The 37-year-old Leeds International Piano Competition has launched the careers of a surprising number of world-class pianists, and now ranks alongside Russia’s Tchaikovsky competition as one of the world’s most esteemed showcases in the piano world. So it’s no surprise the competition received a record 298 recital tapes from potential entrants this year, each hoping to join the roster of past winners. “Murray Perahia, Radu Lupu, Andras Schiff, Mitsuko Uchida – the list reads like the best-selling rack of classical music stores the world over.” – CNN (Reuters)
Author: Douglas McLennan
NOT JUST ANOTHER JAZZ FESTIVAL PREVIEW
This advance of a jazz festival set for St. Petersburg, Russia, takes an unusual turn in the second paragraph – with band members singing songs calling the Russian president “Pinochet,” and taunting the police with “it smells of police near the stage.” Talk about an invitation to getting beaten up (which of course is exactly what happens). – St. Petersburg Times (Russia)
IN LOVE WITH MAVERICKS
Some thought that the San Francisco Symphony’s just-concluded festival of 20th Century music would be a hard sell. “Well, they reckoned without Michael Tilson Thomas. It’s my belief that people flocked to these concerts in large part because they believed him when he promised that the shows were going to be exciting and fun, and they kept coming back because he made good on that promise.” – San Francisco Chronicle
NOW THAT IT’S COSTING US MONEY…
Piracy of intellectual property has been big business in the former republics of the Soviet Union, and frankly, government hasn’t done much to curb it. But local governments are beginning to take the issue more seriously, and the reasons are simple: lost sales and jobs, police raids and expensive legal disputes over famous patents and trademarks, as well as uncollected taxes, excises and customs duties. Conservative estimates place losses to businesses and governments in the Baltic states, Russia and other countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States at billions of dollars this year. – Moscow Times
YOU DESERVE A BREAK TODAY
Australian artists have been fighting to make sure their ability to make vital tax deductions isn’t taken away by the government. Now, thanks to the Australian Senate, painters/actors/waiters/taxi drivers/ earning less than $40,000 (Australian) will be able to claim deductions for off-course income. – The Age (Melbourne)
MODEL CITIES
The Venice Biennale’s architecture show is the most expensive and extensive ever mounted. The exhibts have brought out “thrilling use of film and photography, accompanied by an astonishing number of superb models. Never before has it been possible to represent cities so vividly, sometimes on a scale approaching life-size, as in the fantastic 1,000ft-long screen in the old Ropery of the Arsenale, where full-size trains flash down the vista.” – The Times (UK)
BEWARE FAKE ART
An indigenous arts organization in Australia has warned Australia could be flooded with fake Aboriginal artwork in the lead-up to the Olympics. “People have been importing from Indonesia and other places thousands of didgeridoos already made up and then getting other people, backpackers, to paint them up here.” – The Age (Melbourne)
TALES FROM THE ART CRYPT
Richard Feigen is one of the foremost dealers in Old Master paintings – and a famously difficult personality. His new book illuminates some of the more shadowy corners of the art world. “There is, for example, a scathing account of the shenanigans several years ago at the Barnes Foundation, the fabled museum outside Philadelphia, when trustees attempted to sell off holdings in violation of its founder’s will – an attempt Feigen all but single-handedly scotched. Or there’s his comparing the exhibitions policy at New York’s Metropolitan Museum, with its ‘random mixture of box-office frivolity with serious art,’ to ‘a nice girl of good family who just once in a while goes out and turns tricks for some pocket change.'” – Boston Globe
GOING FOR THE … OH WELL:
The winners of the New York International Ballet Competition are announced. Actually, there was no big winner (no gold medal was awarded), but … – New York Times
THE STATE OF A LEGEND
The Bolshoi Ballet has been selling out and winning raves on its current tour, reinforcing its stories place in the ballet world. “Every large performing arts center in the nation will no doubt shortly be calling Moscow to ask about 2002, and there’s plenty of new repertory to choose from. However, the six Pavilion performances raised major questions about the current artistic level of the Bolshoi and, in particular, the quality of its coaching.” – Los Angeles Times