The Brodsky Quartet has been appointed as ensemble in residence at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, and Michael Tumelty says the match couldn’t be better. “The cult string quartet are not only a group with a stellar international reputation. They are one of a handful of string quartets that have come to represent an elite in redefining the nature and function of a string quartet ensemble.”
Author: sbergman
The Secret To Making Your Money Back
With major West End musicals now routinely costing untold millions to bring to the stage, it’s become more crucial than ever to have an idea of what is likely to result in success before one begins. Thus, the rules: “If you can’t sum up your £10 million spectacular in a breath, forget about it… Exude a winner’s confidence before you even open.” And if you want a long run, “people have got to come more than once.”
You’ve Got To Admire The Effort (And The Efficiency)
Can a single book, no matter how weighty, ever even begin to cover 30,000 years of art history? One is attempting to, and if the reaction of two UK critics is any indication, it succeeds in conveying scope, even if it does twist all 30,000 years to fit what is “currently an extremely fashionable stance.”
How Collectors Can Change The Course Of Art
“An exhibition that has just opened at the Royal Academy serves as a reminder of how one man, buying against the tide of fashion, almost single-handedly put the ‘great’ back into British art.” As it happens, the collector (who sports a famous name in the art world) is an American…
The New Cronenberg?
“Eastern Promises, a Russian mob story set in contemporary London, is far removed from the films that earned [director David Cronenberg] the nickname ‘king of venereal horror.” But no one need worry that the Canadian is softening with age. “I’ve always been dealing with transgressive groups, so in that sense, it’s not unusual for me, as I’m interested in marginal characters outside society.”
The Best-Kept Secret In UK Theatre? Scotland.
Typically, English theatre critics write about Scotland once a year, at Edinburgh Festival time. Michael Billingsley says that they’re missing out. “Scotland’s current political and economic buoyancy is reflected in its theatre… Where England grows ever more introspective, Scotland looks outward.”
A New Tolstoy War
“Almost 140 years after first publication of [Tolstoy’s War & Peace,] a nasty duel has broken out between rival versions of the weighty tome published in the US. The argument between the two new translations is, fittingly, one of weight. Acclaimed translators Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky’s faithful version of Tolstoy’s tale of birth, death, love, war and peace clocks in at 1,267 pages and features all of the 500 or so characters Tolstoy introduced… Facing it in bookshops across the US is British translator Andrew Bromfield’s reduced, ‘original’ version. The Bromfield War and Peace, first published in Britain earlier this year, runs to just 886 pages, does away with the French and the philosophical digressions, and boasts a happy ending.”
Technology Brings New Mona Lisa Revelations
“The Mona Lisa’s famously enigmatic smile was originally wider and more expressive, according to new scans of the painting… [Also,] Da Vinci changed his mind about the position of two fingers on the Mona Lisa’s left hand,” and the colors of the famous portrait have changed considerably with age.
Assessing The Turner Shortlist
So much is written about the Turner Prize when the shortlist is unveiled every year, but how often do you get a serious examination of the actual art being celebrated? It may not be as juicy as all the ideological debate, but Adrian Searle has a complete analysis of the 2007 Turner finalists, currently on show in Liverpool.
Russian Art Claims Could Interfere With Exhibit
“More than 100 masterpieces of art from the great Russian museums – the vast majority of which have never been seen in Britain – are being lined up for an exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, early next year… [But] a potential cloud hangs over the show: possible legal claims could be made on the priceless pictures.”