“The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra announced today that it has raised more than $48 million toward its goal of $80 million to increase its endowment and repair and enhance Heinz Hall.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Chagall Was ‘A Colossal Mama’s Boy’
A new biography of the painter says that he freely went from one parental figure to another to another for sustenance and nourishment. “Everyone embraced him, nursed him, held him aloft.” He was also, it seems, “a social climber and a prince of self-pity. He thrived in a bloody century that killed many friends… But he saw himself as Christ on the cross.”
China Launches First Contemporary Ballet Company
The Beijing Contemporary Dance Theater, China’s first modern dance troupe, gives its inaugural performances next month. The company’s founder and director, 35-year-old choreographer Wang Yuanyuan, is a frequent collaborator of star filmmaker Zhang Yimou.
Even Damien Hirst Says It’s Out Of Control
“[J]ust months after the success of a ground-breaking sale at Sotheby’s that brought him nearly £100m, Hirst has described the art market as over-priced, and welcomed the prospect of selling his work at cheaper rates in the present climate of recession.”
Danail Rachev To Eugene Symphony
The 38-year-old Bulgarian maestro Danail Rachev, currently assistant conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra, will succeed Giancarlo Guerrero as music director of the Eugene (Oregon) Symphony Orchestra as of next season. Other predecessors in the job include Miguel Harth-Bedoya and Marin Alsop.
Florida’s Carbonell Awards Suspended
“In a surprise move, the board of directors of the Carbonell Awards has voted to suspend the program for 2009. A ceremony honoring the best work in South Florida theater during 2008 will still take place in the spring, but no productions that open during 2009 will be given awards.”
Well, It’s One Way To Get Into A Sold-Out Concert
Adriano Graziano rang up Welsh National Opera looking for a last-minute ticket to a gala concert. The response from the man on the phone: “You’re a tenor, aren’t you? I don’t suppose you are free tonight? Our tenor is ill.”
Alberto Vilar Convicted Of Fraud And Money Laundering
“A federal jury convicted Alberto W. Vilar of all 12 counts in his securities fraud trial on Wednesday, a final fall from grace for a man who gave millions of dollars to musical and other causes but was ostracized for falling short on his pledges.”
Governor-General’s Literary Award Winners Revealed
Nino Ricci won the English-language fiction award for The Origin of Species, while two Globe and Mail writers took honors for non-fiction (Christie Blatchford for Fifteen Days, about Canadian Army units in Afghanistan) and children’s literature (John Ibbitson for The Landing). The prizes, seven each for English- and French-language work, are worth C$25,000.
Fierstein And Winokur Are Back In Hairspray
Marissa Jaret Winokur, who won a Tony for playing the hefty, happy Tracy Turnblad in the John Waters-inspired musical, is returning to the show Dec. 9. Harvey Fierstein, who drew raves as Tracy’s very downscale mother, came back earlier this month.