Author: Douglas McLennan

MAN ON A MISSION

The self-effacing pianist Maurizio Pollini has always been a bit of a mystery, ever since his abrupt withdrawal from public life after winning the Warsaw Chopin Competition at 18. “When I learn a new piece, I try to work as quickly as possible at first; I have to know how it sounds, before I can begin to work on what it means.” – The Independent (UK)

POLITICS OF WORLD MUSIC

“In the days before World Music, the Music of Africa series of 10 LPs, recorded in Africa and introduced by Hugh Tracey, were one of the few ways the general listener might encounter African music. A charismatic Englishman, Tracey was the great pioneer in the recording and study of Africa’s traditional sounds. But, throughout the surge of international interest in African music in the Eighties and the world-music boom that followed, Tracey’s name was barely mentioned. Not only did his ethnographic approach seem antiquated, Tracey himself was an embarrassment – a colonial figure who had distorted the music for his own purposes and allowed himself to become a tool of apartheid.” – The Telegraph (UK)

REMEMBERING BRADBURY

British novelist and critic Malcolm Bradbury, who died this week, will be remembered as much for his famous writing classes as for his own satirical style. “He believed that a work of prose fiction or drama is seldom perfectly achieved in its early drafts, but that it emerges like a sculpture from a block of stone only through intellectual vigilance and meticulous rewriting.” – The Telegraph (UK)

THE NATIONAL’S IDENTITY PROBLEM

All the fuss about the running of London’s National Theatre doesn’t matter much. The real concern is whether a successor to current director Trevor Nunn be found who can realize the place’s potential. “The ongoing off-stage drama of the National Theatre is an instructive parable. It’s the story of a great arts institution that has, from its inception, had a built-in identity problem. It’s the story of the tail wagging the dog – of an art-form that is all about the creation of magic in the here-and-now being in thrall to a building that is – in both the good and bad sense of the word – history.” – The Independent (UK)

“SEUSSICAL THE MUSICAL” OPENS on Broadway —

— and the early reviews aren’t pretty: “Whoever the many chefs were, the finished product is a flavorless broth.” – New York Times

LACKING FOR TALENT: “There isn’t much wrong with the new musical “Seussical” that a comparatively small earthquake could not put more or less right. In fact, apart from its routine music, limp lyrics and diffuse book, it is really only the concept that goes grievously wrong. It puts whimsy where talent should be.” – New York Post

ON THE CONTRARY: ” ‘Seussical the Musical’,’ which spent an awkward adolescence at Boston’s Colonial Theatre in September, has matured into a sleeker, more confident show for its Broadway bow.” – Boston Herald

THE SEUSS INDUSTRY: The Grinch and “Seussical” are only the beginning of a flood of Seuss-based projects in the wings to be brought to life. – New York Daily News

LONG JOURNEY INDEED

The producer of the London production of “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” (starring Jessica Lange) had hoped to transfer the successful show to New York. “But now, it seems, any transfer may be blocked by a messy battle with a New York-based producer who says he holds the Broadway rights to that American classic.” – New York Times

INVESTING IN THE BIZ

Two of the producers of “Rent” on Broadway are plowing some of the millions they earned on the show back into the business. They propose to build a new Off-Broadway performing arts center. “The proposed eight-story building will include two state-of-the art off-Broadway theaters (one with 499 seats, the other with 450), dance studios, rehearsal halls, office space and condominiums. The cost of the project is $15 million.” – New York Post

SALES SLUMP

After booming sales earlier this year, Australia’s art market is showing signs of cooling off. At this week’s major auctions, buyers were cautious and even important works attracted scant interest – due in part to the recent imposition of a countrywide GST. “Instead of the frenetic bidding that had turned the big art sales of the past into gladiatorial contests, the salesroom at Christie’s was as quiet as a picnic.” – Sydney Morning Herald

HORSE SENSE

A painting by George Stubbs (an equine painter who died in 1806) fetched an astonishing £2.7 million at auction this week. “The story of how Stubbs rose from minor specialist artist to auction house megastar involves an American millionaire, a Derby winner, and a contender for the Turner prize…” – The Guardian (UK)