Metropolitan Museum director Philippe de Montebello sits down with Anna Somers Cocks to talk about the changing roles of curators, museums and collecting art. “We have a pretty good sense what people want in the museum.” – The Art Newspaper
Author: Douglas McLennan
IT WAS THE WORST OF TIMES
“American poetry has never passed through such a scattered era. This diffusion may be a result of the deaths in the last few decades of so many of its ablest practitioners and guides (Eliot, Frost, Roethke, Bishop, Berryman—and these but begin the unhappy list), or perhaps it is tied to the larger directionlessness that seems presently to haunt so many of the arts.” – New Criterion
ARCHITECTURE’S BEST POLITICAL FRIEND?
In his 24 years in Congress, Patrick Moynihan helped allocate billions of dollars to important building projects. He helped create the Pennsylvania Avenue Redevelopment Corporation, save Walt Whitman’s Long Island birthplace, and restore New York City’s Grand Central Station. But his crowning project is getting underway just as he is retiring from the US Senate – the conversion of New York’s Central Post Office building to the new Pennsylvania Station. – Architecture Magazine
DIFFICULT TO LOVE
The theatre world gathers to memorialize producer David Merrick. “It was Mr. Merrick’s difficult, enigmatic personality that pervaded the memorial yesterday. While several speakers expressed a love of the shows he created, few conveyed a comparable love of the man.” – New York Times
WORLD WIDE WAIT
A reporter tries out EMI’s new download scheme (the record company began selling its music over the internet Tuesday) and comes away wringing his hands. “The results of this sampling of the new, legitimate download frontier aren’t really surprising. Although EMI took steps to work out the kinks ahead of time, it’s clear that the kinks, especially on the backend, are substantial.” – Inside.com
LET’S CALL THE WHOLE THING OFF
The New York Philharmonic and Riccardo Muti say that Muti won’t be taking over as music director of the orchestra. Muti had been offered the job but concluded he didn’t have the time to devote to leading the large American orchestra. – New York Times
EVIDENTLY A BAD SCORE
Soprano Monserrat Caballe surprised her audience in Bucharest by ripping up the score belonging to the conductor accompanying her, after the orchestra twice fell out of step with her. The conductor later claimed a misprint in the score. – Chicago Sun-Times (AP)
CULTURE ON THE BACK BURNER
From outside the country, at least, Britain seems to be making a surge in the arts. But “we have a government that tells us that it is pumping unprecedented amounts into the arts, yet around the country the arts are in greater distress than ever,” writes Norman Lebrecht. Just how did the arts fall in the UK’s political agenda? – The Telegraph (UK)
NEW KENNEDY CENTER CHIEF
Michael Kaiser, who “helped rescue Royal Opera House at Covent Garden in London from a financial crisis, is about to be named president of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a Kennedy Center official said.” New York Times
- THE MIRACLE MAN: “The Kennedy Center is very lucky,” said dancer Susan Jaffe, a veteran company member of American Ballet Theatre, one of four organizations Kaiser is credited with rescuing from dire financial straits. “Not only has he tremendous business savvy, but his passion for arts has made him a miracle man.” – Washington Post
NAH-UH – THAT’D NEVER HAPPEN
Lawyers for eight movie companies tell US federal judge the movie industry never would have begun issuing movies on DVD if they had known they could be copied on computers. – The Age (Melbourne) (AP) 07/19/00