“Perhaps surprisingly, what remains of Sawallisch in the orchestra today has less to do with the internal musical dynamics of the ensemble than with the way he prodded the organization to relate more to the outside world. … his innovations not only live on, the orchestra’s current stewards embrace them as salvation.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Strad Recovered In Bulgaria May Be One Stolen From London Train Station
“The £1.2m Stradivarius and two bows were stolen from classical musician Min-Jin Kym while she was in a cafe at Euston station in November 2010. John Maughan, 30, admitted theft in 2011 but the violin was never found.”
In England’s New Arts Funding Climate, Arts With Business Or Arts Vs. Business?
“In the 90s and early noughties there was a notion that if you appointed a chairman from the business world they would be able to knock an arts organisation in to shape, and in at least two national arts institutions it went horribly wrong … But the mix of management and curation can work. A business manager who loves the arts and can man-manage coupled with a creative team on the same level in the hierarchy or even a notch below can be very productive.”
Meet ‘The Baz’, Arts Council England’s New Chief
Peter Bazalgette “is a dapper 59 year-old, whose trim frame gives the lie to his second favourite recreation, according to Who’s Who, of gluttony. His first is opera.”
Cats On Broadway (Real Ones): Casting Breakfast At Tiffany’s
“It is not, thankfully, a speaking role. But the requirements are stiff. Just as Holly’s cat plays a key part in the Truman Capote novella, it does in this new Richard Greenberg adaptation. … [The] role requires not only an animal that can handle lights, microphones and an audience, but also one that can cross the stage, sit, stay and exit on cue. In short, it requires a dog.”
MacArthur Fellow Liz Lerman Launches Multi-Disciplinary National Civil War Project
The Baltimore-based choreographer, “partnered with the University of Maryland, Center Stage and Harvard University, among others, for the project, which launches Thursday with a presentation in Washington and continues with numerous events through 2015. It aims to raise questions about the war and its repercussions.”
A New TV Character Archetype: The Hummingbird
“They’re idealistic feminine dreamers whose personalities are irritants. They are not merely spunky, but downright obsessive. And most crucially, these are not minor characters. On each show, the Hummingbird is a protagonist – an alienating-yet-sympathetic figure whose struggles are taken seriously and considered meaningful.”
Margaret Bonds At 100 – Still That Rarity, A Black Female Classical Composer
“Margaret Bonds, who died in 1972, is perhaps near the top of the very short list of African-American female composers. Thanks to her partnerships with Langston Hughes and soprano Leontyne Price and others, she’s remembered in some circles as an important figure in American composition. But, mostly, she’s been forgotten.”
How Is It Possible To Like John Milton?
“There is certainly a great deal to dislike. Most people would think of him as an overlearned poet who combines labyrinthine syntax with a wide range of moral and intellectual vices. His views on sex and women, for example, were mostly gruesome.” But Colin Burrow has a suggestion or two.
How Rebecca Hall Learned To Play Nasty, Wicked Women
“I was the kid that grew up watching Bette Davis films. When I was 10 years old I went through a patch, maybe three months, where my mom couldn’t get me to bed unless I watched all of All About Eve every night. And I sat there and I tried to recite all of Margo Channing’s lines.”