The New York-based Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas may not have the pedigree of a major orchestra, but it has something more important: a mission: “to explore the largely virgin territory of symphonic music from the New World, to draw a popular audience and to open doors for performers on the threshold of their careers.”
Month: June 2008
Prophets Of Doom
“End-time thinking – the belief in a world purified by catastrophe – could once be dismissed as a harmless remnant of a more superstitious age. But with the rise of religious fundamentalism, prophets of apocalypse have become a new and very real danger, argues Ian McEwan.”
Naipaul Mugged By A Poem
“Last week the St Lucia poet Derek Walcott used his talent in the pursuit of less lofty ideals as he reignited a simmering row with VS Naipaul by unveiling a stinging attack on the author – in verse… Walcott attacks what he sees as the Trinidadian-born Naipaul’s rejection of his Caribbean heritage in order to win acceptance from the British literary establishment.”
Looking Back At A Seminal Moment In BritArt
It was 20 years ago this summer that “an art show was staged in London’s Docklands that has entered modern art history as a cataclysmic happening.” It was the beginning of Damien Hirst’s BritArt movement, and it changed the UK’s art scene irrevocably, even if few realized it at the time.
Summer Of Klimt
“Rich and strange or luxurious ornament? Whatever your view, Klimt’s work is now so valuable, it’s near impossible to put on a full-scale show. Still, Tate Liverpool has tried… “
Gone With The Wind Is Officially… Well, You Know
“A £4m stage adaptation of the classic novel Gone with the Wind is to go down as one of the biggest flops in West End history after closing more than three months early… [The show] opened with great fanfare but received one of the worst critical maulings in years.”
The Ravinia Way
When Welz Kauffman took over the leadership of Illinois’s Ravinia Festival in 2000, he had his work cut out for him, both fiscally and artistically. “The ensuing years have found Ravinia a bit more theatrically charged and a lot more fun… What’s remarkable is that it’s happening to overwhelming critical and public approval in a culture that pays lip service to but ultimately fears popularization of musical programming.”
Universal Studios Burning
“A massive fire broke out at Universal Studios film and TV studio on Sunday, engulfing one soundstage and burning a New York City street set. A total of 300 firefighters from several Los Angeles-area fire departments were battling the blaze.”
Has The Columbus Symphony Played Its Last?
The Columbus Symphony ended its season this weekend, and may never be heard from again. “Whether there were any dry eyes by the end of the concert was open to question. But there was no doubting the feelings of the crowd, who filled Ohio Theatre to the rafters and offered several standing ovations during and after the show.”
The Kid
“At 15, he went to Harvard. At 19, he had a degree in government and politics. At 29, Ryan Leslie is a budding hip-hop mogul,” and a model for a new era in the music business.