“The first concerts are being staged to mark the opening of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales’ new Cardiff Bay home. BBC Hoddinott Hall at Wales Millennium Centre, named after the late composer Alun Hoddinott, seats some 350 people… [The orchestra] will continue to perform major concerts at St David’s Hall in Cardiff and Swansea’s Brangwyn Hall.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Taking Cultural Diplomacy To The Next Level
Martinu’s Symphony No. 1 is getting its (belated) Bulgarian premiere this week in Sofia. And who’s conducting? Martin Klepetko, the Czech Republic’s ambassador to Bulgaria and a trained musicologist and conductor.
Asimov’s Foundation To Get Movie Version
“Columbia won an auction late Thursday for screen rights to Foundation, Isaac Asimov’s ground-breaking sci-fi trilogy. The project will be developed as a directing vehicle for Roland Emmerich.”
A Treasure Trove Of Ancient Egyptian Painting
Art from the tomb-chapel of Nebamun (ca. 1350 BC) has just gone on permanent display at the British Museum. “One explanation for their appeal, I think, is that, unlike a lot of Egyptian art, they were intended to be seen by the living, not the dead… [who would have admired} the confident draughtsmanship, the wonderful sense of colour, the intensity of the observation, the ability to convey human foibles and, not least, the sense of fun.”
Making Tropical Landscaping Into An Art
“Brazil teems with jungles, forests and all sorts of exotic plants, flowers and trees. But until the Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx came along to tame and shape his country’s exuberant flora, his countrymen had mostly disdained the natural riches that, often literally, flourished in their own backyards.”
Carnegie Hall 2009-10 Season To Feature China, Chopin, Kronos, Boulez
The venue continues its series of themed festivals with “Ancient Paths, Modern Voices,” focusing on Chinese music and musicians. Pollini will celebrate the Chopin anniversary; Boulez celebrates his 85th with three different orchestras; Rattle and the Berlin Phil offer a Brahms/Schoenberg cycle; the Kronos Quartet and Louis Andriessen will have residencies.
But Carnegie’s Hardly Exempt From The Economic Downturn
Next season is 10% smaller than the current one – which has seen its budget revised downward by $4 million. Individual giving is down by 18%, and there’s a hiring freeze. Three orchestras planning to appear at Carnegie next season have withdrawn after losing corporate sponsorship.
The Inauguration As Theater (A Critic’s View)
Charles McNulty: “The performance was remarkable for its sharp intelligence and moral clarity. But just as striking was the discipline Obama exhibited not to succumb to the feelings that were overtaking his listeners. The actor cannot melt into the swelling audience response; private emotions, even when fueling one’s real-life part, must be contained.”
The King Who Remade Persian Civilization
“During his long reign [1587-1629] Shah Abbas presided over a flowering of Iranian arts in a style as characteristic as that of the France of Louis XIV. This was carried from huge projects to the most delicate and refined of decorative work… He was one of the great rulers of his age – the equal of the Ottoman Sultan, the Mogul Emperor or the King of Spain.”
Is That Michael Ignatieff In The Vertical Hour?
The journalist/intellectual-turned-politician, now head of Canada’s Liberal Party and possibly the next prime minister, was one of the rare small-l liberals who supported the Iraq War. Now more than a few observers are suggesting that the protagonist of David Hare’s play has a biography awfully similar to Ignatieff’s.