A trial has begun for the Oregon woman charged in the deaths of two members of the Eugene Symphony last year. “Fivea Sharipoff, 26, at left, is charged with manslaughter, assault and driving under the influence after a wrong-way crash on Interstate 5 last year.”
Month: June 2008
A Different Kind Of Virtuoso Fiddler
If you’re looking for evidence that classical music stars need not be stunningly beautiful women in low-cut dresses to be successful in the 21st century, you could do worse than Greek violinist Leonidas Kavakos. Unlike some soloists, Kavakos is all about substance, a reputation shaped by a demanding series of teachers and a devotion to the folk melodies of his home country.
Festival: All Things 0’s And 1’s
From DJ Spooky’s “Terra Nova,” a multimedia performance piece that uses the sound of melting ice in the Antarctic, to Peter Hudson’s “Homouroboros,” a carousel-like spinning zoetrope with ape-like creatures, 01SJ’s installations and performances allow many artists to realize their sometimes kooky, often inspired visions through the latest technological advancements.
The Theatre After The Theatre
“A West End playhouse is to be turned into a “hangout” for actors and audiences with hi-tech seating that disappears after each performance to create an open-plan entertainment area.”
The Reinvention Of NY City Opera
“The recent announcement from the New York City Opera about its plans for the next two seasons suggests that this essential 65-year-old company, called the People’s Opera by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, is poised for a near-complete makeover. Its very identity could change under its new leader, Gerard Mortier.”
A Financial Model For The Arts That Works
“Here at the very heart of subsidized Europe, the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden is a nonprofit venture, or the German equivalent without American-style tax breaks. It receives not a cent of public money, save for a long-term payoff for the construction of its 2,500-seat hall.” Here is an “example should make everyone, on both sides of the Atlantic, think twice about cultural economics and the costs of achieving true quality in the arts.”
Suspects Sought In Canadian Haida Gold Museum Theft
“Police believe they may be trying to sell the art work through a network of criminal associates in the Vancouver area, according to a news release issued Tuesday morning.”
Remembering Anne d’Harnoncourt
d’Harnoncourt was a natural museum director in perhaps the best, most basic way. She had the kind of star quality that lights up rooms, but also the confidence to let her curators shine, knowing that their achievements reflected well on her and on the museum she loved so deeply.
New Rules For Museums On Antiquities
“The Association of Art Museum Directors, whose 190 members also include leaders of Canadian and Mexican museums, says the new policy will probably make it even more difficult for museums to build antiquities collections through purchases or, as is more often the case, through gifts and bequests from wealthy private collectors. But they assert that the change will help stanch the flow of objects illegally dug up from archaeological sites or other places.”
The Mallification Of Our Public Space
“It is no great leap to see our shopping malls as the successors to Paris’s arcades. Covered, privatised spaces of artifice and consumption, the mall is perhaps the symbol of our civilisation. Everything we now build, from airports to motorway service stations, museums to cities of culture draws inspiration from those visions of limitless consumption.”