“Now Carnegie Hall, in its latest act of musical empire building, is establishing the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America, it said Wednesday. The reality is a bit less grandiose than the name. The orchestra will convene for three weeks in the summer and consist of musicians from ages 16 to 19.” Conducting the inaugural season in 2013 will be no less than Valery Gergiev.
Author: Matthew Westphal
Hofesh Shechter, Choreography’s Great Survivor
“[When] he arrived in Britain in 2002, he was one of the few dance practitioners who could strip down and reassemble an Uzi machine-pistol blindfolded. He was angry, he was darkly handsome, and he had a lot to tell the world – not least that much contemporary dance was ‘boring’.”
San Antonio Opera Appears To Be Closing Down
The company’s remaining performances for the season have disappeared from Ticketmaster, and SAO administration has moved out of its offices. So far, though, the company’s board of directors has had no vote on SAO’s future.
Salman Rushdie’s Impending Visit To India Becomes Political Battleground
Still outraged over The Satanic Verses after 24 years, a major Muslim seminary in northern India has demanded that Rushdie’s visa to enter the country for this month’s Jaipur Literary Festival. (Rushdie holds an Indian passport.) The question has become an issue in upcoming elections in one of India’s largest states.
Indian Censors Cut Crucifixion Scene From ‘Bollywood’s Most Violent Film’
“Members of the Central Board of Film Certification, the country’s regulatory film body, balked at scenes in Puja Jatinder Bedi’s Ghost in which an evil spirit in female form is crucified, citing concerns that it would offend members of the country’s Christian minority.”
Rare Piece Of Ancient African Clay Sculpture Discovered
“If they exist at all, most unglazed clay objects from ancient times are now rubble, mere fragments of their former glory. This terracotta head, at around 2000 years old, is a rare exception. Excavated from a village in Nigeria, this is one of the best-preserved examples of its kind ever discovered.”
The New London Home Of The RSC? Why Not The Portable Stage They Used In New York?
Outgoing company director Michael Boyd, on the 975-seat replica of the RSC’s Stratford auditorium which the company set up in the Park Avenue Armory last summer: “It is perfectly positioned to be placed within some large four walls [in London] and be a temporary theatre that lasts for a hundred years.”
Unknown Chinese Blog-Turned-Novel Becomes International Hit
“A novel by an anonymous Chinese author living in America, which started life as a blog, has become a worldwide publishing sensation. It has been snapped up by publishers in 15 countries who have been impressed by the fact that it has sold more than a million copies in China and inspired a film by an Oscar-winning Chinese director,” Zhang Yimou.
Chinua Achebe Leads Nigerian Authors In Protesting Fuel Subsidy Cuts
The award-winning novelist “is heading a group of 38 Nigerian authors who are throwing their weight behind mass protests in the country at the government’s withdrawal of the state fuel subsidy.”
Trinity Church Wall Street Suspends Its Acclaimed Music Program
With an ambitious program of weekly free concerts as well as ticketed performances, all garnering packed houses and critical hosannas, “Trinity Church, the major spiritual center of the financial district, was bidding fair to become its major cultural center as well.” But church leaders have decided to “recalibrate the music and the arts program,” cancelling most scheduled concerts as well as cutting back on music for services.