoma City, the former Murrah Building site became a memorial and the new building went up on an adjoining site. Clients and tenants all said they didn’t want to work in a bunker. They did not want the building to be a memorial. They said the new building was about the future.” Chicago Tribune 10/09/01

EXPORTING CULTURE: Germany’s Goethe Institute, founded half a century ago to promote German art and culture around the world, is finding that the parameters of its mission are changing. “[W]e now live in the age of globalization, and those who continue to export culture as the extended arm of foreign policy, as a kind of minesweeping project for intercultural gaffes, make themselves redundant in the long run.” Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 10/09/01

Tuesday October 9

IRONY ALIVE AND KICKING: It took approximately 6.2 hours after the September 11 attacks for the first TV talking head to declare irony, satire, and humor to be dead forevermore. That the U.S. pundit corps would make such an outrageous assertion is not surprising – that so many people believed it is. But in the weeks since the attack, America’s purveyors of laughter have shown themselves to be more valuable than ever. The New York Times 10/09/01 (one-time registration required for access)

TESTING FREE SPEECH ON CAMPUS: In the wake of September 11, the most commonly heard refrain is that “everything has changed.” Even in America’s most insulated environment, the college campus, the rules of decorum and discussion appear to be getting a makeover, as professors critical of U.S. government policy find themselves the targets of newly patriotic students. Chronicle of Higher Education 10/05/01

Monday October 8

CAPITAL CULTURE SWEEPSTAKES: British cities are scrambling for a chance to be named Europe’s “Capital of Culture” in 2008. Why? “The initiative helped transform Glasgow from a declining manufacturing city to a centre for tourism and conferences. Glasgow is now the third most visited city in Britain behind London and Edinburgh.” Still, since Glasgow held the honour in 1990, “the scheme has descended into confusion.” The Guardian (UK) 10/05/01

UK ARTS FUNDING CRUNCH: “With the economic tide turning, the arguments for maintaining current levels of public spending on the arts – £37.5m a year – will be harder to make. The Arts Council has prepared for this eventuality, amassing vast quantities of data intended to show how greater efficiencies are being achieved, and how spending is being targeted more precisely. The problem is that while the council’s flow charts may confirm greater efficiencies, the basic assumptions on which its spending is predicated are flawed.” Sunday Times (UK) 10/07/01

DIFFICULT SPONSORSHIP: Corporate sponsorship of the arts may be tougher to come by due to the war. “Leaner times ahead had been signalled well before September 11 and sponsorship, especially from corporate donors, was already harder to find. The terrorists attacks have hastened that decline. So far the signs are mixed.” Sunday Times (UK) 10/07/01

Friday Ocober 5

WHY DID LINCOLN CENTER PREZ QUIT? When Gordon Davis was named president of Lincoln Center last year, he described the post as his “dream job.” But “what actually happened was a study in the treacherous—some would say dysfunctional—politics of the city’s largest and most fractious arts organization. Hamstrung by rivalries among the center’s warring constituent members; undercut by [Lincoln Center chairwoman] Beverly Sills, who seemed unwilling to cede power to her new president; and derided by staff members, who claimed he was unwilling—or unable—to make swift decisions, a disillusioned Mr. Davis finally called it quits on Sept. 27.” New York Observer 10/03/01

Thursday October 4

HELP FOR THE ADELAIDE FESTIVAL: All the signs indicate that next year’s Adelaide Festival is in for trouble. The economy is down, corporate sponsors are pulling out, and the budget has grown. So the South Australian government has added $2 million of support, raising the budget for the Peter Sellars-led festival to $5.5 million. The Age (Melbourne) 10/04/01

Wednesday October 3

BOOK WARNS OF COPYRIGHT CHILL: The US Congress moved quickly to protect copyright in the digital age. But too quickly? “As more and more ‘speech’ goes digital and as those digits get locked down with increasingly stronger clickwrap – copyright and copy protection measures – speech faces the very impediments the Constitution’s framers took pains to avoid. ‘It’s very clear that reckless copyright enforcement can chill speech. We’ve gone too far. There are ways in which the copyright system becomes an engine for democratic culture. But once you increase the protection to an absurd level, you end up having a negative effect on this process.” Wired 10/03/01

Tuesday October 2

STRINGS ATTACHED: No one gives more to the arts in America than Edythe and Eli Broad. Their largesse to Los Angeles arts causes is much appreciated. But does the generosity come at too high a price? Los Angeles Times 10/01/01

Visual: October 2001

Wednesday October 31

NEW MANHATTAN MUSEUM FOR GERMAN ART: New York has a new “personal” museum in a class with the Frick Collection and the Morgan Library. It’s the Neue Galerie which was conceived, funded, and overseen to the last detail by cosmetics millionaire Ronald Lauder. “The Neue Galerie [is] devoted entirely to German and Austrian fine and decorative arts.” The New York Times 10/31/01 (one-time registration required for access)

TYRANNY OF INTERNATIONALISM: Are contemporary Egyptian artists being stifled because foreigners control the country’s art business? “If the most active of these galleries are owned by foreigners, who have been accused of monopolizing modern art to fit their images, is the trend to promote art forms that are totally foreign to Egypt and Egyptian artists, forms that focus on denying national identity in favor of an international one?” Egypt Today 10/29/01

JAPANESE MUSEUM DIRECTOR FINED FOR BRIBES: The former vice-director of a Japanese museum has been fined 9.2 million yen ($75,000) for accepting bribes from the head of an art sales company. The fine is equal to the amount of the alleged bribe. Mainichi Shimbun 10/30/01

BERLIN HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL BEGINS: “The first symbolic spadeful of earth has been removed from a huge site in central Berlin set aside to commemorate the six million Jews who died in the Nazi Holocaust. The memorial – a vast field of nearly 3,000 concrete columns – is to be built near the Brandenburg Gate and the site of Hitler’s wartime bunker.” BBC 10/31/01

Tuesday October 30

BRITISH MUSEUM CRISIS: “The museum’s deficit last year was just over £3 million and there would have been a similar deficit this year, unless drastic action had been taken. The cuts will lead to shorter opening hours, a rota of closed galleries, cancellation of exhibitions, reduced building maintenance, a reduction of education programmes, a freeze on most new posts, and the requirement for foreign borrowing institutions to meet the full costs of loans, including curatorial time.” The Art Newspaper 10/29/01

ITALIAN PRIVATIZATION SCHEME CRITICIZED: Members of a left-wing coalition in the Italian parliament are blasting a plan by the Berlusconi government to privatize the nation’s art museums. Those in charge of the plan are defending it, pointing out that “the public sector would retain responsibility for exhibitions and the protection of cultural assets.” BBC 10/30/01

TATE BRITAIN EXPANSION OPENS: “The Prince of Wales will open art gallery Tate Britain’s £32.3m centenary development on Tuesday. The project, the most significant change to the gallery since it opened in 1897, gives it a modern entrance, with 10 new and five refurbished exhibition spaces all built into the neo-classical structure.” BBC 10/30/01

TALE OF TWO MUSEUMS: The Milwaukee Art Museum’s new Calatrava-designed extension is “a spectacular building that has nothing to do with the display of art and everything to do with getting crowds to come to the museum.” By contrast, St. Louis’ new Pulitzer Foundation Museum has “created one of the finest small museums of our time.” The New Yorker 10/29/01

BELLAGIO PULLS BACK ON ART: Las Vegas’ Bellagio Hotel has reportedly canceled exhibitions at its art gallery, and some are wondering if the experiment with fine art at the hotel is over. “The Bellagio has cited reduced tourist business as a reason for cutting back on its exhibitions in the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art, a two-room exhibition space located between snack bars and marriage chapels in the mammoth resort. Business has fallen to the extent that some 15,000 to 20,000 Las Vegas casino employees have been laid off.” The Art Newspaper 10/29/01

PELLI PAC DESIGN DERIDED AS UNIMAGINATIVE: When the Orange County (CA) Performing Arts Center hired world-renowned architect Cesar Pelli to design its new concert hall, hopes were high that what had been a second-rate suburban performance space could rise to the level of its Los Angeles competitors. But Pelli’s design, unveiled this month, doesn’t offer much in the way of distinction or creativity. Los Angeles Times 10/30/01

HERITAGE RANKING? The Australian Democratic Party unveils its cultural policy platform – one priority will be to ask for a World Heritage listing for the Sydney Opera House, joining other landmarks like the Taj Mahal. The Australian 10/30/01

Monday October 29

A HOME FOR THE PARTHENON MARBLES: Britain still has not said it has any plans to return the Parthenon marbles to Greece. But evidently the Greeks think they will get them back. “A £29 million Acropolis museum has already been commissioned by the Greek government to house the 2,300-year-old artefacts. Plans for the building, which will stand at the foot of the Acropolis hill are understood to include a glass gallery with windows or roof designed so that the marbles can be seen against the background of the Parthenon.” The Guardian (UK) 10/26/01

MONUMENTAL MEMORIES: How do we as a society remember important events such as the WTC attacks? “In the last few decades, the reliability of memory, particularly traumatic memory, has been questioned. But while individual memory is under fire, collective memory is being hotly pursued. A public memorial or a ruin is a scaffold, something on which collective memory can hang. But that does not mean that it helps people remember things. With his concept of sites of memory, the French editor Pierre Nora has argued that monuments are built in place of memory.” New York Times 10/27/01 (one-time registration required for access)

MURAL CLASH: Artist Mike McNeilly is suing the city of Los Angeles for making him take down a 10-story-high patriotic mural hanging from the side of a building. McNeilly says his free-speech rights have been violated. The city says the banner violates a city ban on new billboards and that the artist “cynically took advantage of the national tragedy to further his financial interests by putting up this mural.” FreedomForum 10/26/01

SAME BY EXTENSION: The new extension of the Tate Britain Museum is about to open. “A huge hole has been sliced into the side of the old Tate. New galleries have been dropped in. And do you know? It is quite possible that some people won’t even notice.” Sunday Times (UK) 10/29/01

TEMPLATE FOR FAILURE: The British government had the idea for a “Millennium Village” to make a “template” for design in the 21st Century. So it “staged an international competition for a masterplan that would combine private and social housing, which would set new standards in sustainability and which would put a premium on architectural quality. But like everything else that the Dome has touched, the village has not turned out as advertised. The project has been beset by delays in construction and the resignation of one of the original architects after bitter claims that the innovative aspects of their designs were being diluted out of existence by the developers.” The Observer (UK) 10/28/01

FAMILY MATTERS: “The death of the billionaire aesthete Daniel Wildenstein has brought to an end the most revealing chapter so far in the history of perhaps the world’s wealthiest, most secretive family of art dealers.” The Times (UK) 10/26/01

THE PICASSO VIRUS: In a remarkable new book, Picasso, My Grandfather, to be published on November 8, Marina Picasso describes how each member of the family became dependent on and cravenly submissive to Picasso’s towering ego. ‘The Picasso virus to which we fell victim was subtle and undetectable,” she says. “It was a combination of promises not kept, abuse of power, mortification, contempt and, above all, incommunicability. We were defenceless against it’.” Sunday Times (UK) 10/28/01

Sunday October 28

LOUVRE REOPENS AFTER STRIKE: Striking workers at the Louvre agreed to suspend their strike and reopen the museum. “The museum is one of many Paris tourist sites – including the Orsay Museum and the Arc de Triomphe – that have been closed due to a 20-day-old strike by Culture Ministry workers. At times during strike, Louvre workers have let visitors in free as part of the protest, but it was closed for eight straight days before Saturday’s opening.” Dallas Morning News (AP) 10/27/01

BUILDING TOGETHER: They don’t have any official power or a mandate from any governmental agency. But a Who’s Who coalition of real estate executive and architectural firms have banded together since the September 11 attack on New York with the aim of coming up with a plan for rebuilding Lower Manhattan. It’s a remarkable and improbable response that speaks volumes about building in the Big City. New York Times 10/27/01 (one-time registration required for access)

LATIN AMERICA’S NEW STORY: A Major new museum of Latin American art opens in Buenos Aires. “Art scholars say the privately funded museum is among the most comprehensive of a handful of institutions dedicated to the major artists who documented the divine lunacy of Latin America in the 20th century. Indeed, most museums in the region tend to stress national greats alongside a smattering of European artists; Chilean museums stick largely to Chilean art, Uruguayan museums to Uruguayan painters. But the new museum here reaches farther, seeking to capture Latin America’s diverse societies in one broad stroke.” Washington Post 10/28/01

TAXING ART: The British tax department has been accepting artwork in lieu of taxeds, including a rare Van Dyck. “The Van Dyck drawing, The Grand Procession of the Order of the Garter, was commissioned by King Charles I for a palace tapestry in 1638, was accepted in lieu of $5 million in taxes. The government’s Culture department did not reveal who owned the Van Dyck, but Christie’s auction house said it negotiated the exchange in lieu of tax on the estate of the 10th Duke of Rutland, whose family acquired it in 1787.” Nando Times (AP 10/26/01

Friday October 26

CZECH ART BAN: The Czech government has ordered a ban on transport of any artwork out of the country. The government is being sued for $500 million by American Ronald Lauder, and officials are worried that Lauder will try to impound state-owned artwork. BBC 10/26/01

BEST TATE: Tate Modern has won the new Prime Minister’s Award for best new public building. “Tony Blair praised the gallery for its part in transforming the London borough of Southwark, saying it had achieved a balance of being ‘awe-inspiring while still being welcoming and accessible’.” BBC 10/26/01

THE MOLLUSK AS CREATIVE ARTIST: “The most comprehensive exhibit ever devoted to pearls, and to the paradoxes of their natural and social history, has just opened at the American Museum of Natural History. There is probably no product on earth that more radically dramatizes the discrepancy between the size of a treasure and its value.” The New Yorker 10/29/01

MODERN ART AMONG ANCIENT MONUMENTS: The Istanbul Biennial, which runs through the middle of November, is “one of the most exciting and accessible of the big international art shows. Since 1987 the organisers have invited curators from across the world to come to live in the waterfront city and fill its historic spaces with cutting-edge art.” The Economist 10/25/01

Thursday October 25

REMEMBERING THE WTC: The owner of the lease on the World Trade Center site has already begun plans for new buildings there. Meanwhile others are concerned with coming up with a memorial that “not be a footnote to a large development project.” The New York Times 10/25/01 (one-time registration required for access)

CHOOSING A CITY’S ART: Toronto businessman Lou Odette has been donating big sculptures (24 so far) to the nearby city of Windsor, which set up a prominent downtown waterfront sculpture garden for the art. “The city has taken flak for allowing Odette to decide what the citizens of Windsor will see on their waterfront promenade, but the mayor countered that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and any debate fosters art appreciation.” The Globe & Mail (Canada) 10/24/01

VIEWING GIACOMETTI’S SCULPTURES: “Stand behind them. Examine their backs and peer out over their shoulders, if they have any. (Most of them do; Giacometti was terrific at shoulders.) Gaze into the space into which the figures are gazing. Suddenly you have a sense of how Giacometti’s art inhabits the world.” The New Yorker 10/22/01

PROMINENT COLLECTOR DIES: “Daniel Wildenstein, one of the world’s leading art dealers and collectors whose family owns two prestigious Manhattan galleries, has died, the Wildenstein Institute said Thursday. He was 84.” Washington Post (AP) 10/25/01

Wednesday October 24

REGIONAL MUSEUM CRISIS: While London’s museum scene is flourishing, regional museums are struggling. A government commission studying the problem says £270 million over five years is required to rescue the regionals. ‘The task force has spent nine months interviewing regional directors heartbroken at the state of their museums, and visiting poorly lit galleries with outdated displays or the leaking stores that hold 95% of regional collections.” The Guardian (UK) 10/24/01

  • MONEY IS CRUCIAL: “If we carry on like this, more museums will have to close, collections will have to move This position is now critical.” The Times (UK) 10/24/01
  • PROBLEMS FOR BRISTOL MUSEUMS STAFF: “A roof that leaks into a gallery containing works by Monet and Renoir… backlog of maintenance work… fabric coming off the walls… only 10 per cent of [1.75 million items] on regular display… only one natural history curator to care for more than 600,000 items.” The Times (UK) 10/24/01

BUILDING ON UNCONVENTION: The Smithsonian hopes soon to name a new director for the Hirshhorn Museum. He won’t be like the old one, a former social studies teacher who had no degrees in art, a man who lunched on Snickers bars and wore rumpled clothes. And that’s too bad, because James Demetrion made the Hirshhorn what it is today. Washington Post 10/24/01

SHRINKING ART MARKET: Art dealers worry that the demand for buying art is down. “As perceptions of risk and questions about the need for liquid assets increase, the demand for art might be temporarily reduced. In addition, the huge drop in the stock market this year certainly has reduced the wealth of many potential buyers.” The Art Newspaper 10/22/01

MORE CALDER UNCOVERED: Nearly half of Alexander Calder’s WTC stabile has been found, which was “easier than it sounds. The metal is about a half-inch thick, and no other major structural element of the World Trade Center has the same dimensions. Also, the bolt-holes that run in a zigzag pattern along the edges of the sculpture make the pieces relatively easy to pick out.” NPR 10/22/01

  • Previously: CALDER UNBURIED: Pieces of Alexander Calder’s giant stabile at the World Trade Center (worth $2.5 million) have been discovered under the buildings’ wreckage. The first piece of Bent Propeller a bright red, 25-foot-high, 15-ton sculpture by Philadelphia-born artist Alexander Calder, was removed from the wreckage last Thursday.” New York Post 10/17/01

HANGERS ON: In late 18th Century England, the annual summer exhibition at the Royal Academy was the place for an artist’s work to be seen. But the particular lighting at the RA and the system of hanging paintings had a major influence on how artists painted. “British artists worked in the knowledge that their pictures would be seen under the specific conditions that prevailed at Somerset House. Unless you understand the hanging system at the Royal Academy, you don’t understand how desperate artists were to grab the visitor’s attention with dramatic or topical subjects, bright colours, and inventive compositions.” The Telegraph (UK) 10/24/01

HOWARD FINSTER, 84: One of the most well-known outsider artists has died. “Finster was considered a pioneer among self-taught artists, advancing the ‘outsider’ movement with his unique personality, unflagging salesmanship and resolute work ethic. For more than three decades, he traveled Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee preaching at tent revivals and supplementing his income with odd jobs, including plumbing and bicycle repair.” MSNBC (AP) 10/23/01

Tuesday October 23

PRIVATIZING ITALY’S MUSEUMS? Italy’s new right wing government has plans to privatize the country’s museums, including the Ufizzi. The plan assumes that private operators would make a profit, some of which they would pay to the government. Concerned directors from around the world from 37 leading museums – including Philippe de Montebello of the Metropolitan Museum, New York, Thomas Krens of the Guggenheim, New York, Henri Loyrette of the Louvre, Paris and Neil Macgregor of the National Gallery, London have written a letter to the Italian government appealing for it ‘to discuss this proposal widely both at home, and to move with due deliberation before transferring the running of the museums to private enterprise’.” The Art Newspaper 10/22/01

GEHRY EXPANSION APPROVED IN D.C.: The Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C. has approved a scaled-back design by architect Frank Gehry for the gallery’s renovation and expansion. Gehry’s original proposal was approved two years ago, but cost overruns caused the gallery to ask for a second design. Chicago Tribune 10/23/01

THIS YEAR’S ENDANGERED LIST: The World Monuments Fund (WMF) has announced its 2002 World Monuments Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites. The list is intended to draw attention to world historical sites that are in danger. “In an unprecedented move, the organisation notched the list up to 101 sites with the addition of Historic Lower Manhattan” as some of the area’s historic landmarks were damaged in the September 11 attack. The Art Newspaper 10/22/01

Monday October 22

WILL SELL ART FOR FOOD: Britain’s museums have a lamentable record of selling national art treasures when they need to raise money. “Now a foundation in London has decided to defy this trend and sell works worth up to £3 million to finance a new home for its collection.” The Telegraph (UK) 10/22/01

MAKING OUT IN MUSEUMS: A new study says that 20 percent of Italians going to museums have had an erotic experience there. “According to the study, a Caravaggio painting or a Greek sculpture is more likely to lead to sex than works by Tiepolo or Veronese. The experts have even compiled a hit parade of Italian museums, listing the institutions in order of their ability to awaken Eros.” ARTNews 10/01

THE UTILITY OF ART: What turns a ceramic pot or plate into a work of art? What transforms a utilitarian object into something artistic? The Guardian (UK) 10/21/01

Sunday October 21

FASHIONABLY ARCHITECTURAL: Why have architects become today’s hot artists? “Today, international fashion magazines relentlessly plug the latest architectural enfant terrible, fashion houses seek out architects for their avant-garde credentials, and the architectural profession in general has an energy and cachet that must make even the most successful haut couture designer green with envy. Who would have thought that architecture and fashion would ever make such cozy companions?” Los Angeles Times 10/21/01

REBELLING AGAINST ROYAL’S RODINS: The Royal Ontario Museum was planning a big international Rodin symposium coinciding with the controversial Rodin sculpture show the museum is currently hosting. But while “last month the ROM mailed dozens of letters to Rodin scholars and buffs around the world, inviting them to the Ontario capital to weigh in on the legacy of the sculptor,” almost no one has agreed to come. The Globe & Mail (Canada) 10/20/01

THE SCIENCE OF IMAGES: “To many of us who are not in the sciences, pictures like the Hubble images or the Visual Human Project have seemed like the last refuge of photographic ‘truth’ in the current flood of image doubts.” But even scientific images, often depended upon as a way of solving problems, may not be so purely truthful in the digital age. The New York Times 10/21/01 (one-time registration required for access)

ART AFTER WAR: “In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 catastrophes and the subsequent anthrax attacks, some Americans have responded by making art. Much of it is impromptu and transitory, driven by an impulse to eulogize the missing, the murdered and the heroic. New York City is the epicenter of this effusion, as it should be.” Philadelphia Inquirer 10/21/01

PUTTING MILWAUKEE ON THE MAP: The Milwaukee Art Museum opened its big new addition last week. It is “the bird that puts Milwaukee on the map – an enormous moveable sunshade that constitutes the most dramatic feature of Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava’s stunning addition to the Milwaukee Art Museum. To watch this kinetic sculpture unfold, to see its white steel fins rise from a steeply pitched, glass-walled reception hall and then turn into a pair of softly curving arcs that suggest a bird taking flight, is to witness a thing of pure, exhilarating joy.” Chicago Tribune 10/21/01

Friday October 19

ANSEL ADAMS CENTER CLOSING: The Friends of Photography, founded by Adams, is folding because of debt. “The center’s collection of 140 Ansel Adams photographs printed by Adams in the 1970s expressly for the Friends will be sold, and the proceeds will go to erasing the debt.” San Francisco Chronicle 10/18/01

MUSEUM DOMAIN: The new web domain address .museum should be working by November. The domain is reserved only for museums, and “will provide a home on the Internet for those who work to make our museums such great cultural assets.” CNet (Reuters) 10/18/01

THE ART OF CLEANING: A cleaner picking up a London gallery, mistakenly gathered up and threw out an installation by Damien Hirst. He “came across a pile of beer bottles, coffee cups and overflowing ashtrays and cleared them away at the Eyestorm Gallery on Wednesday morning.” BBC 10/19/01

WHEN DESIGN OVERTAKES ART: Hard to find anyone who isn’t ready to anoint Frank Gehry as a master artist. “Why all the hoopla? Is this designer of metallic museums and curvy concert halls, luxury houses and flashy corporate headquarters truly Our Greatest Living Artist? The notion is telling, for it points to the new centrality of architecture in cultural discourse. This centrality stems from the initial debates about postmodernism in the 1970s, which were focused on architecture, but it is clinched by the contemporary inflation of design and display in all sorts of spheres: art, fashion, business and so on.” Los Angeles Times 10/14/01

QUEEN TO AUSTRALIA – IT’S MY PAINTING: It’s Australia’s centennial this year, and Victoria’s premier wrote to Queen Elizabeth asking her to give Tom Roberts’ historic painting, The Big Picture, back to Australia. The painting commemorates the opening of Australia’s first parliament in 1901. But the Queen turned down the request, saying “the painting was given to her great-grandfather and giving it back ‘would not seem to be appropriate’.” The Advertiser (Australia) 10/19/01

BERLIN AS URBAN REBUILD: If New York is looking to rebuild its skyline, perhaps it ought to look to Berlin. “The infinitely resilient burghers of Berlin have been doing so for more than half a century, starting in the aftermath of World War II and then starting over again following the collapse of the Wall and the regimes that built and backed it. Rarely in modern times have there been reconstruction projects as far-reaching or lavishly funded as those of post-apocalyptic Berlin, and never have they been so fraught with symbolism or, in recent years, so wrought with soul-searching.” New York Review of Books 11/01/01

Thursday October 18

CALDER UNBURIED: Pieces of Alexander Calder’s giant stabile at the World Trade Center (worth $2.5 million) have been discovered under the buildings’ wreckage. The first piece of Bent Propeller a bright red, 25-foot-high, 15-ton sculpture by Philadelphia-born artist Alexander Calder, was removed from the wreckage last Thursday.” New York Post 10/17/01

TREASURE UNDER LONDON: Somewhere buried under The Strand in London lies a city of broken Greek and Roman statues, altars and sarcophagi. “These fractured deities and marble tablets are the last undiscovered fragment of the collection amassed by the 14th Earl of Arundel, the first Englishman to be bitten by ‘Marble Mania’.” London Evening Standard 10/18/01

THE SINKING OF VENICE: By studying 100 paintings by Canaletto, researchers have determined how much the sea has risen in Venice (or how much Venice has sunk, depending on your perspective). “His works offer a record of where the high tide marks lay during his life, from 1697 to 1768. Those show that the sea has since risen by 80cm (31in) – an average of 2.8mm (just over an inch) every year.” The Independent (UK) 10/17/01

BRAZILIAN ALTAR FINALLY REACHES THE GOOG: After intervention by priests, diplomats, and politicians, a court injunction was lifted, and an ornate 18th-century gilded wooded altar will go on display at the New York Gugenheim Museum tomorrow. A Brazilian court had blocked shipment of the piece to New York after the September 11 terrorist attack. The Art Newspaper 10/18/01

Wednesday October 17

GEHRY DESIGN TO BE DEBATED: “Two years ago, after an intense, highly publicized international competition, the Corcoran Gallery and College of Art [in Washington, D.C.] anointed Frank O. Gehry — the most heralded architect of the late 20th century — as the designer of its ambitious new wing. Tomorrow, at a meeting of the Fine Arts Commission, Gehry’s unconventional concept will face its first major test.” Washington Post 10/17/01

EGYPTIAN ARTIFACTS UNEARTHED: “A Japanese team of archeologists has discovered a number of statues of pharaonic gods and kings, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism. The statues in Abu Sir, 21 miles south of Cairo, included one of the falcon-headed god Horus as a headgear-wearing child with a finger in his mouth, according to Gaballa Ali Gaballa, Egypt’s antiquities chief. Also unearthed were fragments of statues with hieroglyphic s dating back to the time of King Pepi I in the 6th Dynasty.” Boston Globe (AP) 10/17/01

A MUSEUM REPERTORY: “Strangely, the idea of repertory is rarely discussed in relation to the art museum. Yet for anybody who goes to the Metropolitan Museum of Art on a regular basis and looks at El Greco’s View of Toledo or Watteau’s Mezzetin or Bruegel’s Harvesters or the Rembrandts or the Vermeers the experience can be very much like going to Coppélia or La Bohème or a Mozart piano concerto. You crave a known experience and also want to see how your feelings about that experience have changed. An opera or symphony can be interpreted in so many different ways that it sometimes seems like an entirely new or different work. A painting or sculpture also appears very different at different times, depending on how it’s presented, for presentation is a form of interpretation.” The New Republic 10/16/01

REIMAGINING LOWER MANHATTAN: A coalition of some of America’s best architectural firms have got together to envision a replacement for the World Trade Center. “If nothing else, the terrorist attack demanded that New York architects bring themselves up to speed on issues of critical importance to any serious discussion of the city’s future. The international flow of currency and information. Access to public, private, and cyber space. Architecture’s roots in military fortifications. The convergence of our own technology — tall buildings and airplanes — in terrorist warfare. The nature of risk.” The New York Times 10/14/01 (one-time registration required for access)

Tuesday October 16

TOWERING MEANING: Los Angeles’ Watts Towers just reopened after a restoration job that took 13 years. Restoration still doesn’t mean anyone knows what the towers mean. “Depending on whom you talk to, they are the most sacred of relics or the most profane. In short, they have become the ideal blank canvas on which people can project whatever aesthetic, social or ethical statement they like, Disneyland contrivances or profound utterances from the collective unconscious.” The New York Times 10/16/01 (one-time registration required for access)

PAYING OFF ON ART: “If you had started collecting contemporary British art a decade ago, when the YBAs were fresh out of college, your collection, amassed for a few thousand, could now be worth millions. Some collections were started for only a crown or two – Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin’s dentist accepted art in lieu of payment for dental work they had done.” London Evening Standard 10/16/01

THE SHOPPING MALL CHALLENGE: Daniel Libeskind is one of today’s hottest architects. His Jewish Museum in Berlin just opened to acclaim. “But he has no desire to be pigeonholed as an architect for ‘difficult’ projects. He believes that his approach is equally valid for more everyday buildings and to prove it is designing a new shopping centre on the edge of Berne in Switzerland. It is a project that has shocked some Libeskind fans, but the architect is unrepentant.” The Telegraph (UK) 10/16/01

CHEATING ON ART: “The narrative of Western art since the Renaissance might have appeared to have been fairly well mapped out – although the attribution of a picture might be disputed here, the meaning of an image challenged there. Now along comes David Hockney – not even an academic, but a practising artist – and suggests that some old masters as early as the 15th century were employing a form of proto-photography as an aid to painting.” The Telegraph (UK) 10/16/01

MAKING MODERN MATTER: When Nicholas Serota became director of the Tate, contemporary art was seen as a problem in England. “Serota’s efforts have transformed us into a nation that cares about contemporary art, and it is one of his proudest achievements.” London Evening Standard 10/16/01

THE DIRECTOR COMPLAINS: When Australia’s National Gallery director Dr Brian Kennedy appointed John McDonald as head of the museum’s Australian Art, it was a controversial decision. But a few months after the September 2000 appointment, Kennedy regretted the appointment. He outlined his grievances in a five-page memo… Sydney Morning Herald 10/16/01

ARCHIVED AFGHANI ART: The Taliban have systematically destroyed the art and culture of Afghanistan over the past seven years. The Art Newspaper chronicled the destruction in a series of articles, now archived online. The Art Newspaper 10/16/01

Monday October 15

BRITISH MUSEUM RETURNS STATUE: A man offered to sell the British Museum a stolen ancient Egyptian statue. Instead of buying it, the museum took it and returned it to Egypt after turning the man over to Scotland Yard. The Times (UK) 10/15/01

HERMITAGE – PLANS FOR WORLD DOMINATION: “Although the Hermitage welcomed about 2.4 million visitors last year, the administration is dissatisfied even with this impressive figure and is looking for ways to reach a wider audience. Last fall, Somerset House in London became home to the Hermitage Rooms. Last summer, the museum joined forces with the New York Guggenheim Foundation to bring more contemporary art to the Hermitage, as well as to hold joint exhibitions with museums around the world. One of these, the Hermitage Guggenheim Museum in Las Vegas, opened earlier this month. In the meantime, the museum is preparing to open another exhibition center in Amsterdam.” St. Petersburg Times (Russia) 10/12/01

ALL ABOUT THE AESTHETICS: The Cleveland Museum of Art got its first look at what might be expected from the architect they’ve hired to oversee a massive renovation and expansion, and Rafael Vinoly promised something unlike anything they have seen before. The designer behind, among other buildings, the Tokyo Forum, Vinoly “can create quiet poetry in earth-hugging buildings that seem to melt into the landscape.” The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) 10/15/01

FASHIONABLE ART: “There has never been a time when fashion has done more to suggest that it might be art. Fashion is parasitic. It depends on other art forms for its imagery and its identity. And it’s been so successful at it that it has begun to replace them.” The Observer (UK) 10/14/01

SCOTTISH ART WAR: “Glasgow’s cash-strapped museums and galleries, funded solely by the city, are the most visited museums outside London. But there is resentment that Edinburgh’s ‘national’ galleries receive the lion’s share of government support. Despite having 1m fewer visitors than Glasgow’s museums, Edinburgh’s have been awarded £20 million in government grants.” Sunday Times (UK) 10/14/01

Sunday October 14

LOOKING FOR THE EXCITING YOUNG ARCHITECTS: What is it about America that it refuses to entrust important building projects to promising young architects? Many European countries provide subsidies and professional courtesies to the younger set, and the architecture in these countries is more adventurous and wide-ranging as a result. In the U.S., however, architects are practically geriatric before they even begin to get called for high-profile jobs. Boston Globe 10/14/01

BRING ON THE NUDES: Conventional wisdom has long held that Victorian-era Britons were, and there’s no nice way to put this, fairly prudish. Downright puritanical, in fact. Well, guess again: “As a new exhibition at Tate Britain will demonstrate, the Victorian era was one in which representations of the naked human form were highly visible, endlessly reproduced, widely circulated and eagerly consumed.” The Daily Telegraph (UK) 10/13/01

LO, HOW A ROSE E’ER BLOOMING: “The discovery that the remains of Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre are in a reasonable condition has led to calls for more to be spent on excavating the site… It is the only Elizabethan theatre left in the world of which there are substantial remains.” BBC 10/14/01

Friday October 12

MAYBE THE ART MARKET IS UP: A portrait by Gustav Klimt from the late 1890’s, “Portrait of a Lady in Red,” drew heavy bidding from both sides of the Atlantic, finally selling for $4 million, more than twice its expected price. BBC 10/12/01

V&A’S NEW MAN SPEAKS: The Victoria & Albert Museum in London got a new director a few months back. Not that you would have noticed, since Mark Jones likes to keep a low profile. But his tastes and preferences for the future of the V&A are gradually becoming known. “Mr Jones emerges as a an enthusiast for the proposed extension by Daniel Libeskind known as the Spiral, which has been hanging fire since 1995 for lack of funding. He is also embarking on yet another major internal reorganisation.” The Art Newspaper 10/09/01

LAYOFFS COMING AT AUCTION BIGS: “Bracing for a period of unpredictable sales and revenue, Sotheby’s and Christie’s announced significant layoffs in their worldwide staffs this week.” The New York Times 10/12/01 (one-time registration required for access)

  • A QUIETER WAY TO SELL: “The Sept. 11 attack and its aftermath are having an effect on the way some collectors are choosing to sell their art… For years both Sotheby’s and Christie’s have been quietly offering clients an alternative to auctions. Acting like dealers, the auction houses use their international contacts to offer art to collectors they think would be interested. Also like dealers the auction houses collect a fee for making the sale.” The New York Times 10/12/01 (one-time registration required for access)

THE NEW WINGED MUSEUM IN MILWAUKEE: Sunday is the official opening of wing-like steel sunshade which crowns the new addition to the Milwaukee Art Museum. The whole project came in at around $100 million, and was the first US job by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. It may come to define the city. If nothing else, it’s quadrupled attendance at the museum this year. Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel 10/12/01

TOO DIRTY FOR THE SUBWAY: “About 350 years after Sir Peter Lely painted her, the Countess of Oxford is still a scandalous woman. Although her bare breasted image adorns the poster, invitations and catalogue cover of the exhibition Painted Ladies at the National Portrait Gallery, she has been judged too extreme for London Underground.” The Guardian (UK) 10/11/01

NO, HE WON’T BE WRAPPING HELMUT KOHL: “Six years after conquering Berlin by wrapping the Reichstag, Bulgarian-born artist Christo and his French wife, Jeanne-Claude, return to the city for two shows, one big, one small.” The Art Newspaper 10/09/01

Thursday October 11

KLIMT DRAWINGS UP FOR GRABS: “The art auction world’s favourite fairy tale is the stranger who walks in off the street with an unknown masterpiece tucked under his arm. It has happened at Christie’s: the stranger was carrying a portfolio of 17 drawings by Gustav Klimt, never seen by anyone except the artist and the stranger’s grandfather who had purchased them.” The collection will be auctioned this week. The Guardian (UK) 10/10/01

  • HUGHES COLLECTION ON THE BLOCK: Frederick Hughes is best known as the business manager of the late Andy Warhol, but he was also one of the world’s foremost art collectors. His complete collection is up for auction at Sotheby’s New York, and is expected to fetch upwards of $2 million. BBC 10/10/01

NEW HEAD OF SCOTLAND MUSEUMS: Dr. Gordon Rintoul, who was chief executive of Sheffield Galleries, has been appointed as the new director of the National Museums of Scotland, effective February 2002. He succeeds Mark Jones, who left for the Victoria and Albert in London. The Herald (Scotland) 10/11/01

Wednesday October 10

TRYING TO SAVE A CULTURAL HERITAGE: The position of Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers on the place of art in their society was made abundantly clear earlier this year with the destruction by rocket launcher of the giant Bamiyan Buddhas carved into an Afghan mountainside. As most of the world watched helpless, one man actually tried to buy the Buddhas from the Taliban in an effort to preserve them. His bid failed, but Ikuo Hirayama remains one of the world’s foremost advocates for Asian culture and art. The Art Newspaper 10/08/01

THE POEM, THE TEMPLE, THE PEOPLE: The temple at Angkor Wat incorporates a poem which has never been translated into English, and never before been the subject of academic study. Now it is being studied, and translated; it’s expected to reveal much about the history and culture of the Khmer people, going back to the twelfth century. Humanities (NEH) October 01

THE ART OF DOCUMENTED HORROR: “Photojournalists, professionally intimate with tragedy and its aftermath, have brought extraordinary images back from the hell downtown. Thoughtful, tough, full of feeling, and startlingly beautiful, their pictures have both fixed and shaped our experience of an event that even those who lived through it can’t quite comprehend.” Village Voice 10/09/01

REMBRANDT’S WOMEN: “Rembrandt’s treatment of women – in paint, not in the flesh, though that seems to have been dismal enough – sharply divided his contemporaries. The debate proves that there is nothing contemporary about the argument over body fascism and the cult of the anorexic model.” A new U.K. exhibition attempts to make sense of the arguments on all sides. The Guardian (UK) 10/09/01

SERRANO COMES TO BRITAIN: The man whose art helped cause one of America’s most notorious political dogfights, Andres Serrano, is being exhibited in London this month, and critics there are showing no mercy. Free speech advocates in the U.S. championed Serrano’s photography when Congressional leaders used it as fodder for their crusade against public arts funding, but in the opinions of several U.K. writers, “he is a third-rate artist, a man who has nothing interesting, important or original to say about the subjects he treats.” The Daily Telegraph (UK) 10/10/01

Tuesday October 9

UK DEALERS DOING JUST FINE: “Reports filed by the leading 113 fine art and antique companies in Great Britain for the 1999/2000 period paint a picture of healthy performance, with an average growth of 9.3% in pre-tax profits and 3% in sales.” The Art Newspaper 10/08/01

BAD TIMING FOR AMBITIOUS QUEBEC: Two days before it was to begin, the most ambitious attempt ever to export Canadian culture to the U.S. was scuttled by, well, you know. “In the wake of the attack, virtually all of Quebec-New York 2001 was cancelled; a massive undertaking that had been two years in planning fell victim to ill-fated timing, dealing a body blow to the Quebec government’s scheme to raise its cultural profile in the United States.” The Globe & Mail (Toronto) 10/09/01

NEW HEADACHES FOR TRAVELING SHOWS: While dealers and collectors consider the impact terrorism will have on art prices, exhibitors face one clear-cut fact: It will be increasingly difficult and expensive to organize traveling exhibitions. Owners will be reluctant to loan their works, and handling, guarding, shipping, and insuring art will all be more complex, time-consuming, and costly. The Art Newspaper 10/09/01

HERB BLOCK, 91: Herbert L. Block, whose “Herblock” signature marked scathing political cartoons for more than 60 years, died in Washington. He won three Pulitzer Prizes, and shared a fourth. For more than 50 years, he was read – and often feared – at the breakfast tables of the most powerful figures in American government, but he never sought their favor or tried to be one of them. Washington Post 10/08/01

IRISH MUSEUM DIRECTOR TO NEW POST: “Declan Mcgonagle, who quit his post as director of the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) last April, is to take up a new position with the City Arts Centre in Dublin from December 1st. Though he has as yet no job title, he will head the centre as it begins a two-year process of redefinition and revitalisation.” The Irish Times 10/08/01

Monday October 8

BRITISH MUSEUM WOES: “Britain’s most famous museum has fallen victim to the ambiguous benefits of lottery capital grants, which allow expansion, but do not fund the running costs. Donors like to be associated with excellence, so perhaps it is not surprising that the British Museum managed to raise the money for the Great Court. But it is harder to raise money for running costs. Thus the museum found itself with a building it can no longer afford to run.” The Independent (UK) 10/07/01

THE GREAT DIRECTOR SEARCH: The National Museum of Scotland has been looking for a new director for eight months. It’s a prestigious post but not much progress has been made in the search. “Insiders say they are deeply concerned at the length of time the process is taking and are worried about the future direction of the museums without a permanent director at the helm.” Scotland on Sunday 10/07/01

MUSEUM ATTENDANCE WORRIES: Museum attendance in the US is down after September 11, in some cases dramatically down. “Some museums are beginning to rebound, but many smaller ones in lower Manhattan near the World Trade Center site had to close their doors for several weeks and may need years to recover, administrators say. Museums also expect that donors will divert contributions from cultural institutions to relief efforts. And as they survey the damage the museums are struggling to come up with ways to recoup.” The New York Times 10/08/01 (one-time registration required for access)

ART MARKET CHALLENGE: Recession, war – is this the double whammy on the art business? “There is no evidence to suggest that the art market is about to collapse. Most dealers say that business may not be booming but could be worse, and the old adage that it is one of the last sectors to be affected by recession (but also one of the last to recover) seems to be holding true. This is not, however, to suggest that all is well.” The Telegraph (UK) 10/08/01

AUCTION HOUSE TO CUT JOBS: Sotheby’s is said to be cutting as many as 200 jobs in a major restructuring. “It is thought there will be cuts in the internet venture, sotheby’s.com; at Billingshurst, Sotheby’s countryside middle-market saleroom in the UK , and among administrative staff. The auction house’s Chicago office has been drastically trimmed and sales will no longer be held there.” The Art Newspaper 10/08/01

MUSEUM FOR EVERYTHING: These days there’s a museum for everything – trash, spam, hubcaps, toasters… “Wacky museums appeal because they ‘present the world around us in ways that are unexpected. The ‘stuff’ on display is secondary.” Newsweek 10/15/01

Sunday October 7

MUSEUM DISTRICT: Washington DC is building. “A museum boom is under way in our nation’s capital. At least seven major institutions will be opening in the next few years, adding to the 91 loosely defined museums already in the district (that figure includes the Squished Penny Museum, for example, whose holdings are worth about $30).” Christian Science Monitor 10/05/01

BRITS ON DISPLAY: “In the next two months, the Victoria & Albert Museum and Tate Britain will open great new Lottery projects devoted entirely to showing off their huge British holdings to best advantage. With royal fanfares, spanking new sets of galleries will be unveiled to the public at both institutions. More paintings on more walls, more objects in more cases and flashes of good modern architecture combined with pastiche and restoration will make the “visitor experience” a good deal better and should make the story of British art more completely told than ever before.” The Telegraph (UK) 10/06/01

ART IN THE POP JUNGLE: The new Guggenheim/Hermitage museums open in Las Vegas. “They offer a compelling view of contrasting styles. Both buildings challenge preconceived notions about the role of art in a landscape of pop culture. Both projects reignite old questions about the relationship between architecture and art. In addition, each architect represents wildly different sensibilities. While Frank Gehry’s work is intuitive, Rem Koolhaas’ is more cerebral. The fact that this creative friction has not produced architecture of lasting importance may be beyond the point in a city that is continuously picking up and disposing of the latest trends.” Los Angeles Times 10/06/01

  • MEET GUGGENVEGAS: “These are art museums designed for the tourist trade, pure and simple. They’re another roadside attraction. I say this without derision and only with an eye toward honest identification of what has arisen on the Strip. In fact, I’m here to help. In a place where one talks of going to Siegfried & Roy or Mandalay Bay, no tourist destination will survive for long with a long marbles-in-the-mouth name like the Guggenheim Las Vegas and Guggenheim Hermitage Museum. The places need a sobriquet or handle. I nominate GuggenVegas.” Los Angeles Times 10/06/01
  • BETTING ON ART: Will Las Vegas gamblers pay $15 to see art in Las Vegas? The newly opened Guggenheim/Hermitage museums believe they will. ”You see all types here, from grungy to elegant. Think about it. You have people who’ve never seen a real work of art, people who will never go to Russia, people who may never get to New York.” Boston Globe 10/06/01

OUT OF TEXAS: The architects chosen as finalists to design Dallas’ new opera house are all stars from Europe. Why no Texans? “The tricky part is that Dallas’ best designers typically work in small firms that focus on residential and modest commercial projects. An opera house represents an incredible esthetic and technical leap for most architects, let alone those who spend their time on townhouses and shopping centers. A major theater seems more manageable, though it too requires a level of experience and sophistication that is still in short supply around here.” Dallas Morning News 10/06/01

WOMEN’S MUSEUM DIRECTOR SUDDENLY QUITS: After only three months on the job as director of the National Museum of Women in Washington DC, Ellen D. Reeder has suddenly resigned. “The first scholar of international stature to direct the museum, Reeder brought with her the promise of an intellectual heft some felt the museum had always lacked. The museum has had frequent turnover: six directors in the 14 years since it was founded.” Washington Post 10/06/01

CONFRONTING THE BEAUTY OF ISLAM: “Several exhibitions of Islamic material are on view in New York this fall. And all of them arrive in the wake of violence that has given the very word Islam a volatile, negative edge.” The New York Times 10/07/01 (one-time registration required for access)

Friday October 5

THE POLITICS OF BUYING ART: Berlin’s National Gallery recently announced an agreement to purchase one of Europe’s most important collections of concept art, land art, minimal art and arte povera. But the deal was announced before all the money was in place. And there are still some politics to finesse. But announcing the purchase in this way, the museum hopes “to set in motion an irresistible snowball effect. The whole acquisition process seems to have been engineered according to this principle of self-reinforcing attraction.” Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 10/05/01

THE GOOG HITS VEGAS: The latest Guggenheim Museum opens – in Las Vegas. It stays open until 11 a night to accomodate the gamblers. “At first familiar names will dominate, but the aim is to present contemporary painting, sculpture, architectural design and multi-media art in the building. The design is spectacular, as it has to be to compete in a city which has cheerfully recreated the pyramids, Paris and, poignantly in the light of recent events, a New York skyline which for design reasons did not include the twin towers of the World Trade Centre.” The Guardian (UK) 10/05/01

A CRACKLE BEHIND THE EARS: A team of researchers “at the University of Wales, Bangor, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, has identified an area of the human brain that responds specifically when people view images of the human body.” Evidently “a glimpse of a torso triggers a crackle of activity in a region of the brain behind the ears.” The Telegraph (UK) 10/05/01

Thursday October 4

KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES: The world has been on a museum-building binge, with billions of dollars spent on erecting new museums. What has sparked all the building? “The economic prosperity of the 1990s and the desire to be at the forefront of architectural innovation” are two of the biggest reasons. ARTNews 10/01

AN OLDER ART (BY FAR): Testing of prehistoric paintings made 30,000 years ago in French caves may force a rethinking of the history of the development of art. “Because the paintings are just as artistic and complex as the later Lascaux paintings [dating to 17,000 years ago], it may indicate that art developed much earlier than had been realised.” BBC 10/04/01

Wednesday October 3

BRITISH MUSEUM CUTS: The British Museum says it is considering “cutting opening hours, closing galleries and reducing exhibitions to save £3m a year to balance its books.” The museum blames cutbacks in government funding. The Independent (UK) 10/02/01

BM PENALIZED: “The museum has shelved a £80m study centre to show some of the 4 million objects in its vast collections that visitors never see. Despite a 50% rise in the museum’s British visitors this year, the museum’s annual grant had effectively been cut by £10m.” The Guardian (UK) 10/03/01

  • DYSFUNCTIONAL CREDIBILITY: Norman Rockwell’s Americana has made him easy to dismiss as a “mere” illustrator. But a biography “has turned up the sorry details of the longtime Saturday Evening Post illustrator’s personal battles with depression and the alleged suicides of his first two wives. In the upside-down world of art criticism, such exposure seems to be a prerequisite to regarding the painter as more than a two-dimensional workaholic patriot.” Washington Monthly 10/01

HOLOCAUST MUSEUM BURNS: El Paso’s Holocaust Museum burned Tuesday morning in an electrical fire. “No one was injured but the fire caused about $200,000 in damage to the building.” USAToday 10/03/01

MADONNA TO PRESENT TURNER: Any doubts visual art (and artists) are London’s new celebrities? How about Madonna presenting this year’s Turner Prize. The pop star has been involved with the Tate in the past year, agreeing to loan a Frida Kahlo to the museum for a show. BBC 10/03/01

MUSEUM ATTENDANCE DOWN: Across the US, attendance at museums is substantially down in the weeks since September 11. “The American Association of Museums acknowledged that times will be tough because of the industry’s direct link to travel and tourism.” Los Angeles Times (AP) 10/02/01

  • CHICAGO LAYOFFS: Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium says it will lay off 44 full-time employees – 16 percent of its staff of 267 – because of “declining attendance, a months-long trend that worsened after the terrorist attacks on the East Coast.” Chicago Tribune 10/02/01

Tuesday October 2

TATE DOWN: Since the Tate Modern opened last year, the original Tate building(reopened as Tate Britain) has suffered for visitors. Attendance in the first year was down by 500,000, a loss of a third of its visitors. “The glamorous new Tate Modern seemed to be getting all the attention, a pneumatic trophy wife banishing her dependable, all-too familiar predecessor to shrivelling neglect.” The Observer (UK) 09/30/01

LIFE WITHOUT BIG BROTHER: At least 300 of Russia’s museums are planning to form a non-governmental, non-commercial union to help each other, “especially regarding questions such as fund raising and merchandising, to which many are still new.” The Russian Ministry of Culture no longer is able to support many of the activities which were funded during the Soviet era. St. Petersburg Times 10/02/01

RATING RODIN: Controversy over whether the 70 sculptures in a Toronto museum show are “authentic” Rodins or not has been swirling for months. “Invective has been flying across the Atlantic for weeks, but the issue isn’t fakes versus originals. Given that ‘original’ Rodins are cast, what exactly is an authentic Rodin? Who gets to decide? Rodin himself, as much entrepreneur as sculptor, does not make the task any easier.” The Guardian (UK) 10/02/01

BIG LEAGUE COSTS: The luxury-goods company LVMH appears to be paying heavily for its adventure in the top echelon of the arts market. LVMH bought the auction house Phillips in 1999 for about $112 million, and spent tens of millions more to polish its image. “These sums pale, however, beside Phillips’s strategy to attract high-value consignments and move the company up towards the big two auction houses.” The Art Newspaper 10/02/01

ITALIAN TOWN HELPS REBUILD NEW YORK CHURCH: One of the smallest architectural victims of September 11 was St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, which stood across the street from ground zero. Parishioners are raising money to rebuild, and already have a half-million dollar head start – a surprise donation from the town of Bari, Italy. St. Nicholas was the patron saint of Bari. NPR  01/10/01

MAYBE OTHER STOLEN PAINTINGS: Miami’s Vizcaya Museum is returning a painting found to have been stolen by Nazis from a Polish museum. That may not be all. “We have so little history on some of these things that I just have to think there will be more claims,” says the museum director. Images of other paintings from the same donor will be posted on the Internet. Los Angeles Times 10/01/01

  • Previously: STOLEN PAINTING TO BE RETURNED: A 500-year-old painting stolen out of Poland’s National Museum by the Nazis is to be returned by a Miami museum. “The painting is one of 35 works donated to Miami-Dade County in 1980 by Claire Mendel, the German consul in Miami from 1958 to 1970. He died in Miami in 1987.” Nando Times (AP) 09/30/01

Monday October 1

FLORENCE STRIVES TO DO BETTER: The Florence Biennale isn’t a major player in the world of biennales. “Despite being within strolling distance of some of the world’s greatest art museums, in the city that was at the heart of the Renaissance, the last Florence Biennale (in 1999) attracted just 15,000 visitors.” This year the biennial is striving for bigger things. “If the Biennale wants to regain the prestige that it once enjoyed, it will have to improve the quality and broaden the range of its pictures.” The Telegraph (UK) 10/01/01

BRITAIN’S CULTURAL REVOLUTION: “The most significant event in the history of art in Britain was the Reformation, and the waves of staggeringly violent native iconoclasm set off by it. The destruction wrought on the artistic heritage of this country when it turned on its own Catholicism was nuclear in scale and ferocity. Every cathedral, church, chapel, cemetery, wayside shrine and village cross in England and Wales was affected. A thousand years of artistic evolution, the sum total of Britain’s cultural history so far, was attacked by rioting mobs of religious maniacs, while the rest of the country cheered them on.” Sunday Times 09/30/01

ART BENEFIT: New York artists plan a big benefit for victims of September 11. “So far, plans call for a joint live auction held by Sotheby’s, Phillips de Pury & Luxembourg, Doyle New York, Guernsey’s, Swann and Leland that will take place in the afternoon at the premises of one of the auction houses in New York. In the evening, there will be a New York Thanks You concert at Carnegie Hall for the mayor and all the rescue workers involved in the post-attack effort.” Forbes.com 09/26/01

STOLEN PAINTING TO BE RETURNED: A 500-year-old painting stolen out of Poland’s National Museum by the Nazis is to be returned by a Miami museum. “The painting is one of 35 works donated to Miami-Dade County in 1980 by Claire Mendel, the German consul in Miami from 1958 to 1970. He died in Miami in 1987.” Nando Times (AP) 09/30/01

Publishing: October 2001

Wednesday October 31

IN BLURBS WE TRUST: Ever wonder about the recommendations of books by bookstores? Can you trust them? Well… “The sums involved are considerable: the leading high-street chain, W.H. Smith, charges £10,000 to call a book ‘Read of the Week’. Books etc.’s ‘Showcase’ and Borders’ ‘Best’ cost as much as £2,500, and Amazon demands £6,000 for its ‘Book of the Month’ endorsement. To have a book called ‘Latest Thing’ will set you back £15,000, and ‘Fresh Talent’, an accolade recently won by Richard Littlejohn, costs £2,850.” The Spectator 10/20/01

ACADEMICS QUIBBLE OVER ACADEMIC LIFE: Harvard English Professor Marjorie Garber and Berkeley English Professor Frederick Crews both have new books out about their work. “Garber believes that academic jargon is actually ‘language in action’, marking ‘the place where thinking has been’, while Crews believes that it is the inscription on the tombstone of the place where thinking died.” London Review 10/31/01

BIG BUCKS/LOW SALES: At a time when many serious writers have difficulty even getting published, publishers are paying millions of dollars to celebrities to pen books. But those books are rarely successes – either critically or at the cash register. In fact, they sell poorly. So why the big money? Poets & Writers 10/01

Monday October 29

THE GREAT NOVEMBER NOVEL: “National Novel Writing Month, where the aim is to produce a 50,000 word novel in just 30 days, starts on Wednesday. “What people need to do is just write and write anything that comes into their heads and if they did 50,000 words I’d be thrilled.” Sydney Morning Herald 10/29/01

TAKING ON OPRAH: Writer Jonathan Franzen’s criticism of Oprah’s book club has brought him scorn from critics and other writers. “In a sense, the episode underscored how right Mr. Franzen was about the power of television and its transformation of literary culture. But the aftermath also showed that if there was ever a time in the book business when authors wrote to impress critics and their peers without regard to book sales, getting caught in that posture is now almost embarrassing.” The New York Times 10/29/01 (one-time registration required for access)

Friday October 26

ANTHRAX SCARE POSTPONES POET: New American poet laureate Billy Collins “was to have read from his poetry Thursday night at the Library of Congress, one of the main duties of the poet laureate. The reading was canceled because of tests of the library buildings for anthrax and was tentatively rescheduled for Dec. 6.” Nando Times (AP) 10/25/01

  • POETRY TO THE PEOPLE: America’s new poet laureate Billy Collins “begins his very public year in Washington tonight with a reading at the Library of Congress. At age 60, he has become famous, as poets go, by touching something untrivial in people, without resorting to kitsch or pandering. He may be a poet of a sort not seen in America since Robert Frost. Though his poems are anything but ordinary, he manages to touch a large audience by using ordinary language, and by writing in and out of the dooryards of ordinary life.” Boston Globe 10/25/01

CAMPAIGNING FOR OUR OWN: Columnist Noah Richler takes the Governor General Awards leadership to task for not including a book by his dad and that of a family friend for consideration for this year’s awards. National Post (Canada) 10/26/01

Thursday October 25

PISSING OFF OPRAH: Jonathan Franzen’s new book The Corrections is the most-hyped publishing project of the year. Among the stars aligning right for it was Oprah’s decision to make it an Oprah Book Club selection. But then Franzen dissed O and her fans not once, but twice in the media. So Oprah withdrew the choice and Franzen’s scrambled to apologize. Too late. “One can only wonder why Franzen went after her, and not once but twice, and in such ugly fashion. All she offered Franzen was a significantly increased readership. What’s to not like? ” Mobylives 10/24/01

  • ALL ABOUT THE STICKER: “Franzen didn’t go so far as to reject Oprah per se. The essence of his complaint, as he cast it, was that the label signified not simply Oprah’s endorsement of the book, but the book’s endorsement of Oprah. Franzen seems to want us to believe that his anti-establishment sensibilities have been trampled.” The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) 10/25/01

BOOKER BOOST: Peter Carey’s “True History of the Kelly Gang has soared from 30th place to eighth in the British hardback fiction bestsellers list following last week’s Booker win – selling 3,348 last week, compared with 436 the week before the prize announcement.” But British readers evidently prefer runner-up Ian McEwan’s Atonement, which was No.1 last week “selling 8,232 copies last week, about four times as many as the previous week.” The Age (AAP) 10/25/01

BILLYBALL: When Billy Collins was named America’s new poet laureate earlier this year, critics couldn’t help but note that he was one of the few poets who actually makes decent money at his craft. “All of this man-bites-dog astonishment condescends to poetry, where such small sums count as fortunes. Yet the very existence of a ‘popular poet’ is reassuring for an art seemingly doomed to ivory-tower irrelevance.” So what is so appealing about Collins’ work that makes him stand out? The New Republic 10/23/01

HAS THE LITERARY SCENE CHANGED IN 20 YEARS? Let’s see. Twenty years ago “Philip Roth was happily living with Claire Bloom. Salman Rushdie was just a mild-mannered lapsed Muslim with one novel under his belt. Allen Ginsberg was still alive and wandering the East Village. Zadie Smith turned five.” Yep, things have changed. Village Voice Literary Supplement October 2001

AGAINST LOVE POETRY: It’s the title of Irish poet Eavan Boland’s new volume. “So much of European love poetry is court poetry, coming out of the glamorous traditions of the court. Love poetry, from the troubadours on, is traditionally about that romantic lyric moment. There’s little about the ordinariness of love, the dailiness of love, or the steadfastness of love.” The New Yorker 10/29/01

Wednesday October 24

GOVERNOR GENERAL’S SHORT LIST: Canada’s Governor General Award for fiction announces its shortlist. Jane Urquhart and Richard B. Wright picked up nominations after earlier this month being named to the Giller fiction short list. “The other English fiction nominees for the GG awards, announced by the Canada Council for the Arts, are Yann Martel of Montreal for Life of Pi, Tessa McWatt of Toronto for Dragons Cry and Thomas Wharton of Edmonton for Salamander.” Toronto Star 10/23/01

PUBLISHING-NOT-SO-ON-DEMAND: An on-demand publisher tries to put out a book of essays about September 11 in New York, with proceeds going to the Red Cross. But it turns out that “on-demand” is at the mercy of traditional distribution systems. Getting big distributors like Amazon to carry the book proves…how shall we say…a demanding proposition? Salon 10/20/01

OVERCOMING AGE: “Who has it worse: young writers or old? Ageism, it would appear, is a double-edged sword. In columns littering the opinion pages from London to New York to Toronto, the Old Guard and the Young Turks are lining up. Not, as one might have expected, to say who is best. As Robert Hughes has it, ours is a culture of complaint. The most important thing our artists have to establish is their victim credentials.” GoodReports 10/24/01

Monday October 22

THE LITTLE MAGAZINE WITH BIG FANS: At its peak, Lingua Franca magazine had a circulation of only 15,000. Newstand sales never topped 2000. But its fans in academe were many – far beyond its circulation base, even as it announced it would shut down last week. “This can’t work as a conventional business. It can only work as something dynamic and risky. It can only work for an investor who wants to do something dazzling and sexy to get attention.” Chicago Tribune 10/22/01

THE HUNDRED YEARS WAR: Think America’s war in Afghanistan is anything new? A hundred years ago the British were embroiled in the region. And “Rudyard Kipling’s novel Kim – as well as his 1888 short story, The Man Who Would Be King – provide lessons on the risks the country now faces, even lessons on the quagmires of nation-building.” Dallas Morning News 10/21/01

THE ESSENCE OF WRITING: “Literature is amoral, like biology, like physics, like the universe itself – and like the letters of the alphabet we use. Literature is an energy, an imaginative energy, which reflects all aspects of human nature. It is not part of our schoolmastering, but part of our learning in a wider and more imaginative sense. It teaches us to refute simplicities, simplicities which neatly separate good and evil. Above all, it is not just a set of cautionary or exemplary tales, but unpredictable, awkwardly shaped, not leading directly to bigger salaries and wages.” The Independent (UK) 10/22/01

Sunday October 21

THE WRITER AS CELEBRITY: “In the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century many successful and much-admired authors were unknown to the general public and to their readers – unknown in the sense that their appearance, their personalities, their habits, and their private lives were indeed private.” How different from today, when writers have become performing animals and every aspect of their lives is open to scrutiny in the press. The Guardian (UK) 10/20/01

Friday October 19

ALL ABOUT BOOK(ER) SALES: The honor’s nice, but Peter Carey’s Booker Prize win will sell a lot of his books. “When Peter won in 1988 with Oscar and Lucinda, we released the paperback edition on the day that it was announced. We printed 20,000 and didn’t know if it was going to be the stock for a day or a year. We sold them in an hour, and in the next six months sold 200,000 copies.” The Age (Melbourne) 10/19/01

Thursday October 18

CAREY TAKES BOOKER: Australian writer Peter Carey has won this year’s Booker Prize. “Carey, 58, is only the second writer in the Booker’s 32-year history, after JM Coetzee, to win twice.” The Guardian (UK) 10/18/01

LINGUA FRANCA SUSPENDS PUBLICATION: The current issue is coming out, but work on the next has stopped. “While Lingua Franca never turned a profit and its circulation hovered around 15,000, news of its apparent demise elicited exclamations of dismay in the world of letters.” The New York Times 10/16/01 (one-time registration required for access)

  • BRILL’S CONTENT FOLDS: “Yesterday, after sputtering for years, Brill’s Content magazine suspended publication, ending a three-year run of dissecting the personalities, obsessions and machinations of news organizations.” The New York Times 10/16/01 (one-time registration required for access)

Wednesday October 17

LOOKING FOR SHAKESPEARE: Who was William Shakespeare? Some say he was the “17th Earl of Oxford, Edward de Vere. Oxford was eminently equipped to tackle the range and scope evident in Shakespeare’s work: because of his education (arts, law, sciences), his renowned excellence in letters, his prowess at sports and arms, his travels in Italy and France, his patronage of literary and scientific contemporaries.” Sydney Morning Herald 10/17/01

  • BUT NOT THAT THEORY: “The Oxfordian case is founded in snobbery, the idea that a non-aristocratic lad from the country could never have had the talent or insight to write such masterpieces.” Sydney Morning Herald 10/17/01

EXPECT A RUN ON PIPES AND WEIRD HATS: “For devotees of Sherlock Holmes, arguably the world’s most famous detective, and his creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the game will be afoot in Toronto this weekend. About 250 fans from around the world are expected at a conference celebrating the 100th anniversary of the publication of the most famous Holmes work, The Hound of the Baskervilles.” National Post (CP) 10/17/01

Tuesday October 16

BAILING ON THE BOOKER: Booker Prize sponsor Iceland, a frozen food producer, is announcing it is withdrawing from sponsoring Britain’s top literary prize. The company says that “new sponsors should be found for the literary competition as it sees ‘no commercial link’ between its supermarket business and the literary award. Iceland inherited the prize only because of a merger with food group Booker in 2000.” BBC 10/16/01

DEFINING AMERICAN HIGHBROW OF THE 50s: “The concept of a highbrow culture, the culture of great books and the like, depends on the concept of a lowbrow, or popular, culture, whose characteristics highbrow culture defines itself against. Of course, there have always been good books and bad books, serious music and easy listening, coterie art and poster art. Making those distinctions is easy if you just put everything on a continuum, and rank things from worst to best. The mid-century notion of highbrow culture required something different—it required a rupture between the high and the low, an absolute difference, not a relative one.” The New Yorker 10/15/01

THE NOBEL FOR LITERATURE: There is second-guessing almost every year; still, most winners since World War Two have been substantial literary figures. Much better choices, in fact, than “the bewildering early choices of the Nobel Committee, so obscure as to appear now wilfully blind. They were not the choices of Nobel himself, of course, but of the members of the Swedish Academy trying to guess what the repentant merchant of death would like.” Boston Review 10/01

  • Previously: NAIPAUL WINS NOBEL IN LITERATURE: “The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2001 is awarded to the British writer, born in Trinidad, V.S. Naipaul ‘for having united perceptive narrative and incorruptible scrutiny in works that compel us to see the presence of suppressed histories’. V.S. Naipaul is a literary circumnavigator, only ever really at home in himself, in his inimitable voice.” Nobel Institute (Sweden) 10/11/01

REMEMBERING HOW YOU GOT THERE: Joyce Carol Oates says she writes all the time – and she must, considering her prodigious output. But she remembers how and where she started. “She still sends short stories into The Prairie Schooner, a literary magazine at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, one of the first places that published her work. And she spoke Saturday at the magazine’s 75th anniversary celebration.” Washington Times (AP) 10/16/01

Monday October 15

BRAVE CHOICE: V.S. Naipaul is the Nobel Institute’s bravest choice in years for the literature prize. “In choosing him as this year’s laureate for literature, the Nobel committee has allowed the controversial Naipaul’s influence – his aura – to accrue to the prize as much as the other way around.” Salon 10/14/01

AWARDS TOM CLANCY WILL NEVER WIN: “A German philosopher and sociologist who has captured – and at times defined – the Zeitgeist of postwar Germany was honored Sunday with the Frankfurt Book Fair’s Peace Prize, the event’s highest honor. Juergen Habermas is renowned for his talent of pointing out deficits in the values held by Western society, including democracy and equality. His writings have been translated into dozens of languages and he has been compared to the late philosophers Bertrand Russell and Jean-Paul Sartre.” Nando Times (AP) 10/14/01

THE NON-FICTION SQUEEZE: “Nonfiction, or nonfiction that masquerades as fiction, nonfiction that aspires to be fiction, nonfiction that wants to be fiction when it grows up, is in sudden, best-selling vogue.” It’s squeezing out fiction. This is not a good thing. San Francisco Bay Guardian 10/12/01

THE WEAKEST ‘LINK’ EXCUSE: “Frozen food retailer Iceland will announce on Wednesday that it intends to withdraw from sponsorship of the Booker prize. The current sponsor will say that new sponsors should be found for the literary competition as it sees ‘no commercial link’ between its supermarket business and the literary award.” BBC 10/15/01

THE VAGARIES OF FACT OR FICTION: A Toronto politician trying to get elected is haunted by a book he wrote years ago that contains unsavory details of his life. He claims the book was fiction, but the book was marketed as a true story. “The non-fiction novel and gonzo journalism have blurred the line between fact and fiction, and a controversy like this highlights the difficulty in keeping them apart.” Good Reports 10/15/01

E-BOOK SPUTTER: “Electronic publishing has turned its focus to niche markets at this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair as the industry admits most readers would still rather curl up with a book than a bulky screen. In contrast with the euphoria of last year, when some electronic publishers predicted paper books would become museum pieces within a generation, the industry has scaled back its ambitions since the crisis that struck the new economy.” National Post (Canada) 10/15/01

Sunday October 14

LANGUAGE BARRIER: One of the greatest challenges confronting European publishers is successfully translating foreign books into the local language without losing any of the style, meaning, or minutiae of the original. A mediocre translation can mean the difference between a success and a failure on the market, and many publishers are loath to take the risk. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 10/12/01

CHASING THE GREAT AUSTRALIAN NOVEL: Once upon a time, Australian writers loved to tackle big, global ideas and wide-ranging philosophical subtexts in their work. But these days, it seems that every new novel to hit the bestseller list is narrowly focused, specifically targeted, and just so gosh-darned local. Whatever happened to collective experience? Sydney Morning Herald 10/13/01

GOLDIE WON’T BE STARRING IN IT, WILL SHE? “Film rights to a newly published Mark Twain novelette have been sold by the Buffalo library to the Hollywood production company owned by movie stars Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. Cosmic Entertainment will have exclusive rights to “A Murder, A Mystery and a Marriage,” written by Twain in 1876 but published for the first time this year, Buffalo & Erie County Public Library executives said Thursday.” Baltimore Sun (AP) 10/12/01

IMMODEST, MAYBE, BUT STILL NOBEL: This year’s winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, V.S. Naipaul, is nothing if not aware of his own accomplishments. He claims, among other things, to have helped bring India into modern times through his writing, and to have helped “educate” the country’s population. Not everyone appreciated the help: “The trouble with people like me writing about societies where there is no intellectual life is that if you write about it, people are angry.” BBC 10/12/01

Friday October 12

SOME E-BOOKS MAKE MONEY: Prize money, that is. Indian novelist Amitav Ghosh won the $50,000 Grand Prize for Fiction, and American journalist Steven Levy won the Grand Prize for non-fiction at the Frankfurt Book Fair. To be eligible for the competition, “entrants must include technical enhancements that distinguish the ebook from its printed version.” The Guardian (UK) 11/12/01

COMING TO TERMS WITH AN OLD FRIEND/ENEMY: Think of Ödön von Horváth as Germany’s answer to Garrison Keillor – a much-beloved writer and teller of tales about his hometown that make locals distinctly uncomfortable. But unlike Keillor’s fictional town of Lake Wobegon, Horváth’s Murnau really does exist, and his airing of the burg’s dirty laundry for his own literary gain has not sat well with the natives. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 10/11/01

Thursday October 11

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD NOMINEES: The two most widely (some might say flagrantly) publicized books of the past year were Jonathan Franzen’s novel The Corrections, and David McCullough’s literary biography John Adams. Nominees for the National Book Awards have been announced; Franzen made the list, McCullough didn’t. The National Book Foundation has its own website, listing all nominees in all categories. Nando Times 10/11/01

MAYBE IT’S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE EASY: James Joyce’s Ulysses may be the best and surely is one of the most complex novels of the twentieth century. Four years ago Macmillan published a new edition, inserting material from the author’s unused manuscript material to produce an easier-to-read version. Now the trustees of the Joyce estate are suing for copyright infringement because the Macmillan edition “altered some of the author’s original punctuation, spelling and name places.” The Guardian (UK) 10/10/01

A NEW GOLDEN AGE OF PHILOSOPHY? If the Frankfurt Book Fair is any indication, Europe is about to be hit with a wave of high-minded philosophy tomes and arts books that address the more abstract, existential elements of art. Such books had fallen out of fashion for a time, but publishers apparently think the public is ready to embrace them again. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 10/10/01

NAIPAUL WINS NOBEL IN LITERATURE: “The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2001 is awarded to the British writer, born in Trinidad, V.S. Naipaul ‘for having united perceptive narrative and incorruptible scrutiny in works that compel us to see the presence of suppressed histories’. V.S. Naipaul is a literary circumnavigator, only ever really at home in himself, in his inimitable voice.” Nobel Institute (Sweden) 10/11/01

Wednesday October 10

POOH BEAR AT 75: Yes, it’s true. Winnie-ther-Pooh (don’t you know what “ther” means?) turns 75 years old this week, and A.A. Milne’s classic tales of childhood, imagination, and the Hundred Acre Wood are as popular as they ever were. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 10/10/01

SEX, BOOZE, AND SCHMOOZING: Is the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference really all that it’s cracked up to be? “What I believe is that you can make people better writers,” says its director. On the other hand, says a (now former) faculty member, “This place is the shocking culmination of all that is foolish and ill-conceived in the writing programs. The boosterism, the childishness, the prolonged collegiate atmosphere. It’s like a fucking parody.” The New Yorker 10/15/01

TO DISCUSS A MOCKINGBIRD: For the past couple weeks, everyone (well, nearly) in Chicago has been reading To Kill a Mockingbird, and this is the week they’re supposed to gather and discuss the book. So, what are they saying? One of the city’s papers assembled a not-quite typical panel to find out. Chicago Sun-Times 10/09/01

TAKING ON THE BIG BOYS: In Germany, small and medium-sized presses struggle daily against the larger corporate publishing houses to maintain their small share of the market. But “[u]nlike the United States, where 80 percent of the publishing industry is dominated by just five companies, more than 90 percent of the roughly 2,000 German book publishers remain independent.” In fact, in the battle between the many Davids and the few Goliaths, the little guys have been winning more than they’re losing. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 10/09/01

THE POEM, THE TEMPLE, THE PEOPLE: The temple at Angkor Wat incorporates a poem which has never been translated into English, and never before been the subject of academic study. Now it is being studied, and translated; it’s expected to reveal much about the history and culture of the Khmer people, going back to the twelfth century. Humanities (NEH) October 01

Tuesday October 9

CAREY COLLECTION SNUBBED: “The National Library of Australia has declined to buy a collection of the early personal archives of Australian author Peter Carey, prompting a claim that they are likely to be sold overseas.” Carey is one of the country’s most prominent and outspoken authors, and is considered a favorite to win his second Booker prize this month. The Age (Melbourne) 10/09/01

MONEY ISN’T EVERYTHING: In fact, if your book sells only eight copies, it’s just about nothing. Still, that could be enough to get you noticed. It got one book nominated for Wednesday’s Frankfurt eBook Awards. Wired 10/09/01

Monday October 8

WRITERLY ATTACK: B.R. Myers provoked the biggest literary debate of the year this summer when he wrote in The Atlantic that much of contemporary fiction was not worthy of attention, then attacked critics and the literary establishment for maintaining the status quo. The counterattacks came predictably, but the most bizarre might have been by Judith Shulevitz in The New York Times… Mobylives 10/07/01

TODAY’S LIT GOING CRIT? Is contemporary literature doomed to be forgotten? “Philip Roth . . . said this: Literature ‘will probably more or less disappear except in a cultic way over the next 25 years. . . . The screen did it, didn’t it? . . . The human mind prefers the screen to the page. There’s nothing we can do about it.’ Then Naipaul was quoted in the Guardian of London this month as saying this: ‘Nearly everything written in the last century will crumble away to dust – all the novels. In every novel written now, there’s an element of mimicry.’ “ Washington Post 10/08/01

Friday October 5

WINNING THE HARD WAY: Later this month Peter Carey could be only the second writer to win the Booker Prize twice. He just won Australia’s top literary prize, but it was a peculiar win. Frank Moorhouse had been announced as the winner, but two hours later Moorhouse was told there had been a mistake and that Carey had won. Sydney Morning Herald 10/05/01

CANADIAN BOOK PRIZE FINALISTS: Canadian literature is hot these days. So paying attention to the Giller Prize, Canada’s top literary award, is a good idea. The list of previous winners includes a Who’s Who of Canadian writers. But this year, the six finalists are relative unknowns, including a first-time novelist. National Post (Canada) 10/05/01

Thursday October 4

THE GILLER SHORT LIST: Six finalists have been chosen from among 78 books for the $25,000 Giller Prize, one of Canada’s most prestigious literary awards. The winner will be announced next month at an awards dinner which “has become the social event of the season for the Canadian literary crowd.” The Globe & Mail (Canada) 10/04/01

TAKING BACK THE PRIZE: Frank Moorhouse was told he had won the Victorian Premiere’s Literary Prize for his first novel. He’d even started spending the $20,000 prize in his head. Then came a call from his agent. “Although the State Library, which administers the awards, earlier that day had confirmed his win in calls to the media, it had subsequently retracted his name, saying a ‘typo’ had been made.” The Age (Melbourne) 10/04/01

READERS DEMAND BOOK COVERAGE: Last spring, the San Francisco Chronicle cut back its books section to save money, incorporating it into another section of the paper. But so many readers complained that “on Sunday, the Chronicle’s readers will get what they want – and more – when the newspaper debuts its new Book Review, a broadsheet-size, stand-alone section that will wrap around Datebook.” Los Angeles Times 10/04/01

UNFILTERED ACCESS: New federal regulations say that public libraries will lose federal funding if they don’t filter out objectionable material from computers in the libraries. “There are over 160,000 school and public libraries in the United States; Many stand to lose much-needed federal funding if they don’t follow requirements.” Now the San Francisco Board of Supervisors has voted unanimously to keep filters off library computers. Wired 10/04/01

Wednesday October 3

THE SCIENCE OF LIT PRIZES: Okay, so this year’s crop of Canadian novels isn’t so captivating as last year’s. But there’s still a Giller Prize to be handed out, and there’s no reason we can’t come up with a fairly scientific formula for how to choose the short list… isn’t there? National Post 10/03/01

Tuesday October 2

AN OLD ORDER PASSES: With thirty miles of shelving, Foyles in London is generally regarded as the world’s biggest bookshop. And until recently, it was one of the most old-fashioned. Traditions have been changing, however, and it may no longer be the gathering spot for “women wearing big hats who live in Knightsbridge and Kensington.” The Guardian (UK) 10/01/01

LITERARY LIST: Robert Belknap has written a dissertation that looks at “the list” as a literary construct. “Lists are deliberate structures, built with care and craft, and perfectly suited to rigorous analysis. They compile a history, gather evidence, order and organize phenomena, present an agenda of apparent formlessness, and express a multiplicity of voices and experiences.” It’s an original idea – so why can’t he get a teaching job or get his dissertation published? Chronicle of Higher Education 10/01/01

Monday October 1

THE END OF WRITING (IN SF)? A San Francisco writer leaves town feeling unappreciated. “Outside of academia, nobody seems interested in reading anymore. I’m saying this not to generate pity but to present a tough fact: technology and entertainment are leading the way to a sort of glossy, cushy dark age. When people say they want ‘the arts’ in San Francisco, what they really mean is they want Entertainment – yummy restaurants, Frappuccinos, road companies of Broadway shows, virtual bowling, clubs.” San Francisco Bay Guardian 10/01/01

TEACHING WRITING: Can you teach good writing? “What you can’t teach, it seems to me, is the right kind of observation or the right kind of interpretation of what has been observed. It worries me to think of all those earnest pupils who have diligently mastered the mechanics, wondering with varying degrees of misery and rage why the finished recipe just hasn’t somehow worked. Washington Post 09/30/01

POWER OF POETRY: Many have chosen poetry as a way to express their feelings after September 11. “Almost immediately after the event, improvised memorials often conceived around poems sprang up all over the city, in store windows, at bus stops, in Washington Square Park, Brooklyn Heights and elsewhere. And poems flew through cyberspace across the country in e-mails from friend to friend.” The New York Times 10/01/01 (one-time registration required for access)

People: October 2001

Tuesday October 30

THE WORLD’S MOST UNPRONOUNCABLE PRIZE: “The first recipient of Canada’s single largest arts prize is Toronto theatre director Daniel Brooks, it was announced last night at a ceremony at the University of Toronto. Brooks, 43, was named the inaugural recipient of the Elinore and Lou Siminovitch Prize in Canadian Theatre, worth $100,000. The award, to be handed out annually, was created in January of this year to recognize an artist in mid-career ‘who has contributed significantly to the fabric of theatrical life through a total body of work.'” The Globe & Mail (Toronto) 10/30/01

Monday October 29

FAMILY MATTERS: “The death of the billionaire aesthete Daniel Wildenstein has brought to an end the most revealing chapter so far in the history of perhaps the world’s wealthiest, most secretive family of art dealers.” The Times (UK) 10/26/01

THE PICASSO VIRUS: In a remarkable new book, Picasso, My Grandfather, to be published on November 8, Marina Picasso describes how each member of the family became dependent on and cravenly submissive to Picasso’s towering ego. ‘The Picasso virus to which we fell victim was subtle and undetectable,” she says. “It was a combination of promises not kept, abuse of power, mortification, contempt and, above all, incommunicability. We were defenceless against it’.” Sunday Times (UK) 10/28/01

Friday October 26

THEROUX: UNDERSTANDING NAIPAUL: “About a month ago, without any noticeable provocation, VS Naipaul attacked the work and reputations of EM Forster, James Joyce, Dickens, Stendhal, JM Keynes, Wole Soyinka and the recently deceased RK Narayan. We who know Naipaul understand that gratuitous outbursts such as this nearly always precede the appearance of a Naipaul work. In spirit it is like a boxer’s frenzy of boasting and threats before an important match. The fact is that, even though I have suggested that Naipaul is a sourpuss, a cheapskate and a blamer, I have the highest regard for his work.” Daily Mail & Guardian (South Africa) 10/24/01

BERGMAN’S STILL DIRECTING: “Ingmar Bergman is will stage a play for Swedish Television next year. The reclusive 83-year-old filmmaker will direct his chamber play Anna. Swedish media speculated it would be a sequel to Scenes From a Marriage, a six-part TV series that was made into a movie in 1973.” Nando Times (AP) 10/25/01

Thursday October 25

PROMINENT COLLECTOR DIES: “Daniel Wildenstein, one of the world’s leading art dealers and collectors whose family owns two prestigious Manhattan galleries, has died, the Wildenstein Institute said Thursday. He was 84.” Washington Post (AP) 10/25/01

GLASS IN HOLLYWOOD: Considering the low esteem in which the public has generally held minimalist art, the continued popularity of composer Philip Glass is nothing short of astonishing. Somehow, Glass seems to have managed to bring life and surprise to a musical form designed to remove both, and his forays into the world of film scoring brought his work to a wide audience. A new project in L.A. offers audiences the chance to watch a “live” soundtrack: an ensemble playing Glass’s music accompanies a series of new film shorts. Los Angeles Times 10/25/01

Wednesday October 24

ARTISTS WIN GENIUS AWARDS: The MacArthur Foundation has announced the recipients of this year’s “Genius” awards. Among them, English pianist Stephen Hough; he’ll get $500,000. BBC 10/24/01

HOWARD FINSTER, 84: One of the most well-known outsider artists has died. “Finster was considered a pioneer among self-taught artists, advancing the ‘outsider’ movement with his unique personality, unflagging salesmanship and resolute work ethic. For more than three decades, he traveled Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee preaching at tent revivals and supplementing his income with odd jobs, including plumbing and bicycle repair.” MSNBC (AP) 10/23/01

Tuesday October 23

SO MUCH FOR PRIVILEGED ARTISTS: The Bolshoi’s Maya Plisetskaya was one of the great ballerinas of the 20th Century. “The humiliations she and other artists endured at the hands of government handlers and arts bureaucrats challenge popular notions of the privileged lives of Soviet artists. Always forced to beg — to travel, to prepare new works, to be paid fairly — Plisetskaya and her colleagues more closely resembled Russian serf artists of the 18th century than cultural workers in a modern socialist state.” The New York Times 10/23/01 (one-time registration required for access)

SEARCHING FOR THAT OLD FEELING: Few icons of the American essay enjoy the success that Russell Baker has achieved in his life. From his various memoirs of growing up, which still sell quite well, to his popular New York Times op-ed pieces, which he retired from writing several years back, his trademark style has been a constant for countless readers. But these days, Baker isn’t finding much about the world to make light of, and it’s not just the current tensions that are bothering him. Boston Globe 10/23/01

Friday October 19

TALENT ON LOAN FROM GOD? Martin Amis hosts an interview show, and ends up revealing more about himself than his guests. “Amis has created within his own mind a notion of ‘talent’, which he deifies and worships. He says, with the certainty of a man who has never doubted his own ability, that ‘your heart becomes gangrenous in your body when you go against your talent’. Literary talent is his sole criterion for success, and anybody outside that world – a tiler, for example – is worthless. He emerges as obsessed with his own place in literature, and notes with sadness: ‘Usually writers never find out how good they are because that starts with the obituaries’.” New Statesman 10/15/01

JAY LIVINGSTON, 86: Composer and lyricist Jay Livingston, who was nominated for seven Oscar and won three, died at his home in Los Angeles. With partner Ray Evans, he wrote such pop hits as Silver Bells, Mona Lisa, and Que Sera, SeraNando Times 10/17/01

RAOUL KRAUSHAAR, 93: Composer Raoul Kraushaar, who wrote theme music for many TV shows, including The Fugitive and The Untouchables, died at his home in Florida. He was probably best known for his work on the film version of CabaretWashington Post 10/16/01

Tuesday October 16

MAKING MODERN MATTER: When Nicholas Serota became director of the Tate, contemporary art was seen as a problem in England. “Serota’s efforts have transformed us into a nation that cares about contemporary art, and it is one of his proudest achievements.” London Evening Standard 10/16/01

THE DIRECTOR COMPLAINS: When Australia’s National Gallery director Dr Brian Kennedy appointed John McDonald as head of the museum’s Australian Art, it was a controversial decision. But a few months after the September 2000 appointment, Kennedy regretted the appointment. He outlined his grievances in a five-page memo… Sydney Morning Herald 10/16/01

Monday October 15

DOWNFALL OF A CRITIC: Kenneth Tynan was a great theatre critic. “His reviews invaluably preserve the excitement of performances that would have perished if he hadn’t described them.” But once he left his post as critic at The Observer “the culture decided that it had no further use for the adversary activity of criticism, expecting critics to reinvent themselves as manufacturers of glossy advertising copy. It’s a sad, cautionary tale about false values, professional ethics and the degeneration of journalism in recent decades.” The Observer (UK) 10/14/01

THE ARTIST WHO KEEPS GOING: He lives at the fringe, shunned by galleries and dealers who grew tired of his quirks and neediness years ago. In a world soaked in eccentricity and skewed perspectives, John Grazier is the ultimate at being strange. He swings from bouts of homelessness to raking in $100,000 commissions. When he’s down, he paints on the living room floors of friends’ houses – with no easel, no chair and no dropcloth. And because he can’t rely on others to sell his paintings, he does it himself, like some Wild West art cowboy, blazing trails in his Handi-Van, hawking pictures and making small bursts of money.” Washington Post 10/14/01

GREASING THE WHEELS: Taking a symphony orchestra on an international tour is no easy task. Preparations begin two years in advance, and no detail is left unresearched. Still, on the road, unexpected crises are bound to manifest themselves, and when they do, nearly every major American orchestra has the same reaction. They call Guido. Yes, Guido. Detroit Free Press 10/15/01

Sunday October 14

IMMODEST, MAYBE, BUT STILL NOBEL: This year’s winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, V.S. Naipaul, is nothing if not aware of his own accomplishments. He claims, among other things, to have helped bring India into modern times through his writing, and to have helped “educate” the country’s population. Not everyone appreciated the help: “The trouble with people like me writing about societies where there is no intellectual life is that if you write about it, people are angry.” BBC 10/12/01

A REALISTIC WAGNERIAN: Daniel Barenboim encountered a firestorm of protest earlier this year when he broke a long-standing taboo on the performance of Wagner in Israel. But though Barenboim has been a champion of the controversial composer’s work throughout his career, he has never attempted to minimize Wagner’s role in the rise of deadly anti-Semitism in Europe, or to claim that this bigotry does not inform Wagner’s music. Rather, he embraces the contradictory nature of a man who could harbor such vicious hatred in his own mind, yet produce works of such tremendous beauty and intelligence. The New York Times 10/14/01 (one-time registration required for access)

ONLY IN NEW YORK: A strolling violinist in a gold loincloth and very little else would cause the denizens of most cities to call the police, or at least cross the street. But in New York, such a man can become a minor celebrity, especially when he gains a reputation as the most talented street musician in the city. “In his soloperas, Thoth, a classically trained musician, is the composer, orchestra, singers and dancers. His music has elements of classical, overlayed with primal rhythms, but it defies categorization.” New York Post 10/14/01

Friday October 12

MADRID OPERA HERO DIES: “Conductor Luis Antonio Garcia Navarro, credited with reviving Madrid’s opera house after its 1997 reinauguration and bringing it international fame, has died. He was 60.” Nando Times (AP) 10/11/01

COMING TO TERMS WITH AN OLD FRIEND/ENEMY: Think of Ödön von Horváth as Germany’s answer to Garrison Keillor – a much-beloved writer and teller of tales about his hometown that make locals distinctly uncomfortable. But unlike Keillor’s fictional town of Lake Wobegon, Horváth’s Murnau really does exist, and his airing of the burg’s dirty laundry for his own literary gain has not sat well with the natives. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 10/11/01

NO, HE WON’T BE WRAPPING HELMUT KOHL: “Six years after conquering Berlin by wrapping the Reichstag, Bulgarian-born artist Christo and his French wife, Jeanne-Claude, return to the city for two shows, one big, one small.” The Art Newspaper 10/09/01

Thursday October 11

NAIPAUL WINS NOBEL IN LITERATURE: “The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2001 is awarded to the British writer, born in Trinidad, V.S. Naipaul ‘for having united perceptive narrative and incorruptible scrutiny in works that compel us to see the presence of suppressed histories’. V.S. Naipaul is a literary circumnavigator, only ever really at home in himself, in his inimitable voice.” Nobel Institute (Sweden) 10/11/01

NEW HEAD OF SCOTLAND MUSEUMS: Dr. Gordon Rintoul, who was chief executive of Sheffield Galleries, has been appointed as the new director of the National Museums of Scotland, effective February 2002. He succeeds Mark Jones, who left for the Victoria and Albert in London. The Herald (Scotland) 10/11/01

DSO VIOLINIST HAS REUNION ON TOUR: “When the Detroit Symphony Orchestra arrived in Nuremberg, Germany, on Tuesday, violinist Marian Tanau added another link to the chain of his remarkable destiny. Waiting for him was Joseph Muller, a Romanian-born German national, who in 1989 risked his career to help Tanau, then 22, defect from Romania.” Detroit Free Press 10/11/01

TRACING THREE DECADES OF BRITISH THEATER: Michael Billington has been the theater critic at London’s Guardian newspaper for thirty years now, and he has watched the business evolve in countless ways. Where plays were once dominant, musicals are now the backbone of the industry. Superstar composers and directors have come to wield remarkable power. But “the first, and most striking, fact is that the basic structure of British theatre has more or less survived.” The Guardian (UK) 10/10/01

Wednesday October 10

DIRECTOR ROSS DIES: “Herbert Ross, a choreographer and director who worked on films including Funny Lady with Barbra Streisand and Steel Magnolias with Julia Roberts, died Tuesday. He was 74.” Dallas Morning News (AP) 10/10/01

AND SHE WISHES SHE’D REVIEWED DEEP THROAT: Pauline Kael, who died last month, was the film critic in many minds. Why? Chaplin, she thought, “pushed too hard.” Spielberg has “become so uninteresting now.” In comedy, her favorites were the Ritz Brothers. And those awful taboos: “There’s almost no one you can make fun of now. The women’s movement, in particular, has added many taboos. You can’t have a dumb blonde anymore, and the dumb blonde was such a wonderful stereotype.” The New Yorker 10/08/01

SERRANO COMES TO BRITAIN: The man whose art helped cause one of America’s most notorious political dogfights, Andres Serrano, is being exhibited in London this month, and critics there are showing no mercy. Free speech advocates in the U.S. championed Serrano’s photography when Congressional leaders used it as fodder for their crusade against public arts funding, but in the opinions of several U.K. writers, “he is a third-rate artist, a man who has nothing interesting, important or original to say about the subjects he treats.” The Daily Telegraph (UK) 10/10/01

NEW CHIEF FOR SF OPERA CENTER: “American soprano Sheri Greenawald has been appointed as the new director of the San Francisco Opera Center in California… Greenawald’s appointment is the latest in a series of management changes wrought by Pamela Rosenberg, who recently took over as general director of San Francisco Opera from Lofti Mansouri.” Gramophone 10/09/01

ARTS MAN TO HEAD RUSSIAN TV: “The Hermitage director, Mikhail Piotrovsky, has been elected chairman of the board of Russia’s largest television network, ORT. The move is part of the government’s bid to bring order to the station which has long been embroiled in conflict and corruption.” The Art Newspaper 10/08/01

Tuesday October 9

HERB BLOCK, 91: Herbert L. Block, whose “Herblock” signature marked scathing political cartoons for more than 60 years, died in Washington. He won three Pulitzer Prizes, and shared a fourth. For more than 50 years, he was read – and often feared – at the breakfast tables of the most powerful figures in American government, but he never sought their favor or tried to be one of them. Washington Post 10/08/01

IRISH MUSEUM DIRECTOR TO NEW POST: “Declan Mcgonagle, who quit his post as director of the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) last April, is to take up a new position with the City Arts Centre in Dublin from December 1st. Though he has as yet no job title, he will head the centre as it begins a two-year process of redefinition and revitalisation.” The Irish Times 10/08/01

Sunday October 7

NOBEL VERSE: Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite and the Nobel Prizes had a “wretched” personal life. “But there was one romantic matter which he kept largely confidential: he was a writer himself. To call him a poet is an exaggeration, but Nobel produced enough, in several genres, to suggest that he had serious literary intentions. He wrote fiction in middle life and drama in his last years, but his youthful efforts were in verse – a heavily shod Miltonic blank verse, written in English, none of it published in his lifetime, and most destroyed at the time of his death by the circumspect executors.” The Guardian (UK) 10/06/01

WOMEN’S MUSEUM DIRECTOR SUDDENLY QUITS: After only three months on the job as director of the National Museum of Women in Washington DC, Ellen D. Reeder has suddenly resigned. “The first scholar of international stature to direct the museum, Reeder brought with her the promise of an intellectual heft some felt the museum had always lacked. The museum has had frequent turnover: six directors in the 14 years since it was founded.” Washington Post 10/06/01

THE AMERICAN MAESTRO AT HOME: James Conlon is one of America’s great conductors, admired and respected the world over for his extensive repertoire and precise style. But, like so many other American maestros, he has been forced to spend much of his career overseas. Now, firmly established as one of the top men in his profession, he has the luxury of letting the world (and America) come to him. “Drop in on Mr. Conlon in rehearsal, and you may find him disciplined, diagnostic, in control: a touch schoolmasterly.” The New York Times 10/07/01 (one-time registration required for access)

Friday October 5

WHY DID LINCOLN CENTER PREZ QUIT? When Gordon Davis was named president of Lincoln Center last year, he described the post as his “dream job.” But “what actually happened was a study in the treacherous—some would say dysfunctional—politics of the city’s largest and most fractious arts organization. Hamstrung by rivalries among the center’s warring constituent members; undercut by [Lincoln Center chairwoman] Beverly Sills, who seemed unwilling to cede power to her new president; and derided by staff members, who claimed he was unwilling—or unable—to make swift decisions, a disillusioned Mr. Davis finally called it quits on Sept. 27.” New York Observer 10/03/01

THE MAN NEXT DOOR: For 35 years we lived across the hall from Isaac Stern. “One grew used to the steady stream of great musicians—Eugene Istomin, Yefim Bronfman, Emanuel Ax, Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zuckerman, Jaime Laredo, Yo-Yo Ma—who would daily emerge from the elevator, seemingly ordinary citizens until they walked into 19F and started to play. I have a recurring image of running into Isaac in the hallway surrounded by piles of luggage: I’d be on my way to the grocery store to buy a carton of orange juice and some cream cheese; he’d be on his way to Vienna or Paris or Moscow to perform Haydn or Saint-Saëns or Tchaikovsky.” New York Observer 10/03/01

Tuesday October 2

GIRL WONDER: How to explain the wide appeal of Charlotte Church? She’s still only 15 years old, but “although we’ve already had three years of Church’s recording career, her appeal remains rooted in her position as a child wonder. It helps that, so far, she is not a pop singer. There are no Britney v Charlotte wars. Her contemporaries are not interested in her records – after all, teenagers don’t want to listen to either Rossini arias or Men of HarlechNew Statesman 10/01/01

Monday October 1

SAY IT THROUGH ART: Woody Allen says that the September 11th attacks are “fair game” for any artist who has something to say about them. “It is not likely that I would do something like that but I do think that it’s fair game for any artist who has the inspiration or insight into that terrible event.” The Guardian 09/30/01

Theatre: October 2001


 Thursday November 1BROADWAY AND THE $480 TICKET: Wasn’t it yesterday that Broadway was on its knees begging us all to ‘support’ it in its darkest hour? Who feels like supporting it now? The dishonest idea that the $480 ticket is ‘doing good’ is the last straw. This latest example of greed cleaves the already huge rift between those who can still afford to go to Broadway and those who cannot. New York Observer 10/31/01MODERNIZING SCOTTISH ACTING SCHOOLS: “The popular perception of drama schools as being noisily peopled with big-mouths who have seen the video of Fame once too often and posh kids too thick for real university courses is, of course, only partially deserved.” Now two new directors have been brought in to “modernise a course fraying at the edges” at Scottish drama schools. Glasgow Herald 10/31/01Tuesday October 30BRECHT BAN: Newly released documents reveal that ministers in the British cabinet tried to keep Bertolt Brecht and his German theatre company out of the UK during the Cold War. “It is extraordinary to see the tricks the Foreign Office got up to to keep Brecht out and the pressure they were under from the German Embassy in London who were running a Brecht boycott from 1953.” The Observer (UK) 10/29/01THE WORLD’S MOST UNPRONOUNCABLE PRIZE: “The first recipient of Canada’s single largest arts prize is Toronto theatre director Daniel Brooks, it was announced last night at a ceremony at the University of Toronto. Brooks, 43, was named the inaugural recipient of the Elinore and Lou Siminovitch Prize in Canadian Theatre, worth $100,000. The award, to be handed out annually, was created in January of this year to recognize an artist in mid-career ‘who has contributed significantly to the fabric of theatrical life through a total body of work.'” The Globe & Mail (Toronto) 10/30/01Monday October 29THE THEATRE OF PLAYS: London’s West End is suddenly full of plays about the theatre: “Take these portraits as a fair reflection of today’s Equity membership and you will go home convinced that the average cast includes incompetents (Star Quality, Noises Off), adulterers and serial seducers (Over the Moon, The Royal Family) and dipsomaniacs (Noises Off, Over the Moon), most of them capable of breathtaking vanity and bitchiness (all five shows).” The Times (UK) 10/29/01Sunday October 28CONTROL OR GREED? Is Broadway only for the rich? Many are asking, after producers of The Producers jacked up prices for some seats to $480 a ticket. “The scalpers have snatched up and warehoused thousands of our seats. You cannot get good seats for at least six months because they are in the hands of scalpers. We are simply trying to regain control of some of our inventory.” New York Post 10/27/01NOT YOUR AVERAGE TEAR-DOWN: So the Royal Shakespeare Company wants to demolish its Stratford building; it is, after all, not a very good place in which to perform, as currently structured. But the UK’s building preservation authority isn’t likely to grant tear-down approval. “This is a building redolent with the ghosts of the country’s greatest actors. And what must really be preying on English Heritage’s mind is the precedent that demolition would create.” The Telegraph (UK) 10/27/01Friday October 26GOUGING AS PUBLIC SERVICE: “Annoyed” (can you say “greedy”?) at the thriving scalper trade for The Producers, the show’s producers plan to hike the price for 50 prime seats per show – to $480 a ticket. “The sum is nearly five times the current cost of $100 for the most expensive seats, itself a Broadway high.” The New York Times 10/26/01 (one-time registration required for access)NOT ON OUR LIFE: Lincoln Center Theater has removed a new musical from its schedule next year. Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years is loosely based on his failed marriage. But Brown’s wife, said to be unhappy with the script, had her lawyers contact Lincoln Center to tell them that the couple’s divorce settlement bars Brown from writing about certain aspects of the marriage…and when the lawyers get involved… New York Post 10/26/01THE MISTAKEN ROYAL: London’s National Theatre is marking its 25th anniversary… er, make that the Royal National Theatre, its full name (which is almost never used). Turns out the “Royal” designation was an accident, a mistake, reveal the theatre’s leaders at the 25th anniversary party. The Independent (UK) 10/26/01Tuesday October 23PUBLIC’S DONORS QUIT: New York’s Public Theatre is in trouble, losing lots of money. Now, two of the theatre’s largest donors have resigned from the board, citing the “theater’s poor financial management. The resignations present the often turbulent Public with one of its most pointed crises in years.” The New York Times 10/23/01 (one-time registration required for access)WHAT’S A THEATRE “VILLAGE”? The Royal Shakespeare Company defends its plans to tear down its Stratford theatre and build a new “theatre village.” “The rebuilt RST will be the most significant new theatre building of the new century, with the ambition to be one of the world’s best playhouses for Shakespeare.” The Guardian (UK) 10/23/01Monday October 22THE NEW BROADWAY: A new generation of young producers is making a mark on Broadway. “Experimental theatre has been around forever. What’s new [as vividly embodied in ‘Blue Man Group’] is the blending of an experimental aesthetic with a sound fiscal property.” Backstage 10/19/01REBUILDING A CLASSIC: So the Royal Shakespeare Company wants to tear down its Stratford theatre and rebuild. What should go up in its stead? “Has theatre design really got anywhere since Epidaurus? In Britain, in the 25 years since the completion of the National, results have been patchy. No one seems to know quite what theatre ought to be – the stuff of bands of roaming players and minstrels, or a fixed repertoire point in the fast-turning world of towns and cities, housed in more or less grandiloquent buildings?” The Guardian (UK) 10/22/01Friday October 19THE SURPRISE TEAR-DOWN: The Royal Shakespeare Company was thought to be considering a major renovation of its building; plans for demolishing the art deco theatre came as a surprise. “There is considerable scope for remodelling, but the important historic parts of this theatre are well worth fighting for.” The Times (UK) 10/19/01Previously: TEARING DOWN SHAKESPEARE THEATRE: The Royal Shakespeare Company plans to demolish its theatre at Straford-upon-Avon. “The 1932 Art Deco listed building will be bulldozed as part of a grand plan by the RSC’s director, Adrian Noble, for a £100 million ‘theatre village’ on the banks of the Avon.” The Independent (UK) 10/18/01THE NOSE KNOWS: Julie Taymor did the improbable by making Disney (The Lion King) cool with even the most jaded Broadway denizens. Now she’s taking on a new project – Pinocchio. She sees the story as “a fable about adolescence, that awkward age when hormones start kicking in, you smoke dope, and need to break away from your family and discover your own identity.” The Telegraph (UK) 10/19/01Thursday October 18EMPOWERING BROADWAY: To help New York theatre, legislation is being proposed in the US Congress to “make Broadway and Off-Broadway theatres empowerment zones, much as economically disadvantaged neighborhoods such as Harlem are designated, so that producers get tax credits for paying salaries.” Backstage 10/17/01NORTH AMERICA’S LARGEST THEATRE FEST: Ontario’s Stratford Theatre Festival is 50 years old. It’s the largest repertory theatre in North America and Canada’s largest performing arts company. “Attendance has sailed past the half-million mark and year-end surpluses have gone over $4-million for the past two years. This year, Stratford is spending $40.8-million and will have sold more than 600,000 tickets by the time the season ends in November.” But is the festival showing its age? How about an upgrade in progrmming… The Globe & Mail (Canada) 10/18/01TEARING DOWN SHAKESPEARE THEATRE: The Royal Shakespeare Company plans to demolish its theatre at Straford-upon-Avon. “The 1932 Art Deco listed building will be bulldozed as part of a grand plan by the RSC’s director, Adrian Noble, for a £100 million ‘theatre village’ on the banks of the Avon.” The Independent (UK) 10/18/01BUT NO CELEBRITIES IN THE CAST: Typically of an expensive musical, North West has lavish effects (a bomber lands on stage right after intermission) and a huge cast (36 actors play 180 different roles). But it’s not on Broadway, or the West End. It’s gearing up for a two-year run in Moscow. The Moscow Times 10/18/01SATIRE IS OKAY AFTER ALL. MORE OR LESS: In response to comedian Rowan Atkinson, a spokesman for British Prime Minister Tony Blair said “planned security legislation will not harm freedom of speech for comedians. I think we are able to tell the difference between comic sketches and comedy and people who are trying to whip up and incite religious hatred.” BBC 10/18/01Previously: SAFETY TRUMPS RIGHT TO LAMPOON: A prominent U.K. comedian has publicly condemned the nation’s proposed antiterrorism legislation pending in the House of Commons. Rowan Atkinson (best known in the U.S. for his turn in Four Weddings and a Funeral) claims that a measure in the bill designed to prevent religious hate speech would have the effect of making the satirizing of religion a crime. He is backed by several of Britain’s top satirists. BBC 10/17/01Tuesday October 16REVIVING THE MAGIC: London’s “West End has recently been littered with new musicals that haven’t caught on, leaving producers sometimes sizeably in the red.” So what is generating London theatre box office? Revivals, the good old days… The Times (UK) 10/16/01Monday October 15WHAT IRISH THEATRE IS: The Dublin Theatre Festival neatly showcases the poles of contemporary Irish theatre. At one end is “the notion that theatre is not a separate art form but a crossroads where all the forms – musical, visual and verbal – meet. The other offered a chance to share the vision of the man who led the revolt against this idea by seeking to return to the roots of theatre.” Irish Times 10/12/01Sunday October 14LO, HOW A ROSE E’ER BLOOMING: “The discovery that the remains of Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre are in a reasonable condition has led to calls for more to be spent on excavating the site… It is the only Elizabethan theatre left in the world of which there are substantial remains.” BBC 10/14/01Friday October 12SOME OFF-BROADWAY LOOKING BETTER: Three long-running off-Broadway successes were, like most other shows, hit hard by the September 11 attacks. Still, three of them are bouncing back: Blue Man GroupStomp, and De La Guarda. It may be no coincidence that all three and “high-energy, textless performances that require no English — or any other language for that matter — to enjoy.” The New York Times 10/12/01 (one-time registration required for access)Thursday October 11TRACING THREE DECADES OF BRITISH THEATER: Michael Billington has been the theater critic at London’s Guardian newspaper for thirty years now, and he has watched the business evolve in countless ways. Where plays were once dominant, musicals are now the backbone of the industry. Superstar composers and directors have come to wield remarkable power. But “the first, and most striking, fact is that the basic structure of British theatre has more or less survived.” The Guardian (UK) 10/10/01Tuesday October 9GUTHRIE LIKELY TO BE RAZED: Minneapolis’s historic Guthrie Theater, America’s first ‘regional’ theater company, is preparing to build a gleaming new base of operations on the banks of the Mississippi River. But a great battle has broken out over what to do with the old building, which adjoins the famous Walker Art Center. Preservationists and theatre fans want it to stay; the Walker wants to tear it down in order to expand its sculpture garden. So far, the Walker is winning. Minneapolis Star Tribune 10/09/01LOOK FOR THE NON-UNION LABEL: A current national tour of “The Music Man” is being seen as a test case for a radical idea: non-union musicals. The entire cast of the show is non-union, and while labor leaders scream and the show’s producers claim (dubiously) that the tour could not be going better, the rest of the theater world waits and watches. The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) 10/09/01Friday October 5WELL – IT WORKS FOR LONDON: The Melbourne Theatre Company has found a way to get people through the doors – hire movie stars. By casting big names, the theatre “experienced an ‘unprecedented leap’ in subscribers – a 20 per cent increase.” The Age (Melbourne) 10/05/01PAYBACK: Business is improving on Broadway. So much so, that some producers say they’ll start paying back union workers who voluntarily took pay cuts of 25 percent to keep shows playing last week. Theatre.com 10/04/01Thursday October 4WORKED TO DEATH: Has workshopping plays before they get to Broadway ruined the creative process? Stephen Sondheim thinks so. “Over the years these things got bigger and more formalized, and now they’re just glorified backers’ auditions. No thanks. Send me back to New Haven, where you had audiences full of real people, not show buffs and vultures who were hoping for the show to fall on its face.” Toronto Star 10/04/01THE OFF-BROADWAY ADVANTAGE: In some ways, a lot of off-Broadway shows are now doing better than their glamorous Great White Way brethren. “Off Broadway audiences are mostly made up of New Yorkers — not tourists whose visits to the city have dropped off precipitously — and are typically stalwart and devoted theatergoers. And its theaters are smaller than those on Broadway, making them easier to fill. And they do not have Broadway’s sometimes daunting ticket prices.” The New York Times 10/04/01 (one-time registration required for access)Wednesday October 3DEFENDING THE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE: Protests about Adrian Noble’s plans to makeover the Royal Shakespeare Company have been raining down on the company. Now Noble responds to the critics and says the moves are essential. “My excitement about the future is that we can take the ensemble one step further, working with a company of actors, exploring an idea in the kind of detail that pays artistic dividends.” The Guardian (UK) 10/03/01THE COMPLEAT SHAKESPEARE: The only surviving folio of Shakespeare’s complete plays is about to be sold. “The First Folio of Shakespeare, published in November 1623, is the cornerstone of English literature, effectively the first edition of the complete plays. Eighteen of them have survived only because they are in this posthumous volume, including Macbeth, Twelfth Night, Julius Caesar, Measure for Measure, As You Like It and Antony and Cleopatra.” How they were printed says a lot about them. The Times (UK) 10/03/01THE INVISIBLE ACTOR: An out-of-work actor wonders about taking a movie extra role to pay the rent. But should he? “The job of an extra is to meld with the background, be forgettable, make no mark whatsoever. For an actor to stray across the invisible line from performer to supporting artiste is too high a price to pay, even for a day. Even for a free lunch.” The Guardian (UK) 10/03/01BACK ON BROADWAY: After a down week on Broadway, theatre attendance has soared. “Unprecedented agreements on pay cuts and other economic concessions have allowed several endangered shows to stay open. Long lines have returned to the discount ticket booth in Times Square. And, perhaps most important, cast members say that audiences have begun to laugh easily and naturally again.” Boston Globe 10/03/01BUNDY GOES TO YALE: After a long high-profile search, Yale University has named James Bundy, who runs the Great Lakes Theater Festival in Cleveland, to be the new dean of the School of Drama and artistic director of the Yale Repertory Theatre. “Bundy, 42, who officially takes over in July, succeeds Stan Wojewodski, who has headed the graduate school and its professional theater for 11 years.” Hartford Courant 10/03/01NOT SO HOT JOB? Bundy is “credited with helping to save the Great Lakes Theater Festival from financial disaster while polishing its artistic merits.” But is the Yale job such a great one these days? Applications to the school are down, attendance at the theatre has “nose-dived.” “The job’s multiple personality – part academic, part artistic, part managerial – is considered so difficult that the search for a new dean took more than a year. Several high-profile artistic directors at regional theaters across the country turned down the job.” The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) 10/03/01Tuesday October 2THEY ALREADY BAILED OUT THE AIRLINES… A bill has been proposed in the US Congress to help promote New York. The new law “would allow individuals to deduct $500, and joint filers $1000, from their federal income taxes for the cost of meals, lodging or entertainment in New York City through Dec. 31, 2002. Taxpayers would be eligible for the deduction whether or not they itemized their taxes.” Theatre.com 10/01/01CLASSIC COLLABORATION: “For most of the 20th century, British productions of Molière, Ibsen, Chekhov and others generally used translations by scholars with a great knowledge of French, Norwegian or Russian, but no experience of writing for the stage.” More recently, “name” writers (who often have no knowledge of the plays’ original languages) have been hired to adapt classic translations. But do such rewrites serve plays’ integrity? The Times (UK) 10/02/01FUNNY AGAIN… What leaders and commentators are saying to comedians is, “The country needs you to go back to being funny.” But can they really go back? “This may be the event which historians look back to as the beginning of a new era of sensitivity, introspection and growth. It could produce new styles, new textures and new subjects.” Nando Times 10/01/01Monday October 1BROADWAY REBOUND: It was easy, when Broadway attendance plummeted in the days after September 11, to fear for the future of theatre in New York. But a week later the theaters were packed with people, and it was clear that people came out to the shows for a sense of community. And isn’t that one of the things theatre does best? Hartford Courant 09/30/01PEGGY SUE ANULLED: There were lots of hopes for the musical Peggy Sue Got Married when it opened in London this summer. A co-production was planned for Toronto, and “during the first three weeks of its London run, the show demonstrated signs of building an audience, with steadily increasing advance sales and tour groups signing on for months ahead. But the terrorist attack on the United States on Sept. 11 had a negative effect on London theatre, as many tourists cancelled trips abroad and group bookings were cancelled.” Toronto Star 10/01/01

Music: October 2001

Wednesday October 31

CHANGE AS THE ESSENCE OF CULTURE: “Some researchers are now wondering whether the dietary, social and environmental changes of the past quarter-century have not affected the ways we relate to art. Attention spans, we know, are shorter among the text-message generation. They may also respond to different cultural stimuli. The world is moving on, faster than in any epoch in art history. Ephemerality is integral to art. Today’s trash is tomorrow’s culture, and vice versa.” The Telegraph (UK) 10/31/01

THE DRAMA OF MUSIC: What do concerts need to make them more lively? Why actors, of course. “Music and actors have been associated from the very beginning. In the Greek theatre, they were indissolubly linked – the actors chanted as much as spoke their texts. Although the spoken word began to be separated from the musical accompaniment, writers and managers, and indeed actors, have always understood the peculiar potency of music in conjunction with the spoken word, and as a binding factor in the theatrical event.” New Statesman 10/29/01

LATIN GRAMMYS FINALLY AWARDED: The second annual Latin Grammy Awards were handed out in a low-key, hour-and-a-half affair in Los Angeles. Singer-songwriter Alejandro Sanz took four awards, including song of the year, and Colombian rocker Juanes won three, including the best new artist. Dallas Morning News 10/31/01

MUSIC TRADING DOWN: A leading internet traffic measuring company says the number of people trading music files online in Europe has fallen by 50 percent since Napster folded last summer. Gramophone 10/29/01

Tuesday October 30

EVEN BANKRUPTCY CAN’T SPRING TSO ENDOWMENT MONEY: Friday the Toronto Symphony thought it had found a way out of its life-threatening difficulties, getting musicians to take a 15 percent cut in pay and asking the orchestra’s foundation to break into the TSO’s endowment fund. But the foundation says no to writing a check for $10 million, making it unlikely that the TSO will survive the week. The Globe & Mail (Toronto) 10/29/01

  • GOVERNMENTS OF LAST RESORT: Running out of options, the TSO turns to federal and provincial governments for emergency funding. But while the talking goes on, the TSO needs emergency bridge financing to avoid running out of money this week. Toronto Star 10/30/01

ANOTHER ORCHESTRA IN CRISIS: “The Florida Philharmonic, which balanced its budget last season, could face a $2.1 million deficit for the current season and is in the grip of an immediate cash-flow crisis… To continue its season, the orchestra said, it needs $500,000 in the next three or four weeks.” Miami Herald 10/26/01

WHY BOSTON? Why did James Levine want the Boston Symphony directorship? “For all his remarkable achievements in opera in 30 years at the Met and his regular appearances at the Bayreuth and Salzburg Festivals, he has not left his interpretive stamp on the major orchestral repertory in any consistent way. Nor has he conducted contemporary music and introduced new works as much as he would like to and as much as he must if his name is to be included among the towering conductors of this era. Only a major orchestra post can give him these opportunities. Boston provides them.” The New York Times 10/30/01 (one-time registration required for access)

  • OKAY, OKAY, HE’S PERFECT, BUT… “Levine becomes music director designate just one month after the BSO’s current contract with its musicians expires. There has been talk that, while the orchestra’s musicians are solidly behind his appointment, Levine’s notorious favoring of extended rehearsals might be a sticking point in upcoming negotiations.” Boston Herald 10/30/01

A TRULY SHOCKING ANNOUNCEMENT: Embattled music distributor Napster has announced that, due to complications in its ongoing negotiations with the recording industry, it will not relaunch until 2002. The song-swapper, which was shut down after record companies accused its owners of widespread piracy, had planned to reopen as a pay-for-play service this fall. BBC 10/30/01

  • NOW THERE’S AN IDEA: “Napster CEO Konrad Hilbers says the government should consider compulsory standards requiring music labels to license music at a fair price if they don’t close deals with Napster and other independent distributors.” Wired 10/30/01

PELLI PAC DESIGN DERIDED AS UNIMAGINATIVE: When the Orange County (CA) Performing Arts Center hired world-renowned architect Cesar Pelli to design its new concert hall, hopes were high that what had been a second-rate suburban performance space could rise to the level of its Los Angeles competitors. But Pelli’s design, unveiled this month, doesn’t offer much in the way of distinction or creativity. Los Angeles Times 10/30/01

Monday October 29

WHY BOSTON WANTS LEVINE: The Boston Symphony went after James Levine as its music director because of his ability to prepare and train an orchestra. He “maintains vast handwritten ledgers of programs and ideas for programs that look like something out of a novel by Dickens. He knows the works he must return to regularly in order to advance and measure his own growth. He knows what he hasn’t performed yet and wants to investigate. He also knows that there are works he has performed that have nothing further to offer him.” Boston Globe 10/29/01

  • NO. 1 PICK: “We wanted Levine pretty much from the beginning.” Boston Herald 10/29/01

DALLAS OPERA AGREEMENT: The Dallas Opera and its orchestra have agreed on a new contract, ending a strike. “The agreement spares the Dallas Opera from presenting Simon Boccanegra with two pianos playing the orchestral part.” Dallas Morning News 10/29/01

THE RED VIOLIN (FOR REAL): Violinist Joshua Bell has a new fiddle – a 1713 Strad with a story. It once belonged to Bronislaw Huberman, but was stolen from his dressing room at Carnegie Hall in 1936. It only turned up a few years ago, complete with a tale about where it lived out the rest of the 20th Century… Dallas Morning News 10/28/01

SOUND REACTION: Composers have taken to the web with pieces responding to the September 11 WTC attacks. One composer calls it “the equivalent of a sonic photo wall, where people’s emotions about the tragedy are translated into sound and hung on the Web.” You can hear some of it at hereNew York Times 10/29/01 (one-time registration required for access)

CROSSED OVER: Violinist Vanessa-Mae has finally crossed over to the other side. “Never mind the famous ‘wet T-shirt and fiddle’ shoot of yore, which blew the dust off classical music’s musty image while infuriating and amusing traditionalists in equal measures. These days the 23-year-old violinist, who next month begins her first UK tour for nearly four years, is on pure pop message. And that message has her weak, whispery vocals and a bleepy, dancey backbeat.” The Times (UK) 10/29/01

Sunday October 27

BSO GETS LEVINE: The Boston Symphony has hired Metropolitan Opera music director James Levine as the BSO’s new music director, replacing Seiji Ozawa. “The long-rumored development will give Mr. Levine control of his own symphony orchestra and an exalted musical pulpit that he has long sought, associates said.” The appointment begins in 2004. New York Times 10/27/01 (one-time registration required for access)

  • MUTUAL ADMIRATION SOCIETY: “Levine, 58, has been the clear first choice of the orchestra, the board, and the search committee from the beginning. Securing him would represent a major coup for the BSO because he is on the short list of the world’s most important conductors.” Boston Globe 10/27/01
  • WHO WINS? The Met might see a lessening of Levine’s attentions, but “most music professionals expect only benefit for the Boston Symphony, the more so because the orchestra will be coming off a two-year interregnum after Mr. Ozawa leaves for the Vienna State Opera next summer. The Boston Symphony’s playing has been uneven over the last decade, and Mr. Levine is considered a superb orchestra builder, largely on the strength of his accomplishments at the Met.” New York Times 10/28/01 (one-time registration required for access)

LAST MINUTE DEAL TO SAVE TSO: Facing almost immediate bankruptcy, the Toronto Symphony made an agreement with its players Friday on a rescue plan. “The agreement — which includes a 15 per cent pay cut for musicians and a shortened season — asks Toronto Symphony Foundation trustees ‘to immediately release $10 million to eliminate the deficit of the TSO and provide operating funding while other fundraising efforts are organized’.” Toronto Star (CP) 10/27/01

SAVING THE ORCHESTRA: With several major symphony orchestras in precarious condition, the industry ponders its survuval. “Belatedly realizing that American culture has changed faster than they have, the country’s major orchestras are contemplating in what form they might endure. The more pressing question: Are they changing quickly enough and intelligently enough to attract the new audiences and fresh sources of funding they need? The answer, according to those who work on the front lines of classical music, will depend on whether these profoundly conservative institutions can reinvent themselves for a radically changing world.” Chicago Tribune 10/28/01

THE LAST RADIO ORCHESTRA: “Historically, radio orchestras helped define a broadcaster. Think of Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Orchestra in the golden era of the thirties and forties when every radio station had its own ‘in-house’ band.” Now the only remaining radio orchestra is the CBC Orchestra, based in Vancouver. “Curiously, the 40-odd members of this chamber orchestra, some of Canada’s finest players, have no contracts. The orchestra doesn’t exist on paper.” Globe & Mail (Canada) 10/27/01

Friday October 26

PATRIOT GAMES: What’s at the top of this week’s American pop charts? Why (Canadian) Celine Dion’s emotive rendition of God Bless America, of course. “The album sold 180,984 copies in its first week to debut at No. 1 on Billboard’s top 200 album charts. And it’s not the only patriotic hit on the charts. The re-release of Whitney Houston’s Star-Spangled Banner is a best-selling single, and Lee Greenwood’s American Patriot album sales have surged based on the popularity of his 17-year-old hit, God Bless the U.S.A. Nando Times 10/25/01

  • PATRIOT GAMES, REDUX: “Maybe it’s just me, but seeing Lee Greenwood back singing ‘God Bless the USA’ makes me feel worse, not better, about the state of the nation after the Sept. 11 attacks. This lack of enthusiasm does not stem from a lack of patriotic fervor. But simply trotting out oldies seems an insufficient artistic reaction to an event that changed the world we live in.” Boston Herald 10/25/01

MAKING DO IN MONTREAL: While the Toronto Symphony teeters on the verge of bankruptcy, the Montreal Symphony is sailing along. The Quebec government just gave the orchestra $100,000 to market itself outside the province. “Four years ago, the orchestra was in a financial crisis. Music director Charles Dutoit convinced the Quebec government to give the MSO $6 million a year.” CBC 10/25/01

UNDERSTANDING SHOSTAKOVICH: “When he was alive, Shostakovich was paraded, with what seemed to be varying degrees of willingness on his part, as the Soviet Union’s greatest composer. As a result, although he was much admired, he was also widely seen in the west as a compromised genius.” Since his death 25 years ago, he’s been seen as a much more complicated figure. Now some of his few letters have been published for the first time in English…The Guardian (UK) 10/26/01

Thursday October 25

BALTIMORE HEADED TO EUROPE: The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is the latest in a line of American orchestras to announce that they will not cancel tour plans in the face of safety concerns. The BSO will embark on a 12-city tour of Europe in late November. Orchestra sources suggest that the decision was largely left up to the musicians. Baltimore Sun 10/24/01

SHOWDOWN IN TORONTO: Toronto Symphony musicians are to vote Friday on whether they’ll accept a 23 percent cut in salary. “If they refuse, they’re being told, the TSO could be history by this time next week.” But why does the orchestra seem so quiet? Observers are left with plenty of questions about what the orchestra could or couldn’t do to rescue itself… Toronto Star 10/24/01

  • NOTHING NEW ABOUT TSO CRISIS: Canadian orchestras have been in trouble for a long time, ever since politics trumped support for the arts in the mid-80s. “Since then, watching orchestras go through near-death experiences has become a national spectator sport: Symphony Nova Scotia, the Winnipeg Symphony, the Vancouver Symphony and the orchestras in the Ontario cities of London, Thunder Bay and Hamilton have all approached or actually declared bankruptcy over the last decade.” Andante 10/25/01

NIMBUS NO MORE: “Nimbus – the UK independent classical label and distributor – has gone into receivership, the company confirmed yesterday… The collapse of one of Britain’s most stalwart classical companies comes during a period of increasing difficulty for the UK record business, a period marked by retrenchment and restructurings.” Gramophone 10/24/01

ORCHESTRA CRISIS: In St. Louis, Toronto, San Jose and Chicago, symphony orchestras are on the ropes. The first three orchestras could be out of business within the season (Toronto as soon as next week) and the financial prospects are bleak. The New York Times 10/25/01 (one-time registration required for access)

OPERA BY PIANOLIGHT: Dallas Opera musicians have decided to strike. So the company decided Wednesday night to go ahead with its season anyway. “In an extraordinary move, the company decided to perform Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra with only a piano accompaniment starting Nov. 3 after negotiations with striking musicians broke down.” Dallas Morning News 10/25/01

WELL, BOTTLED WATER SOLD, DIDN’T IT? “A British artist is planning to record the sound of silence in radio broadcasts and sell the recording as a collector’s item. Matt Rogalsky plans to spend 24 hours monitoring the BBC’s flagship current-affairs channel Radio 4 on Dec. 12, collecting the gaps between the words with his custom-designed software.” The Globe & Mail (Toronto) 10/25/01

GLASS IN HOLLYWOOD: Considering the low esteem in which the public has generally held minimalist art, the continued popularity of composer Philip Glass is nothing short of astonishing. Somehow, Glass seems to have managed to bring life and surprise to a musical form designed to remove both, and his forays into the world of film scoring brought his work to a wide audience. A new project in L.A. offers audiences the chance to watch a “live” soundtrack: an ensemble playing Glass’s music accompanies a series of new film shorts. Los Angeles Times 10/25/01

ALWAYS THE FIRST TO GO: The city of Phoenix is feeling a bit of a financial pinch, and members of the city council are turning against funding for local arts groups. The city’s ballet and opera companies have been specifically targeted for cuts by two powerful councilmen. Arizona Republic 10/24/01

Wednesday October 24

UNION WOES: After a year of infighting, the old guard establishment of the British Musicians Union managed to edge out the reform-minded leader that the musicians elected last year. But does anyone care about the musicians union anymore? “Seen from the outside, all this looks like the dancing of dinosaurs to an antedeluvian tune. The MU seems unaware that unions are no longer meant to be run by intimidatory hierarchies. Musicians are mostly too busy to notice.” The Telegraph (UK) 10/24/01

RESISTING MUSICAL SOCIALISM: Ottawa’s National Arts Centre Orchestra is successful at the box office (no small feat these days). But its commitment to Canadian music is shabby. Music director Pinchas Zukerman has “missed no opportunity to broadcast his indifference to Canadian music in general, and to the expectation that the director of an orchestra that receives roughly half of its $11-million budget from the federal government should support music created in this country. ‘I don’t care where it’s from. You have to be careful with national socialism. It’s not good for anybody.” The Globe & Mail (Canada) 10/24/01

CUBAN MUSIC COLLECTION STAYS IN US: The Buena Vista Social Club inspired US interest in Cuban music. Now, what is probably the world’s largest collection of Cuban music is going to a university in Florida. “Giving the collection to Cuba,” the donor said, “was unthinkable; valuable items were known to disappear from its museums, and waiting to see what happened after Castro is a risky venture.” The New York Times 10/24/01 (one-time registration required for access)

NEXT ON SPRINGER: Improbable as it might seem to some, the opera based on Jerry Springer has become a big underground hit it London. “The production has become so popular in Britain that there are discussions for the opera to move to a larger venue in London’s hoity-toity West End” and a possible move to the US is possible. Chicago Tribune 10/23/01

Tuesday October 23

DALLAS OPERA ON STRIKE: “The musicians of the Dallas Opera orchestra voted to strike on Monday, less than two weeks before the scheduled start of the season… The musicians won’t cite specific figures, but say they want parity with similar orchestras in the area. They say that they are getting 20 percent less. They also want benefits including pension contributions, health insurance, disability payments, and sick leave. They get no fringe benefits now.” Dallas Morning News 10/23/01

  • QUICK PICKETS: Only a few hours after they voted to strike, Dallas Opera musicians were picketing outside a local auditorium. The event inside was a presentation by some of Europe’s top architectural firms, all of whom are competing to design an expensive new arts complex to be used by the opera, among others. The striking musicians have been critical of the amount of money the opera has devoted to the project. Dallas Morning News 10/23/01

MUSIC SINCE 2001? For several decades, contemporary music has been defined as ‘music since 1945.’ The end of World War II marked the beginning of an era of experimentation and innovation that simultaneously expanded the way we think of tonality and drove large portions of the audience away from the concert hall. With Septemebr 11 an obvious new benchmark in the arts, what will be next? “New music is not going to be less ironic; classical was never very good at irony to begin with. It may be even more sincere. But it will surely seek out meaning more than it has in years.” Philadelphia Inquirer 10/23/01

MIDORI WINS FISHER: The New York-based Avery Fisher Prize has been awarded to some of classical music’s most distinguished figures, but only ever to three women. (And the three were awarded a split prize all in the same year.) That number is now four, as former child prodigy Midori is annoucned as this year’s recipient. Gramophone 10/22/01

IGNORING ELGAR: The number of great British composers can be counted on one hand. So why has Edward Elgar, surely among the country’s greatest, been slighted? The Times (UK) 10/23/01

LITTON TO NORWAY: Andrew Litton is one of the few American conductors leading a major American orchestra, and his reputation as a “musicians’ maestro” has stood him in good stead in appearances both in the U.S. and abroad. Now, Litton, music director of the Dallas Symphony, has been handed the reins of Norway’s Bergen Symphony, one of Europe’s oldest orchestras. Gramophone 10/22/01

HAS THE ORCHESTRA RUN ITS COURSE? There has never been a shortage of pundits ready to declare at a moment’s notice that the masses are heathens, musicians are greedy, and classical music is dying. Such rants are frequently disproved by the facts, and usually have little actual effect. But the financial crises being experienced by several North American orchestras begs a more specific question: is the symphony orchestra, a 19th-century creation, out of place in the 21st? In other words, has the world of art music begun to move away from the symphonic form, and what will become of the large ensemble if the trend continues? National Post (Canada) 10/23/01

Monday October 22

LIFE THREATENING: The Toronto Symphony’s money problems are so serious that the orchestra may be out of business as soon as this week. CBC 10/19/01

  • THE PHILANTHROPY PROBLEM: Okay all you rich Canadians – time to step up to help bail out the country’s symphony orchestras, several of whom are sinking fast for lack of financial support…wait…why’s the room suddenly so empty?… The Globe & Mail (Canada) 10/22/01

MUSIC APPETITE: Which country’s consumers buys more recordings than any other? Try Norway. And the fewest? Brazil, which buys 1/20th of what Norwegians do. Here’s a chart that shows how countries stack up. The Economist 10/19/01

GRAMOPHONE AWARDS: “Cecilia Bartoli has been named artist of the year at the 25th Gramophone Awards – regarded as the Oscars of the classical industry.” The London Symphony wins recording of the year. BBC 10/20/01

  • SERIOUS BUSINESS: Crossover classical stars are passed over at the Gramophones in favor of more traditional serious artists. The Independent (UK) 10/20/01

CARTER GOING STRONG: Now in his 90s, composer Elliott Carter has written another landmark piece – his cello concerto, written with Yo Yo Ma in mind. “Written in one continuous 20- minute movement, the concerto is like a soliloquy for cello with orchestral commentary.” The New York Times 10/22/01 (one-time registration required for access)

Sunday October 21

DOING THE DALLAS: Last week Andrew Litton signed a new five-year contract as music director of the Dallas Symphony. But is he the right man for the job? “Mr. Litton’s DSO is a trophy bride, flashily coiffed and dressed but well behaved. She isn’t going to ask us any hard questions or take us anywhere we haven’t been before. And that, apparently, is what the Dallas Symphony Association wants – for five more years.” Dallas Morning News 10/21/01

THE RECORDING CRISIS: “The classical recording industry seems to be collapsing, and aggrieved music lovers are looking for someone to blame. Confused consumers have gone from anger to frustration to apathy. Reportedly, the classical share of the total CD market, which had peaked at 7 percent during the height of CD mania, has slipped to 3 percent. Several seemingly contradictory factors are causing the crisis in classical recording.” The New York Times 10/21/01 (one-time registration required for access)

ATONAL YEARNINGS: “The notion that Arnold Schoenberg liked to be liked by a mass audience will no doubt surprise his detractors. No one can deny the extraordinary impact Schoenberg had on the music of the 20th century. He was the dominant force in attempting to subdue the power that tonality had exerted on Western music for 300 years. He liberated dissonance and then went on to create a new form of organizing the pitches of the scale—the 12-tone system—that ultimately inspired the ultra-complex, mathematically inclined avant-garde music that came after World War II. For that, Schoenberg has been personally blamed for modern music losing its audience in the 20th century.” Los Angeles Times 10/21/01

DALLAS OPERA SEASON THREATENED: Musicians are voting on whether to accept a new contract before the season opens. “The orchestra has been asked to accept a wage freeze at $800 a week, with an 8 percent increase to $864 in the second year of a three-year contract, and a 6 percent increase to $915 in the third year.” Orchestra members are likely to reject the offer, calling it “20 percent less than the market wage in this area for similar services.” Musicians also want benefits including “pension contributions, health insurance, disability payments, and sick leave.” Dallas Morning News 10/21/01

DEVALUED PRIZES: As the annual Gramophone Awards for classical music are announced, the winners look forward to bigger sales (but only a little bit bigger). Finacial Times 10/20/01

THE POINTLESS COMPETITIONS: “Even for inveterate watchers of the musical scene, this year’s Cliburn competition made barely a dent in the collective consciousness. A group of pianists walked off with the various prizes, but I don’t know that anyone outside of Fort Worth paid much attention to who. It didn’t used to be that way…” San Francisco Chronicle 10/21/01

Friday October 19

WHY SAN JOSE CAN’T FLY: The San Jose Symphony’s crisis has been a long time coming. The orchestra board president “believes the symphony should be a $3.5 million to $4 million organization, as opposed to nearly $8 million. It has counted on 60 percent of revenue from contributions and 40 percent from ticket sales” and those percentages ought to be reversed. “The San Jose Symphony is 123 years old – older than all the other arts groups in the city, not to mention most of the buildings. It has been and should be an important part of the community’s cultural life. But age and tradition alone can’t guarantee its survival.” San Jose Mercury News 10/16/01

CELL PHONE SYMPHONY: Composer Golan Levin produced a piece for an orchestra of cellphones. “A database system was established to register the phone numbers of the participants in the cell phone orchestra and deliver their seating information to the second system, performance software that allows the controller to click on a computer screen and dial a particular person. Finally, a third system developed for the piece connects the performance software to the mobile switching center. For the premiere, 200 participants registered their phone numbers at a web kiosk and, when the make of their phone allowed, a customized ring sound was downloaded onto their phone. They were then given a ticket instructing them where to sit in a 20 by 10 grid of seats.” NewMusicBox 10/01

LANGUAGE OF THE BEHOLDER: Should opera be sung in its original language or in the language of the audience hearing it? “Surtitling (or subtitling or back-of-seat-titling) is now an almost universal practice, but raises new questions and problems. Do surtitles distract attention from the action on the stage? Do they offer only an un-nuanced and blunt synopsis of the original words that detract from a full and subtle appreciation? Should works in the vernacular be surtitled on the grounds that singing in itself makes it hard to understand the words? Or is that just an excuse for lazy diction or (à la Joan Sutherland) the sacrifice of diction to tone and legato?” Andante 10/18/01

MUSIC’S THIRD WAY: For much of the 20th Century classical music was a cold war of ideologies. But “unlike the actual one, this musical cold war ended not in victory for one side or the other, but in the realisation that musical choice was not limited to a constricting either-or between Schoenberg and the early Stravinsky. In recent times, listeners and critics have grown ever readier to explore musical third ways.” The Economist 10/18/01

Thursday October 18

STRING QUARTET HAS TO PAY: A Pennsylvania judge has ordered three members of the Audubon String Quartet to pay the fourth member – David Ehrlich – more than $600,000. The group had thrown the first violinist out of the group 20 months ago after disagreements. The judge “ruled that Ehrlich was part owner of the Audubon Quartet, and therefore entitled to 25 percent of the group’s assets.” Philadelphia Inquirer 10/18/01

MUSIC BIGGER THAN MARS: Composer Vangelis has written a huge choral work to mark man’s first voyage to Mars. “The Mythodea project has been expensive: $7 million for a single concert and recording, $3.5 million put up by the record company Sony Classical, the other $3.5 million by the Greek government. And were you to ask why any government should fund such a blatantly commercial undertaking you wouldn’t be alone. In Greece it’s the question in many an outraged news report.” The Telegraph (UK) 10/18/01

Wednesday October 17

SAN JOSE SYMPHONY CLOSURE? The San Jose Symphony is letting go its staff and may suspend operations and cancel the orchestra’s concerts. “The symphony had a $7.8 million budget last year and ended the fiscal year in July with a deficit of $2.5 million. It has been operating with almost no cash reserves since the summer.” San Jose Mercury News 10/17/01

TSO SOAP OPERA CONTINUES: The Toronto Symphony Orchestra has kept the reaper away from the door for a few more months, after convincing its foundation trustees to release $750,000 to cover the organization’s debts. The Globe & Mail (Toronto) 10/16/01

NEW EMI CHIEF: Troubled recording label EMI has named former PolyGram chief Alain Levy to head up its recorded music business. Levy has been promised share options that “could be worth £35 million if he is able to restore the fortunes of his one-time rival EMI.” The Guardian (UK) 10/16/01

CLIBURN DOCUMENTARY FALLS SHORT: Fawning saturation coverage from the local media notwithstanding, the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition has come in for a great deal of criticism in recent years. “The competition has never really lost its importance; it’s just had trouble living up to expectations.” A new PBS documentary could have helped clear up some of the questions that have dogged the event, but a lack of depth (and music) make the film little more than a classical version of Behind the MusicBaltimore Sun 10/17/01

PROMS CONTINUE TO GROW: This year’s BBC Proms posted an increase in both overall ticket sales and standing room admissions, as 265,000 people attended some part of the festival, which is held at summer’s end in London’s Royal Albert Hall. Gramophone 10/16/01

DIGITAL BROUHAHA: “The record industry is under investigation in the United States and Europe. Antitrust slurs are flying. But the inquiry is too late for most digital music companies and in the end it could do what the RIAA hasn’t accomplished: shutting down music on the Internet.” Wired 10/17/01

Tuesday October 16

CRISIS OF TASTE: Why do people turn to awful music in times of national crisis? It’s “nothing new – in fact, it has happened throughout history. The assassination of JFK is acknowledged as a major factor in US Beatlemania – a grieving nation was looking for something to take the pain away. What is normally brushed over is that Americans took more immediate solace in one particular song, the appalling religious novelty classic Dominique by The Singing Nun, which was No 1 for the next month.” The Guardian (UK) 10/15/01

LITTON WILL STAY IN DALLAS THROUGH 2006: “Andrew Litton, music director of the Dallas Symphony, has extended his contract through the 2005-2006 season. Dallas and Litton now become one of America’s longest and most successful musical partnerships. Born in New York, Litton is one of the few US-native conductors to lead a major American orchestra.” Gramophone 10/16/01

BARRY DOUGLAS AND THE CAMERATA IRELAND: Why would a successful pianist want to put together a chamber orchestra? “I think there is something – a sense of fantasy in the Irish personality that lends itself very well to musicians. We’ve seen that in Irish traditional music, but it hasn’t been well documented or represented in classical music. And that’s basically where Camerata Ireland can come in and show another side to Ireland.” Denver Post 10/16/01

RECORD COMPANIES ANTICOMPETITIVE? WE’RE SHOCKED: The US Justice Department is “looking at the ‘the competitive effects of certain joint ventures in the online music industry.’ The major recording companies have created two joint ventures, Pressplay and MusicNet, which they plan to use to distribute online music to which they hold copyrights. Pressplay is owned by Sony Music Entertainment and Vivendi Universal, while MusicNet is a joint venture of AOL Time Warner, Bertelsmann, the EMI Group and RealNetworks.” The New York Times 10/16/01 (one-time registration required for access)

Monday October 15

FOURTH AMENDMENT, ANYONE? You might want to put a false moustache and a pair of dark glasses on those old Napster-acquired MP3s kicking around your computer. The recording industry reportedly asked various congresspeople to tack on an amendment to, of all things, the anti-terrorism bill, which would have allowed them to hack into the computers of consumers and delete illicit MP3 song files. Privacy advocates are apoplectic. Wired 10/15/01

  • A FLY IN THE MULTINATIONAL OINTMENT: So the major record companies have defeated Napster, and are all set to reap the financial rewards of the victory with a few online music download sites of their own. But the European Union is concerned that the “services would restrict opportunities for independent download sites,” and representatives of the EU could block the sites from even being set up. BBC 10/15/01

BING BLING: “A suit that pits the estate of legendary crooner Bing Crosby against Universal Music Group alleges that the family has been cheated out of royalties to the tune of $16 million.” Washington Post (Variety) 10/15/01

GREASING THE WHEELS: Taking a symphony orchestra on an international tour is no easy task. Preparations begin two years in advance, and no detail is left unresearched. Still, on the road, unexpected crises are bound to manifest themselves, and when they do, nearly every major American orchestra has the same reaction. They call Guido. Yes, Guido. Detroit Free Press 10/15/01

Sunday October 14

TWO VIEWS OF TORONTO: The Toronto Symphony Orchestra is on the verge of bankruptcy, and is asking its musicians to bear the brunt of the massive cuts to come. Some observers predict artistic doom for the TSO if such cuts come to pass, since lower salaries and fewer perks would drive yet more of Canada’s top musicians south of the border to high-paying American bands. But others blame the unionized musicians for pushing the financial limits of Canadian orchestras far past what was reasonably possible with their contract demands. Toronto Star & National Post (Canada) 10/13/01

  • IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT THE MONEY: “The TSO is also divided from the city in which it lives, and becoming more so all the time… [It] has scarcely begun to react to changing demographic patterns in the city, where in the past decade 80 per cent of new immigrants came from countries with little or no tradition of European-style orchestral music. Capturing their interest is a long-term task, more likely to be served by education and outreach programs than by clever advertising.” The Globe & Mail (Toronto) 10/13/01

CALGARY LOCKOUT COULD BE A LONG ONE: No talks are scheduled in the lockout of the Calgary Philharmonic’s 65 musicians, and both sides are digging in for a long and bitter fight. Management is worried about a potential cashflow crisis, while the picketing musicians are concerned that public support, currently on their side, could wane in the face of a long stoppage. Calgary Herald 10/13/01

FORFEITING ART TO EGO: This year’s Salzburg Festival production of Die Fledermaus took a few, um, liberties with the original libretto. Nazi gangs, endless puns, and questionable added dialogue sent many critics shrieking for the nearest artistic high ground. “First and foremost, though, the Salzburg Fledermaus is but another installment in the great humiliation of music that has been going on for years in those opera houses, particularly in Europe, which have forfeited all power to the director at the expense of the conductor and the singers.” Andante 10/14/01

SILENCING MUSIC’S POTENTIAL: Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers have banned many things since coming to power five years ago. Some of the bans, like education for women and shaving for men, had an immediately visible impact. But when the hard-liners banned music, they may have taken away one of the most powerful forces for national unity. Music unites, as patriotic anthems the world over show. But can lack of music actually divide a people? The Guardian 10/13/01

MUSIC’S BEST TO REMEMBER STERN: “Carnegie Hall has announced a special concert in memory of the late Isaac Stern, the world-renowned violin virtuoso, teacher and president of the Hall organization, who died last month at the age of 81… The musicians present onstage will include Itzhak Perlman, Emanuel Ax, Yo-Yo Ma, Midori, Joseph Kalichstein, Jaime Laredo, Sharon Robinson, Yefim Bronfman and Pinchas Zukerman.” Andante 10/13/01

A REALISTIC WAGNERIAN: Daniel Barenboim encountered a firestorm of protest earlier this year when he broke a long-standing taboo on the performance of Wagner in Israel. But though Barenboim has been a champion of the controversial composer’s work throughout his career, he has never attempted to minimize Wagner’s role in the rise of deadly anti-Semitism in Europe, or to claim that this bigotry does not inform Wagner’s music. Rather, he embraces the contradictory nature of a man who could harbor such vicious hatred in his own mind, yet produce works of such tremendous beauty and intelligence. The New York Times 10/14/01 (one-time registration required for access)

ONLY IN NEW YORK: A strolling violinist in a gold loincloth and very little else would cause the denizens of most cities to call the police, or at least cross the street. But in New York, such a man can become a minor celebrity, especially when he gains a reputation as the most talented street musician in the city. “In his soloperas, Thoth, a classically trained musician, is the composer, orchestra, singers and dancers. His music has elements of classical, overlayed with primal rhythms, but it defies categorization.” New York Post 10/14/01

Friday October 12

TORONTO SEEKS MASSIVE CUTS: The beleaguered Toronto Symphony Orchestra is asking its musicians to agree to an unprecedented list of cuts. Under the long-range plan, designed to avert outright bankruptcy for Canada’s most famous orchestra, musicians salaries would be cut by 23%, the orchestra roster would be trimmed by 14 players, and the season would be shortened by nine weeks. The moves would be roughly equivalent to converting the New York Philharmonic’s operations to the size and scope of the Buffalo Philharmonic. Toronto Star 10/11/01

AMERICAN COMPOSER WINS MASTERPRIZE: Pierre Jalbert, a professor at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music in Houston, has won the £30,000 Masterprize, beating out four other finalists. The award was determined by a complex voting system that included massive amounts of public input through technological means. BBC 10/11/01

NAPSTER JUDGE DECLINES TO END CASE: From the We’re-All-Having-So-Much-Fun-Why-Stop-Now file: a California judge has refused to issue a summary judgment holding Napster liable for untold millions of dollars in copyright infringement. The record industry had sought the judgment, which would have effectively ended the case, but the judge ruled that “there was not yet enough evidence to justify the summary judgement.” BBC 10/11/01

MADRID OPERA HERO DIES: “Conductor Luis Antonio Garcia Navarro, credited with reviving Madrid’s opera house after its 1997 reinauguration and bringing it international fame, has died. He was 60.” Nando Times (AP) 10/11/01

Thursday October 11

KIROV SCRAMBLES TO GET DOWN UNDER: “Only the intervention of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has ensured that the highlight of the Melbourne Festival’s $16 million program, St Petersburg’s Kirov Opera, will arrive in time for tonight’s opening. The company was delayed by the first US bombings of Afghanistan early on Monday morning, Australian time, which forced the cancellation of the company’s original flight only hours before it was due to leave.” The Age (Melbourne) 10/11/01

  • WHAT THE HECK IS A ‘SPIEGELTENT’? Who knows, but it may just be the rejuvenating force the Melbourne Festival needs. “[T]he attempts over the years by festival organisers to set up a dedicated swinging, after-hours Festival Club for artists have proved so elusive they gave up trying back in 1998. But now the Spiegeltent looks set to provide a carousing home for audiences and artists looking to kick on post-performance.” The Age (Melbourne) 10/11/01

MUSIC AND THE TALIBAN: “[W]hen Can You Stop the Birds Singing?, a report into the censorship of music in Afghanistan was published in June, there was little interest. The report’s publishers, Freemuse, are a Danish-based human rights organisation dedicated to campaigning against music censorship. Now that Afghanistan and its brutal Taliban regime dominate the headlines, this report resonates even more loudly.” The Daily Telegraph (UK) 10/11/01

KICKING THE CORPSE: Believe it or not, the recording industry is still suing Napster. Didn’t know there was anything left to sue, did you? The latest suit seeks redress for alleged copyright infringement of the songs listeners traded for free on the online service. Napster offered to settle for a billion (yes, with a ‘b’) dollars several months ago, but this was rejected by the plaintiffs as “not nearly appropriate.” BBC 10/10/01

  • TECHNICAL NATTERING: The latest Napster case is so full of minute technicalities and intricacies of copyright law as to put even the most dedicated legal wonk to sleep. Nonetheless, the participants appear to be having a good time. Wired 10/10/01

LINCOLN CENTER SQUABBLE: A dangerous game of politics is being played at New York’s famous performing arts complex, and the future of a massive $1 billion redevelopment project is at stake. Sorting out exactly who among the center’s many resident organizations wants what is difficult, but it is safe to say that no one is backing down without a fight. The New York Times 10/11/01 (one-time registration required for access)

DSO VIOLINIST HAS REUNION ON TOUR: “When the Detroit Symphony Orchestra arrived in Nuremberg, Germany, on Tuesday, violinist Marian Tanau added another link to the chain of his remarkable destiny. Waiting for him was Joseph Muller, a Romanian-born German national, who in 1989 risked his career to help Tanau, then 22, defect from Romania.” Detroit Free Press 10/11/01

Wednesday October 10

LEBRECHT HAMMERS FEARFUL MUSICIANS: In the wake of the September 11 attacks, countless performers have had to decide whether to carry on with scheduled international tours. In general, orchestras that were already close to their departure dates have pressed on, while those with tours farther on in an uncertain future have begun to cancel in the face of government travel warnings. Few have faulted them for their caution, but critic Norman Lebrecht finds such cancellations cowardly. The Daily Telegraph (UK) 10/10/01

  • DETROIT TOUR CONTINUING: The Detroit Symphony Orchestra is touring Europe, and has decided to finish the trip, despite the continuing American military action and state department travel cautions. “To reassure DSO musicians before the tour, management hired a security firm, abandoned commercial flights in favor of charters and developed a contingency plan that would allow the orchestra to board a plane for Detroit within five hours from any city should circumstances demand a quick escape.” Detroit Free Press 10/09/01

NEW CHIEF FOR SF OPERA CENTER: “American soprano Sheri Greenawald has been appointed as the new director of the San Francisco Opera Center in California… Greenawald’s appointment is the latest in a series of management changes wrought by Pamela Rosenberg, who recently took over as general director of San Francisco Opera from Lofti Mansouri.” Gramophone 10/09/01

JAZZ IN THE HOLY LAND: There are few, if any, hot spots in the world facing more daily tension than Israel. Ethnic violence, religious fervor, and constant political infighting make casual entertainment a tough sell. But the efforts of one man have made jazz an indispensible part of life for many local enthusiasts, and the music has even begun to help bridge the considerable gap between Arab and Israeli musicians. CultureKiosque 10/09/01

Tuesday October 9

BOOSEY & HAWKES FACES TAKEOVER: Music publishers tend to be companies steeped in history and rich in tradition. England’s Boosey & Hawkes is one of the most venerable, with 200 years of publishing under its belt. But B&H has been in financial trouble lately, and now faces a takeover bid from an unnamed company. BBC 10/08/01

BRINGING DEMOCRACY TO NEW MUSIC: John McLaren’s ‘Masterprize’ competition is a unique beast in the normally predictable world of classical music. Composers from all over the world are invited to compete for a large cash prize, with finalists’ works to be performed by one of the world’s finest orchestras. But unlike most such competitions, the winner will be determined by a unique mix of votes from celebrities, orchestra members, and members of the global listening public. The Times (UK) 10/09/01

ONLINE MUSIC TO GO LEGIT: “Music publishers and record companies are expected to announce a deal for the licensing of online music, paving the way for the industry to launch its own web services.” BBC 10/08/01

Monday October 8

PHILHARMONIC LOCKOUT: The Calgary Philharmonic locked out its musicians Saturday night after musicians rejected the orchestra’s contract offer. Management wanted the players to take a paycut. “Falling ticket sales and a drop in donations in the 2001-02 season prompted the CPO to announce a deficit of about $650,000 on its $7-million budget in an effort to stave off a financial crisis.” Calgary Herald 10/07/01

AGE OF THE DIRECTOR: If singers were the stars of yesteryear opera, today “for better or worse, we have come to the age of the director. In many ways, the play has become the thing. Apart from three senior-citizen tenors, bigger-than-life singers aren’t as big as they used to be. Divas have lost their cults. Hardly any larynges inspire box-office stampedes. Bona-fide individuality of timbre and interpretive approach are becoming rarities. The stars just don’t shine all that brightly.” Andante 10/06/01

THE EVOLVING ORCHESTRA: “The sound of a symphony orchestra is less traditional than most of us think. Even in the romantic period, conductor Phillipe Herreweghe says, instruments were evolving. Gut strings, as different from modern metal strings as a harpsichord is from a piano, were not superseded until about 1920. The antique woodwinds are softer. A modern orchestra is, he says, at least twice as loud as its turn-of-the-century counterpart. Styles of playing have changed even more. A Wagner opera lasted an hour less in his time than now. But the whole spirit, even of Debussy, has changed.” The Age (Melbourne) 10/08/01

COMPOSER AT THE END OF THE LINE: Is Karlheinz Stockhausen a great artist, a great composer? “Stockhausen, like many other late modernists, is an artist at the end of a great experiment that failed. Modernism did not find a new answer to the problem of expression, it did not create a new tradition. It delineated the terms of the expressive crisis all too accurately, and in doing so, made it impossible to continue down the same radical road.” Sunday Times (UK) 10/07/01

Sunday October 7

THE SOUND OF PLACES TO PLAY: What’s ideal in Cleveland might not be in Dallas. Acoustics, that is. Cleveland’s Severance Hall is dry and suited to a detail-oriented classical band. In Dallas, on the other hand, Meyerson Hall has a significantly longer reverberation time. So how have the nation’s different concert halls influenced the sounds of its orchestras. Dallas Morning News 10/06/01

A FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH STOCKHAUSEN: A music novice goes in hunt of Stockhausen, wondering what the difficult composer’s music sounds like. Finally locating a disc in a store, he takes a listen with a clerk. “This is what I’ve been waiting for – a new beginning. He’s as excited as I am. I give him the thumbs up. He gives me a Masonic nod. It’s ghastly. Truly bloody awful. Rats scurrying across a blackboard, a washing machine turning somersaults, a car horn hooting in temper. And when it’s not quite so ghastly, it turns into a Monty Python sketch – a choir of cheeks being pulled at speed. The blow-job sonata perhaps?” The Guardian (UK) 10/06/01

BIG MUSIC GOES ONLINE: “The major record labels have invested millions of dollars so that they can play in the online music space, added to the law fees they paid to crush Napster.” But Napster’s been neutered, and the dotcom downturn has made online riskier than ever. So why play? “The record industry is in decline and digitally delivered music presents the possibility of a boom town once more. New formats boost revenues. Much of the 1990s’ increase in demand for music is attributed to consumers buying CDs to replace their vinyl collection.” The Telegraph (UK) 10/06/01

WE WON’T GO: “Citing concerns about international travel, the Minnesota Orchestra has postponed its November tour to Japan.” The announcement marks the first tour cancellation by a major American orchestra in the wake of the September 11 attacks. St. Paul Pioneer Press 10/06/01

INSIDE THE TERRORISTIC MIND: John Adams’s opera, ‘The Death of Klinghoffer’ has never been an easy concertgoing experience, but in the wake of September 11, the grim story of a man killed quite publicly by terrorists has become even more controversial and fascinating than at its premiere. “Opera is often called the most irrational art form. It places us directly inside its characters’ minds and hearts through compelling music, often causing us to enjoy the company of characters we might normally dislike. Adams’ opera requires that we think the unthinkable.” Los Angeles Times 10/07/01

THE AMERICAN MAESTRO AT HOME: James Conlon is one of America’s great conductors, admired and respected the world over for his extensive repertoire and precise style. But, like so many other American maestros, he has been forced to spend much of his career overseas. Now, firmly established as one of the top men in his profession, he has the luxury of letting the world (and America) come to him. “Drop in on Mr. Conlon in rehearsal, and you may find him disciplined, diagnostic, in control: a touch schoolmasterly.” The New York Times 10/07/01 (one-time registration required for access)

SAN JOSE LIMPS FORWARD: The San Jose Symphony may yet succumb to the financial woes that have been plaguing so many American orchestras. But it will not go quietly: even with massive deficits and dwindling audience numbers, the SJS is refusing to quit, continuing its scheduled season and even contemplating additional concerts. The orchestra’s troubles read like a template for the problems of ensembles around the country. San Jose Mercury News 10/07/01

Friday October 5

THE CLASSICAL MUSIC PROBLEM: Who killed classical music? Well, it’s a little more complicated than that. Yes the death rattle seems to be louder these days, and yes, almost every part of the “industry” you look at is in difficulty. From bad management, changing economics, overbuilding, and general malaise, classical music is suffering. On the other hand, people aren’t just going to stop listening to music… LA Weekly [cover story] 10/04/01

  • CHICAGO SYMPHONY TO CUT BACK: It’s been 15 years of good financial news for the Chicago Symphony. But it’s come to an end. “At its annual meeting Wednesday night in Symphony Center, CSO board officers announced a $1.3 million deficit for the fiscal year that ended June 30, and projected a $2 million deficit for the coming year. The deficit for fiscal 2001 is the orchestra’s first since 1992 and only its second since 1986. Moving to cut costs, the CSO will shutter ECHO, its $3.7 million, state-of-the-art education center, which it opened in 1998.” Chicago Sun-Times 10/04/01
  • WHY THE ST. LOUIS SYMPHONY SUFFERS: The St. Louis Symphony is in crisis. “If $29 million is not pledged to the symphony by the end of this year (with the money in hand by next summer), the SLSO will be facing bankruptcy.” The orchestra has a small endowment compared to other orchestras of its accomplishment. “The sting of “elitism” sent the SLSO into a number of ‘good works’ projects, becoming more involved with school, church and other community organizations, as well as creating its own (costly) music school, in response to the loss of music education throughout the city school system. The SLSO made nice, became an exemplary orchestra, and ran up debts.” Andante 10/04/01
  • VANCOUVER SYMPHONY DEFICIT: “After seven debt-free years, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra is now struggling with a deficit of more than $900,000. A four-month transit strike kept some of the audience away.” CBC 10/05/01

WHEN IN DOUBT – IT’S BEETHOVEN: Orchestras visiting New York are changing their programs to perform music they feel fits a more somber mood. And what composer are they turning to? Beethoven, of course. “Leonard Bernstein, playing devil’s advocate, once poked fun at the way conductors automatically turn to Beethoven every time some affirmation of humanity is called for. ‘What did we play in our symphony concerts to honor the fallen in war?’ he wrote. “The `Eroica.’ What did we play on V Day? The Fifth. What is every United Nations concert? The Ninth.” The New York Times 10/05/01 (one-time registration required for access)

THE MAN NEXT DOOR: For 35 years we lived across the hall from Isaac Stern. “One grew used to the steady stream of great musicians—Eugene Istomin, Yefim Bronfman, Emanuel Ax, Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zuckerman, Jaime Laredo, Yo-Yo Ma—who would daily emerge from the elevator, seemingly ordinary citizens until they walked into 19F and started to play. I have a recurring image of running into Isaac in the hallway surrounded by piles of luggage: I’d be on my way to the grocery store to buy a carton of orange juice and some cream cheese; he’d be on his way to Vienna or Paris or Moscow to perform Haydn or Saint-Saëns or Tchaikovsky.” New York Observer 10/03/01

PROTESTING NON-COPYABLE CD’S: Protestors in the UK are planning a national day of demonstrations to protest copy-protected CD’s that are starting to appear in British stores. “The protests are being organised because activists say that not enough is being done to warn consumers about the restrictions the CDs place on their ability to enjoy music.” BBC 10/05/01

Thursday October 4

BIG ENTERTAINMENT SUES FILE-TRADERS: Encouraged by their success in shutting down Napster, the recording industry, joined by the movie industry, is suing the “next generation” file-sharing services, whose traffic has been exploding since Napster shut down. But the new services are almost impossible shut down, since they exist as open-source software rather than centralized servers. Wired 10/04/01

RECORDING RATHER THAN BUYING: Recorded CD sales are down 5 percent worldwide for the first half of this year. “Overall, the music business was worth $37 billion in 2000; first-half sales this year were about $14 billion. Now, companies are pinning their hopes on a good second half, when traditionally 60 per cent or more of sales occur.” The Independent (UK) 10/02/01

ATLANTA’S HIGH EXPECTATIONS: Robert Spano makes his debut as music director of the Atlanta Symphony and expectations are high. Spano has work to do, reports one New York critic. “These are evidently good musicians, and they play the right notes at just about the right time. But there is little unanimity of thought. String players seem each to have private and minutely different opinions on the shape of a dotted rhythm or the point of an attack. Wind players are not in themselves out of tune but sound unaware of pitch placements around them.” The New York Times 10/04/01 (one-time registration required)

THINKING TOO HARD: Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein had a reputation for having been a dense intellectual, a philosopher to struggle through. So why is composer Anthony Powers setting some of his thorniest writing to music? “Powers – whose BBC-commissioned Tractatus setting, A Picture of the World, is being broadcast on Radio 3 on Saturday – believes that the great Austrian philosopher has been thoroughly misunderstood. ‘There’s this idea of Wittgenstein as the most fearsome intellectual when in fact he was saying that most intellectualising is a waste of time.” The Guardian (UK) 10/04/01

THE PITTSBURGH’S NEW SUMMER HOME: Every summer, says the director of the Pittsburgh Symphony, his orchestra is approached by people with ideas for a summer home for the orchestra. Well, here’s one plan that will work – the new $35 million Laurel Center in the Poconos. Sure it’s six hours away from home, but only a short drive from New York and Philadelphia, and the orchestra hopes to tap into that market. The new arts center has also signed up the Philadelphia Orchestra and American Ballet Theater to perform at what is intended as a major summer cultural magnet. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 10/04/01

WRONG NUMBER: Two “sound artists” have copyrighted 100 million combinations of your telephone tones. So “next time you make a phone call, chances are you’ll be in breach of international copyright law. If business can claim ownership over the elemental building blocks of human life, the composers say it’s only fitting that artists lay claim to the ‘DNA’ of business and are paid for it.” The Age (Melbourne) 10/04/01

Wednesday October 3

RECORDING CARNAGE: Over four years of classical tailspin, every corporate label has slashed its rosters, plunging dozens of artists, eminent and emergent, into a black hole of hopelessness. Very few get a second chance. The suits that rule the classical summits are investing only in novelties – such as the 14-year-old violinist Chloe and an eight-piece fusion band, the Planets, put together by Wombles songwriter Mike Batt on much the same ‘personality’ lines as Big Brother applied to its contestants.” The Telegraph (UK) 10/03/01

TORONTO LIVING BEYOND MEANS: “Over the past decade, this city has been clinging to cultural aspirations well beyond its willingness to pay. That is the inescapable conclusion to be drawn from the meltdown currently taking place within the long-troubled Toronto Symphony Orchestra. After years of being quietly in denial, the TSO, in the face of its potentially imminent demise, now has had no choice but to go public with details of its dismaying situation.” Toronto Star 10/03/01

CELLIST SUES SYMPHONY: A Toronto Symphony cellist has filed a lawsuit against the orchestra claiming it gave false information to the musician’s insurance company so it would deny a serious medical claim. Toronto Star 10/03/01

  • Previously: TORONTO SYMPHONY ORDERED TO REINSTATE: The Toronto Symphony has been ordered to reinstate its star cellist; he was fired in May after performing in an amateur concert while on sick leave from the orchestra. But Daniel Domb, a 27-year veteran of the orchestra, says he’s so angry about the dismissal he won’t return. “The bad feelings stirred up in the whole orchestra aren’t going to go away anytime soon.” Toronto Star 07/12/01
  • BAD YEAR ALL AROUND: Domb was recently twice turned down for his disability insurance claim after a near-fatal head injury suffered in a fall in Mexico. Toronto Star 07/13/01

ORCHESTRA REDUCTION: When is an orchestra not an orchestra? When it can’t afford to mount a concert. Orchestra New Brunswick says it is about $60,000 short, and that “it doesn’t have the money to put on a full concert” to open the season. “Instead, it may present a piano recital.” CBC 10/03/01

Tuesday October 2

TALIBAN AGAINST MUSIC: “The Ministry for the Prevention of Vice and Promotion of Virtue is on patrol. Its job is to eradicate sin, which, as defined by the totalitarian government of Afghanistan, includes simply listening to music. It insists that there is a hadith (a record of the Prophet’s sayings) warning people not to listen to music lest molten lead be poured into their ears on Judgment Day. Until then, the Taliban police are wreaking their own violence—against musical instruments and anyone who dares enjoy their use.” Time 10/01/01

FAMILIAR DIET: Why do the UK’s opera companies play the same small number of operas over and over again? “Companies have been given the subliminal message that if they don’t play to full houses then they are failing in their task. Whether or not the task of publicly funded bodies should be endlessly to serve up box-office attractions rather than broaden the public’s operatic experience is another matter — but then art, or education in the broadest sense, has long ceased to be the primary concern of our Arts Councils.” The Times (UK) 10/01/02

CLASSIC BILLY JOEL: The singer has gone where so many pop artists have failed. He’s written an album of classical songs – and even hired a classical pianist to record them. “This is a lovely batch of songs that reveal Joel, as a composer, to be a closet fan of Mozart, Chopin and Strauss.” New York Post 10/02/01

GIRL WONDER: How to explain the wide appeal of Charlotte Church? She’s still only 15 years old, but “although we’ve already had three years of Church’s recording career, her appeal remains rooted in her position as a child wonder. It helps that, so far, she is not a pop singer. There are no Britney v Charlotte wars. Her contemporaries are not interested in her records – after all, teenagers don’t want to listen to either Rossini arias or Men of HarlechNew Statesman 10/01/01

RATTLE BLASTS ARTS COUNCILS: Conductor Simon Rattle says much of British orchestras’ difficulties are to be blamed on the country’s Arts Council: “Shame on the Arts Council for knowing so little, for being such amateurs, for simply turning up a different group of people every few years with no expertise, no knowledge of history, to whom you have to explain everything, where it came from and why it is there, who don’t listen and who don’t care. Shame on them.” The Observer (UK) 09/30/01

Monday October 1

MUSIC WITHOUT THE NAME: So who says that a piece of music with a designer label on it – Beethoven, Mozart or some other – is superior to music without the name? Perhaps we listen too mindlessly to the greats and too easily dismiss worthy efforts by those composers we’ve forgotten. Orange County Register 09/30/01

CAN YOU COPYRIGHT THAT? Two sound artists have copyrighted the tone combination for every possible combination of phone numbers. “Their Magnus-Opus is a playful way of challenging copyright law, which Dr Sonique – better known as artist Dr Nigel Helyer – says often benefits the ‘corporates’ before creators of artistic works. ‘It is not so much an attack on copyright, it is the way it is prosecuted in the public domain,’ he says.” Sydney Morning Herald 10/01/01

SINGING PROTEST: The protest song has a long honorable history. But “it is hard to imagine anyone in the grief-torn United States writing a direct riposte at this stage to Celine Dion’s rendition of God Bless America a week ago or by extension to the war cry of the government. With more than 6500 dead, the grief is too raw. Does this mean the protest song is dead? Will it be cast forever in the shadows of the initial tragic event? There are murmurings of student protest if a war goes beyond what is deemed legitimate retribution. But will songs grow from these seeds?” The Age (Melbourne) 10/01/01

SAN JOSE DOESN’T KNOW THE WAY: The San Jose Symphony is in trouble. With a $2.5 million deficit and declining attendance, the 123-year-old orchestra ought to be scrambling to fix things. But this year’s opening subscription concerts showed business as usual, and provided lots of evidence as to why the orchestra is in danger of going out of business. San Jose Mercury News 10/01/01

RESPONDING WITH MUSIC: “What does music give us when words are stopped in our throats? On an ordinary day, music takes us out of ourselves, allowing us to forget whatever self-invented dramas may be pressing on us. The effect is seldom lasting. But when we are all in the grip of the same emotion, music can shoulder the heaviest part of what we are feeling. A familiar tune billows above us, and we are carried along by it for a short distance. It is a performance with no audience, in which the singers listen and the listeners sing. And only the most familiar, worn-out tune will do. When one part of the crowd is devoted to Jay-Z and another part to John Zorn, the common ground becomes God Bless America.” The New Yorker 10/01/01

DANCE UPDRAFT

Dance might be languishing elsewhere. But in the UK it’s ascendant. “An Arts Council survey last year discovered that, while audiences for all the other performing arts had dwindled during the 1990s, the audiences for dance increased by more than 13%, and those for contemporary dance by nearly 30%. This audience is getting younger and trendier, too. And supply is more than keeping up with demand.” Sunday Times (UK) 09/30/01