The Baltimore Symphony plays Carnegie Hall this week, with its high-profile music director Marin Alsop on the podium. So what, right? Alsop’s probably played Carnegie plenty of times with other orchestras… what? She hasn’t? Ever?
Author: sbergman
Still Your Father’s Grammys
“For 50 years, the Grammys have been the most prestigious (and most criticized) of the music awards shows. In many ways, they still are. But they’re still operating as if it’s 1988. Much like the industry they represent, the Grammys have been slow to adjust to the massive technological changes that have made music more accessible than ever.”
Should The Kimmel Get A Makeover?
Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts has been criticized ever since its opening in 2001 for being incomplete, flawed, and less functional as a public space and concert venue than it should be. Inga Saffron says that it’s time to correct the mistakes. “The key is to think big.”
Oscar Gets Arty
“Oscar-nominated films are often small, dark and unintended for mass audiences. They’re about art, after all, not commerce. But that’s especially true of this year’s crop, which has little mainstream buzz and among the lowest box-office totals in recent years.”
CanStage Faces Layoffs, Cutbacks
“The Canadian Stage Company, which has a stated aim to create and produce the best in Canadian theatre, will not produce any Canadian work on its mainstage next season… The country’s largest regional theatre [also] laid off up to a dozen people yesterday as part of a major restructuring effort in the face of ongoing financial and artistic problems.”
Smithsonian’s West Overspent On Travel, Study Says
“The founding director of the National Museum of the American Indian was away from the office more days and spent more Smithsonian money traveling last year than other museum directors at the institution, a newly released review of Smithsonian travel found.”
Prince Suffers Stroke; Expected To Recover
“Legendary Broadway director and producer Hal Prince suffered what close friends are calling a ‘minor stroke’ [last] Sunday afternoon. He was released from the hospital Wednesday – his 80th birthday – and is expected to be on the mend soon.”
Phoenix To Get Musical Museum
The CEO of Target Corporation is donating millions of dollars to establish a museum devoted to showcasing musical instruments of all kinds on the outskirts of Phoenix. “The new museum has delighted experts in the history of musical instruments, the poor relation in music academia and the museum world. It also comes at a time when world music is increasingly present on concert stages.”
Italy Makes A Major Art Loan To The Getty
“A major loan exhibition of Bernini’s sculptures, paintings and drawings that is also described as the first full viewing of this artist’s portrait busts is headed for the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles this summer. Including major loans from Italian museums, the exhibition underlines the benefits gained by the Getty from its recent handover of several dozen Greek antiquities.”
One Singular Profit-Sharing Arrangement
“The dancers and actors who participated in the 1974 recordings and workshops that were the foundation of A Chorus Line have been granted a financial interest in the current Broadway revival… The arrangement brings to a close 16 months of negotiations.”