“The reinvention of the orchestra – from an ensemble that had virtually shut down around the time of the NATO bombing campaign to one that has current international tours and dreams of expansion at home – has often been unconventional.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Confirmed: The Oldest Known Art in the World Is In Indonesia
“The Indonesian images, discovered in a limestone cave on the island of Sulawesi in the 1950s, had previously been thought to date back only 10,000 years. Anything older would, it was assumed, have deteriorated.” In fact, it turns out, the oldest of the paintings is nearly 40,000 years old. (includes video)
Vienna Philharmonic Finds Good Use For Its $1M Nilsson Prize Money
The orchestra’s members voted unanimously to use the award to digitize its historic archives, which includes program leaflets, correspondence, and autographed manuscripts and scores.
Norway’s New Money Will Be, Literally, Abstract Art (Designed By Starchitects, No Less)
“Call it more evidence of the endless commercialization of design; call it another reason to be thankful Norway never joined the Euro; call it kroner gone kreative.” The country’s own starchitects, Snøhetta, designed one side of each of the new banknotes.
Music Industry To NY State: Give Us Tax Credits Like You Give The Film Industry
“A group of music industry figures, worried about the flight of music production and related jobs from New York to states like Texas and Tennessee, is encouraging the State Legislature to pass a bill to give $60 million in tax breaks each year to studios, record companies and others involved in the creation of music.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 10.08.14
Anselm Kiefer Talks About Beauty In Art
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts
It can be done (2)
AJBlog: Sandow
The Commodification of Cool
AJBlog: CultureCrash
Scott Johnson’s Mind Out of Matter: Should music make so much sense?
AJBlog: Condemned to Music
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Maya Lin Wins $300,000 Gish Prize
Said the selection committee chair, playwright David Henry Hwang, “With her design for the Vietnam Memorial, Maya Lin created arguably the most important piece of public art of our time. Since then, she has continued to achieve greatness, through a singular vision which has come to embrace her passionate concern for the environment – in America, China and throughout the planet.”
Jacques Lacombe To Leave New Jersey Symphony Orchestra
The Canadian conductor will step down as music director when his contract ends in 2016, so as “to better coordinate his commitments to orchestral music and opera, as well as his work in North America and Europe as his schedule as a guest conductor picks up.”
Here’s A Classical Music Organization That’s Staying Relevant (Despite Its Fusty Name)
“In 2009-10 the Chamber Music Society [of Lincoln Center] gave 35 concerts along with 31 tour dates; the 2014-15 season boasts 54 concerts at home and 68 on tour. … Over the past five years their endowment has risen to $37 million from $31 million; contributor income is up 88%, and subscription sales have increased by 31%.” Stuart Isacoff looks at how they do it.
A Broadway Play’s Long, Messy Journey To Cinema Screens
“Efforts to screen high-definition broadcasts of Broadway shows in movie theaters have been random, halting and frustrating. Yet, in little more than a month, a filmed-live version of the recent Broadway production of Of Mice and Men came together and, beginning in November, will be beamed into about 1,400 theaters around the world. It required an unlikely series of coincidences and a measure of sheer doggedness.”