“At some point soon – sooner than most of us think – the print edition, and with it The Times as we know it, will no longer exist.… What would a post-print Times look like?” Michael Hirschorn has some ideas.
Author: Matthew Westphal
Austin Symphony Gets $1M For Education
“Austin arts patron James C. Armstrong is contributing $1 million to The Austin Symphony Orchestra to endow its education programs for children… [which include] Young People’s Concerts, High School Concerts and the orchestra’s Building Blocks program, among others.”
And You Thought The Kimmel Center’s Opening Was Messy
Rio de Janeiro’s showy new Cidade da Música, designed by Christian de Portzamparc, had its official opening just after Christmas, even though construction won’t be finished for six months. With costs having sextupled and Cariocas fuming that the money should have been spent on health, education and transport, the city’s new mayor has halted all work and spending on the project pending a major audit.
Barenboim’s Arab/Israeli Orchestra Cancels Mideast Concerts
The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, the group of young musicians from Israel and the Arab world founded and led by Daniel Barenboim, has called off upcoming performances in Cairo and Doha, Qatar. The ongoing fighting between Israel and Hamas has prompted concerns about the musicians’ safety.
Degas’s The Little Dancer On The Market
“The bronze figure, one of only a handful of casts remaining in private hands, is expected to fetch £9-12 million when it is auctioned at Sotheby’s on February 3.”
Coming Soon To A Cell Phone Near You: The Young And The Condom-less
A New Jersey foundation has created a series of 12 short soap opera episodes, shot and edited for mobile phones, aimed at encouraging condom use among young women who wouldn’t pay attention to pamphlets.
Betty Freeman, 87, New Music’s Fairy Godmother
“As far as I could tell, Betty Freeman did not have a sentimental bone in her body. An arts patron like no other, she supported an extraordinary contingent of important composers… but she immediately lost interest in them after they died. She cared about the living, about new work, about the future, not the past. Once someone was gone, she moved on. Now she’s gone.”
The Casting Director For The Orchestra Pit
Bassist John Miller is a Broadway orchestra contractor, the go-to guy if you’re trying to put together a Frankie Valli-style combo for Jersey Boys, replace an oboist or violinist in the orchestra for Les Miz or find a pipa player for M. Butterfly.
Joffrey’s Academy Of Dance Opens In Chicago
“The Joffrey Ballet on Monday held a ribbon cutting ceremony to open its official school, the Academy of Dance.”
St. Louis Symphony Bucks The Downward Trend
“Numbers – for both revenues and bodies in seats – are up at the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, where the 2008 holiday concerts did very well indeed. Despite the fact that the SLSO offered three fewer performances in 2008 than it did in 2007, attendance was up 3%, while revenues increased by 12.5%.”