Why are people so snobby about romantic fiction? “Domestic? Boring? Who would want to be dubbed romantic as well? Maybe that explains the collective identity crisis that seems to have seized the Romantic Novelists Association in its choice of shortlisted novels for its annual prize.”
Month: April 2005
Will The Minnesota Orchestra Be America’s Best?
“When Osmo Vanska says that within a few years, the Minnesota Symphony will be one of the best orchestras in the United States, right up there alongside the Chicago Symphony and the Cleveland Orchestra, you’re inclined to believe him. He says it in such a matter-of-fact way that it never for a moment sounds like boasting and, more importantly, he does have the track record to back up his claim, having taken a run-of-the-mill municipal orchestra in Finland, the Lahti Symphony, and, in less than two decades, transformed it into one of the most distinctive bands in Europe.”
Indies Protest UK Chart Downloads Plan
Independent music labels are complaining that a plan to include downloads in UK Top 40 singles charts is unfair to indies. “A large chunk of the independent community are concerned about the way the chart has been thrust on us and the fact that most indie labels are unable to get their music into i-Tunes, which is unfairness from the off.” Some indie reps say they’ll game the new downloads system in protest.
Peru’s Emergency Plan For Machu Picchu
The Peruvian government has come up with an emergency rescue plan to save the ruins of Machu Picchu from erosion and tourists. “The $132.5m (£70m) plan is to be studied by Unesco and the World Bank at a three-day meeting in Lima beginning on Saturday. Machu Picchu is the most visited archaeological site in Latin America. It has been a Unesco world heritage site since 1983, but the UN’s cultural organisation made it clear last year that if something were not done soon it would be put on the list of sites at risk.”
Dispute Over Mandela Artwork
A legal dispute has scared buyers of artwork by Nelson Mandela. “The row has left a bitter taste – raising questions over whether the value of the art might plummet. Questions have also been raised over whether Mandela painted the series or merely endorsed them with his signature.”
Nagano Wows Montreal, Orchestra Contract Mars Great Start
“All four of Kent Nagano’s first concerts with the Montreal Symphony since he accepted his new job were sold out, and the overwhelming consensus was that the 53-year-old American has what it takes to revive the OSM’s artistic fortunes. He launched a new composition prize, charmed the public with interviews and comments from the stage, and helped the orchestra sound at least as good as it did during its glory years with Charles Dutoit.” But a bitter contract negotiation with musicians is a black cloud…
Chicago Lyric Opera To Cut Staff
Eleven full-time Lyric Opera of Chicago staff members will be out of a job when the company’s new fiscal year begins May 1. On Wednesday, Lyric announced administrative staff reductions of 8.4 percent, and William Mason, general director, estimates that the cuts will save $700,000 in 2005-06.
Tennessee Williams Poem Discovered
A previously unpublished poem by Tennessee Williams, described as having been “written out of absolute, complete despair,” has been discovered in his blue test booklet from a college course in 1937…
Looking For The Women Conductors
Is there a glass ceiling for women conductors? Marin Alsop: “I don’t know if it’s a glass ceiling, or a concrete or a fabric one, but it’s definitely a ceiling. I’m very proud that I’m to become the first woman conductor in history to lead the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (of Amsterdam), but I’m also appalled. It’s sort of surprising that one can still be the first woman in so many areas — in the 21st century.”
Paris Opera: Tristan With A Viola Video
The Paris Opera is doing a radical rethink of Wagner’sTristan und Isolde. The company has commissioned video artist Bill Viola to accompany its new production. “On a 30-foot-wide screen above and behind the somberly lighted space peopled by the singers, images that recall some of Mr. Viola’s well-known video pieces variously offer literal, metaphorical and even spiritual complements to one of mythology’s most famous and tragic love stories. With only the preludes played to a closed curtain, Mr. Viola’s multi-toned video poem runs for some 3 hours 40 minutes, a full-length spectacle in its own right.”