Washington’s Kennedy Center is home to a new concert series, Pro Musica Hebraica, which will explore the far-reaching genre of Jewish music. But right there at the outset, there’s a problem. What exactly is Jewish music? “In some cases the answer is clear… But in this realm of classical or art music, you run into all kinds of semantic debates.”
Author: sbergman
Get Ready For The Next Wave Of Chick Flicks
The term “chick flick” is a double-edged sword in Hollywood, describing everything from romantic comedies to period dramas – all the stuff women love and men (supposedly) don’t get. But predicting just what will actually attract women to buy movie tickets isn’t as easy as the formula makes it sound.
Chinese Art Auction Beats All Estimates
“Sotheby’s Hong Kong auction of Chinese contemporary art brought in nearly $18 million on Wednesday afternoon… More than 100 works from the Estella Collection, which Sotheby’s has called the largest and most important trove of Chinese contemporary art, were on the block.”
NY Phil Eying Summer Island Home
“The New York Philharmonic will give a free concert on Governors Island on July 5, officials said Tuesday, a possible step toward the orchestra’s cherished hope of finding a permanent summer home in the New York area.”
French Film Breaking Barriers And Box Office Records
Just as in the US, it’s rare that France comes together around a single cultural experience. But a new film focusing on a tiny corner of the northern part of the country, typically derided by the rest of France, has now been seen by fully 25% of the country’s residents, and “this weekend, it became the most popular French film of all time.”
Is The BBC Just Another TV Network?
Britain’s telecommunications regulator is considering a plan under which the BBC would lose its exclusive access to revenue from the license fee Britons pay for owning a television once broadcasters convert to digital signals. “The rationale is that the BBC has lost its unique role by competing commercially with rivals” and abandoning its commitment to the arts and education.
Missing TSO Violin Found
“A Toronto Symphony Orchestra veteran will be getting his prized violin back today, thanks to a bag lady and a sharp-eyed man who lives near where he left the instrument. But there’s a twist. The $1,000 reward offered by Jim Wallenberg will not be paid to the bag lady who found the violin, but to the couple who paid the woman $35 and a ring to give them the violin.”
Is Columbus Symphony Board To Blame For Woes?
“As the Columbus Symphony limps from paycheck to paycheck, the accusations explode like cannons during the 1812 Overture. Much of the blame has landed at the feet of the symphony board… Broadly, critics blame the board for mismanagement. Specifically, they accuse trustees of insufficient fundraising, poor community advocacy and a lack of passion for the music.”
The Estranged Wagner
The descendants of Richard Wagner are generally reluctant to discuss their familial links to Adold Hitler and the Third Reich. But then, there’s Gottfried Wagner. “Gottfried became ashamed of being both German and a Wagner,” and has no problem explaining why.
Pulitzers To Novelist Diaz, Poets Hass & Schutz
“Junot Diaz has won the Pulitzer fiction prize for The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, an ambitious novel that took him 11 years to complete… The poetry prize was shared between two authors: Robert Hass for Time and Materials and Philip Schultz for Failure.”