The long-awaited World War II memorial being installed on the Mall in Washington, D.C. is nearly complete, and Benjamin Forgey is impressed with its solemn design and “abiding sense of place.” The design may be a bit classically stiff, but it uses the massive space well, and “though the memorial does partially block a pedestrian’s passage on the long walk between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, it is a pause with a big payoff: the memorial itself.”
Month: April 2004
What Happened To The Philadelphia Orchestra?
Norman Lebrecht checks in on Philadelphia and finds an historic orchestra in disrepair. Could it be music director Christophe Eschenbach? “While it only takes one conductor to make a great orchestra, one misjudged transfer is enough to secure relegation. Philadelphia, like many football teams at this time of year, finds itself facing a very long drop. The testimony of my CD shelves suggests that there is no return from orchestral oblivion.”
The Museum Kingmaker
“What do museums do when they lose an old master? If it’s a painting they call the police. If it’s an esteemed leader, they call Malcolm MacKay.” MacKay is an executive headhunter specializing in museums, and has become arguably the most powerful man in the business in recent years. Last year alone, he led five searches for major American museum executives, and he was the first person the Art Institute of Chicago called last year when longtime director James Wood announced his retirement. Not a bad track record for a Harvard lawyer with no academic experience in art.
Auction Sales Fall In 2003
Sales of art at auction in 2003 were down by as much as 17 percent. Of course, the figures aren’t nearly so clear cut as that…
If You Can’t Beat The Pop Culture, Join It
The TriBeCa Film Festival has gone from new kid on the block to major player on the New York scene in a startlingly short amount of time. The secret to TriBeCa’s success seems to be a willingness to embrace Hollywood glitz and defer to pop culture trends, even as other festivals hold fast to ideals of independence and “artistic integrity.” Also distinguishing the fest is a perceived lack of overall focus, which may actually be “its strongest suit, giving it a popular appeal that more-established institutions lack.”
Baltimore Deficit Grows
“The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra expects to increase its projected deficit for the 2003-2004 season from $1.6 million to $2 million, administrative officials said yesterday. The $400,000 increase would push the orchestra’s accumulated debt to about $3.2 million. Driving the red ink are shortfalls in ticket sales for the BSO’s own concerts and presentations of other performers at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, and a shortfall in contributions to the annual fund.”
MoMA’s Art Sale
The Museum of Modern Art could raise almost $30 million when it sells nine works of art from its collection at auction. “The museum is ostensibly raising funds for new acquisitions to display when it moves back into its expanded, midtown building next year. But the decision to sell paintings by artists whose works fit squarely within the museum’s collection will meet with some controversy.”
How To Encounter The Contemporary Composer
Columbia University’s Miller Theatre has found a successful format. “In most classical concerts, if listeners hear any music by contemporary composers, it’s in small doses, which may be for the best. In a mixed program, a composer’s style must quickly declare itself, both on its own terms and in relation to the styles of the other composers on the bill. The problem is that a composer discovered in a mixed program may not turn up again for months or even years. Single-composer concerts allow for a better assessment, but they are risky. A composer can be like a cat with a spool of yarn. Having found an intriguing idea, he or she may explore it from different perspectives through a dozen works or a dozen years. How well a handful of pieces based on the same notion — a rhythmic device, say, or a way of changing harmony — will work depends on the composer’s inventiveness.”
The First Nation of Classical Music?
In Finland, music is practically the national language. Children are frequently taught to read notes before they can read words, and the government pours money into national music and arts education at a rate which would cause U.S. lawmakers to choke on their tax cuts. The result of all this national emphasis on music is clear: Finland, with a population comparable to the state of Minnesota, is dominating the international music scene, and “classical music has little of the elitist aura that tends to be the case in the United States.”
Billionaire On The Lam: The Axelrod Myth Unravels
In the days since New Jersey philanthropist Herbert Axelrod fled to Cuba to avoid indictment on tax evasion charges, details have begun to emerge about the man who had been called New Jersey’s greatest arts benefactor. “It has become clear that myth and reality were always hard to separate in the life of Herbert Axelrod, whether the subject be tropical fish, charity or musical instruments… A review of lawsuits, public documents and interviews with those who were once close to Axelrod suggest he was never quite what people thought. Court papers filed in a pending lawsuit against him depict him as a liar and a womanizer who funneled cash in the form of author’s payments to a woman with whom he had a years-long affair.”