“A breakthrough in the Philadelphia Orchestra’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy case could emerge [soon], as management and labor try to hammer out a deal under the supervision of a U.S. bankruptcy judge.” But the possibility of litigation still looms if the orchestra leaves the musicians’ union pension fund.
Author: Matthew Westphal
Which Theatre Is Britain’s Most Prolific Producer Of New Work? (Not At All Who You’d Think)
“The Royal Court, perhaps? The Bush? The National? … In fact it’s none of these. The title is held by a pub theatre in the West End of Glasgow – Òran Mór – which this year alone premieres 37 new plays in full productions under the banner of ‘A Play, a Pie and a Pint’.”
Hugh Grant Inserts Himself Into UK Government Response To Phone Hacking Scandal
Speaking at the national conference of the co-ruling Conservative Party, the movie star claimed that he personally warned the party’s no. 2 man against hiring now-disgraced former News Corp. exec Andy Coulson. Grant then publicly demanded an explanation from Prime Minister David Cameron himself.
Vow Of Silence: Lars Von Trier Says He’ll Never Talk To News Media Again
With his ill-considered jokes at Cannes about being a Nazi and admiring Hitler having led to a police interrogation, the controversial filmmaker has decided that his mouth gets him into so much trouble that he’ll (try to) keep it shut in public from now on.
Before Hitler, Who Was The Agreed-Upon Poster Boy For Pure Evil?
“Today, the Führer is universally recognized as the embodiment of evil and the most convenient example of a truly terrible human being. Before World War II, who was the rhetorical worst person in history?” (Hint: go way back in history.)
Charlie Kaufman: Why I Wrote Being John Malkovich
“My idea was that I would write a script and use it to get [TV] work. I had this idea that someone finds a portal into someone’s head, and I had another idea that somebody has a story about someone having an affair with a co-worker. And neither one was going anywhere, so I just decided to combine them.”
Novel = Symphony, Says Will Self – Until, Alas, They Diverged
The novelist argues that the flagship forms of high art music and literature developed and hit their twin peaks in tandem throughout the 19th century – and laments that, while art music was transformed by modernism, novelists experimented a bit and then scurried right back into familiar forms. (Some commenters riposte that this is why contemporary novels find a wider audience than contemporary symphonic music.)
In Defense Of Opera Singers Breaking Character
At the Met’s opening night, Anna Netrebko’s big mad-scene aria drew lots of cheers – and the diva briefly flashed a grin. Most of the critics tut-tutted, despite – or likely because – breaking character to bow after a major aria used to be so commonplace. Zachary Woolfe argues that the practice is a good and natural thing for opera.
British Brutalism’s Loathed Landmarks Now On World List Of Endangered Monuments
“Some of the most widely disliked buildings in Britain, so called ‘concrete brutalist’ structures of the 60s and 70s, including a bus station in Preston, a library in Birmingham, and parts of the South Bank centre in London, have been listed among the world’s most endangered treasures.”
Save Brutalism! Ugly Concrete Is Good!
Jonathan Glancey: “These are fine civic buildings and with a little imagination and care they could continue to serve and even delight [sic] future generations. I once described Preston bus station as baroque – modern baroque – and I stand by that.”