After two seasons in the red, the Pittsburgh Symphony announced this week that it balanced its budget for the 2006-07 season. Balance was achieved partly because of a $29.5m gift from the PSO’s board chair. The orchestra is in the quiet phase of an $80m capital campaign.
Author: sbergman
Mpls Bridge Will Definitely Be Function Over Form
As Minneapolis prepares to rebuild the interstate bridge that famously collapsed this summer, some are lamenting that the necessary speed of the process is leaving any thought of quality architecture aside. “The word ‘underwhelming’ came up repeatedly at a forum set up to give community members a chance to weigh in on final design details for the $234 million bridge.”
How The ROH Saved Its Ring
It was a nightmare scenario last weekend for the Royal Opera House, when star soprano Lisa Gasteen fell ill on the eve of the first performance of a new, high-profile production of Wagner’s Ring. What followed was 24 hours of the type of frantic action that always makes for great storytelling after the fact.
Russia Seeks Guarantees On Disputed Paintings
“The director of Russia’s Pushkin museum said yesterday she would not lend any pictures to Britain for a forthcoming Royal Academy exhibition unless she received ‘absolute guarantees’ that they would not be the subject of legal action in the UK… Much of the show, including Matisse’s stunning Dance (II), comprises paintings once owned by Sergei Shchukin, one of tsarist Russia’s most prominent collectors. His grandson, Andre-Marc Delocque-Fourcaud, has in the past lodged unsuccessful legal claims to the works.”
Will Waters’s Hit Translate Across The Pond?
“It’s a huge success on Broadway and has been turned back into a movie, but how will British audiences respond to Hairspray the musical? …Hairspray arrives in London burdened with hype, which can break as much as make a show, and facing a fight for attention.”
From Blog To Big Bucks
“Against market trends, Dzanc Books is a small publisher poised to succeed, hiring staff and expanding quickly. And that may be because it sprouted from a blog rather than a traditional printing press, and it is certainly web-savvy.”
Cashing In On Banksy
“The biggest auction yet of original works by graffiti artist Banksy has exceeded its estimated takings. The 10 pieces and a print were expected to raise a maximum of £300,000 in total when they were sold in London at auction house Bonhams. However, the works actually fetched £546,000 altogether.”
Is Korngold The Key To A New Era Of Film Music?
Norman Lebrecht thinks so. “Korngold, 110 next month and 50 years dead, richly deserves to be welcomed back to the concert hall. But he deserves even more to be recognised as a pioneer of an allied art, an art that now cries out for a new Korngold to rejuvenate its methodology. The time has come to erase the line between movie and concert music, to encourage the likes of John Adams, Thomas Ades and Mark Anton Turnage to try their hand at lifting film tracks out of the Korngold groove and into 21st century modalities.”
California Fires Impacting Arts Groups
“San Diego’s cultural institutions operate on a very thin margin and a natural disaster can have devastating long-term effects. So far this week, San Diego County’s wildfires have forced many theaters, concert venues and museums to close their doors and cancel performances, but the real pinch will come later this week if evacuations, road closures and a heavy smoke layer continue to keep county residents holed up in their homes.”
Parents In The Practice Room
Parents of athletes are well known as long-suffering figures who must be as dedicated as their children for success to be achieved. But for parents of musicians, the job may be even tougher: not only are you expected to ferry your budding virtuoso to endless lessons, rehearsals, and concerts, you also have to help them (or should that be make them?) practice. “So why not leave it up to them? Because we know they would give up.”