Many of today’s young dancers owe much to Gregory Hines. “If you saw Hines dance, you saw his dynamic continuation of a dance tradition inherited from legendary hoofers such as Bill ‘Bojangles’ Robinson, Honi Coles, Sandman Sims, The Nicholas Brothers and Teddy Hale, to mention a few.”
Month: August 2003
I Just Called To Hear That Pop Song…
In the UK, consumers are buying songs for the ringers of their mobile phones. The tones generate huge profits for recording companies. “An estimated £70m of ringtones will be sold in 2003 – up from £40m in 2002. Most pop hits are available to buy as mobile phone rings – as are other popular tunes such as TV themes – for between £1.50 and £3.50. Many young mobile phone-owners change their ringtones regularly to keep up with the latest songs.”
What Eschenbach Meant To Ravinia
After nine years, Christoph Eschenbach leaves as music director of the Ravinia Festival this week. “If James Levine kicked Ravinia’s international profile up several notches, Eschenbach certified it as a full-service festival – a place where young musicians and seasoned artists can strike sparks off one another, where top-level chamber music thrives, where amazing things can appear out of nowhere like the fireflies that dance among the picnickers on the lawn. He has set the spontaneous tone for a summer place where performers unwind in postlude concerts that have been known to go on well past midnight.”
Virtual Orchestra Makes Opera Debut
The Opera Company of Brooklyn staged its “Magic Flute” over the weekend with a virtual orchestra instead of live musicians. How did it sound? “The Virtual Orchestra, developed by Realtime Music Solutions, which donated the hall and its services, behaved well. It allowed for pauses and shifts in tempo, thanks to the real-time control of an assistant at the synthesizer, and its surround loudspeakers (nearly 30 of them) created a sense of space. It sounded a little thin and tinny in the overture, but it never overpowered the singers and they appeared comfortable with their high-tech partner.”
Warning The Kids On File-Sharing
College students will be getting a warning this fall when they return to school. “Specifically they’ll be warned they can lose their Internet access or get slapped with a costly copyright infringement lawsuit if they aren’t careful about uploading and downloading files using programs like Kazaa.”
The 50 Worst Artists In Music History?
Blender magazine takes a stab at a list, and some A-list musicians take some abuse. “Along with expected names like Celine Dion and Vanilla Ice are legends like The Doors and Mick Jagger. Even current top-selling acts, such as the Goo Goo Dolls, Creed and the Gipsy Kings, get savaged.”
Warning Scottish Opera
The financially troubled Scottish Opera has been told that it may have to drastically scale back its operations if it wants to survive. “The company’s acclaimed run of Wagner’s Ring Cycle starts today, but observers warn the funding problems are getting so bad that it may not be able to continue in its present form.”
Plans Line Up For WTC Site
“At last month’s deadline, some 5,200 designs for the 9/11 memorial cascaded into the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., submitted by architects, artists and amateurs alike. The proposals are now being pared down by the jury–a distinguished panel that includes Maya Lin, architect of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, and Vartan Gregorian, former head of the New York Public Library. They’ll have their work cut out for them. The program for the competition is of baffling complexity…”
Can New Vinoly Building Help Nasher Forget Its Past?
Duke University’s Nasher Museum is working towards a new home designed by a star architect. But will the new $23 million building wipe away the museum’s troubled history?
Scotland’s Magnificent New Parliament
Edinburgh’s new Scottish Parliament building is under construction. “It is a glorious design, but derided by the press for being costly and late. True, its cost has risen from a nominal £10m at the time it was first seriously mooted in 1997, to £40m when its design was approved, to £100m when its scale was tripled, to £300m more recently, and to £345m today. This is a lot of money – but what a building.”