“A months-long investigation by the law firm Cozen O’Connor into ‘horrifying accounts of rape and repeated sexual abuse’ from violinist Lara St. John while she was a student at the Curtis Institute of Music has found her claims to be credible. A report by the firm detailing her experience, as well as separate claims of abuse by about two dozen other students over a period of decades, was unanimously accepted Tuesday by the Curtis board,” which unreservedly apologized to St. John and thanked both her and the newspaper reporters who published her account. – The Philadelphia Inquirer
Author: Matthew Westphal
100 Dancers To Perform In Royal Ballet’s Post-Lockdown Comeback
“The company has revealed ambitious details of its ‘comeback’ after a seven-month break from full performances on the Covent Garden stage. The plan is for a celebration performance with 100 dancers and a full orchestra on 9 October, livestreamed around the world. … And while it will be socially distanced, there will be dance duets thanks to couples in bubbles.” – The Guardian
Plans For Picasso Museum In Aix-En-Provence Collapse
“The Musée Jacqueline et Pablo Picasso, which would have held some 1,000 paintings by the artist, fell through as a result of a failed negotiation between the French town’s city council and Jacqueline’s daughter and Picasso’s stepdaughter Catherine Hutin-Blay, who headed the project for the institution.” – ARTnews
Van Cliburn Competition Postponed For First Time Ever
The decision by the organizers of the quadrennial event makes the Cliburn the first major music competition of 2021 to be called off because of COVID. As a result, in 2022 Fort Worth will host both the main competition (in June) and the Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition (sometime in the fall). – KERA
As Coronavirus Stalks Its Ranks, Bolshoi Theater Sings And Dances On
“Plans were announced over summer for something approaching a full season of opera and ballet across its three stages, and on 6 September, the theatre started the season with an all-star cast performing Verdi’s Don Carlo” — which was canceled after two performances because two of those stars contracted COVID. “‘Said the Bolshoi’s general director, Vladimir Urin, ‘Unfortunately, in the current situation, it can become part of our everyday lives that at short notice we can no longer put things on.’ He said the theatre was working to ensure there were always understudies available to avoid cancellations happening too often.” – The Guardian
The First Drive-In Book Festival
“The book lovers of Appledore, a picturesque fishing village on the north Devon coast, are a resourceful, determined lot. When their library faced closure 14 years ago, they helped save it by launching a literary festival, which grew and developed year by year into one of the most popular cultural events in the south-west of England. And when the 2020 Appledore book festival was threatened with cancellation because of the COVID crisis, they came up with the bold idea of holding a coronavirus-secure drive-in event, believed to be the first in the UK.” – The Guardian
Holidays are canceled?
Many of us in the arts are cynical about holiday productions. But these performances are meaningful in the lives of our audiences and I think should be respected as such. I’ve been thinking abut what is lost when audiences miss out on holiday shows this year. – Hannah Grannemann
David/Valda Over the Years
The screen announces “The Philadelphia Matter 1972/2020,” and glimpsed behind it is the large, alarmed face of its creator: choreographer David Gordon. The piece (no surprise) is propelled, guided, and shaped by words. Postmodern poetry — written and uttered by Gordon and/or his wife, Valda Setterfield — repeats and enlarges upon itself. – Deborah Jowitt
How Music Schools Have Adapted Teaching To Deal With COVID
Heather O’Donovan: “Unlike six months ago, however, they’re prepared to face the challenges. I spoke with leadership at conservatories across the country to get a sense of how they’ve adapted to these unprecedented times. What they shared with me was a deeply heartening show of ingenuity, creativity, and resilience.” – WQXR (New York City)
Why Do Mixed-Genre Dance Companies Always Do Their Daily Classes In Ballet?
“That disconnect grows wider every year as contemporary choreographers look beyond ballet — if not beyond white Western forms entirely — in search of new inspiration and foundational techniques. Yet dancers at almost all of the world’s leading mixed-rep ensembles take ballet classes before rehearsals and shows. Most companies rarely depart from ballet more than twice a week and some never offer alternative classes.” This has, in fact, been a subject of debate since Diaghilev’s day. – Dance Magazine