Colorado Symphony music director Jeffrey Kahane was diagnosed with severe hypertension in March, and hasn’t conducted since. But his medical leave is set to end this month, and Kahane is reducing his commitments for future seasons in an effort to avoid a repeat crisis.
Author: sbergman
Nets Unveil Fall Lineups, But Where Are The Guys?
“This may be premature speculation, but has television given up on men? As the fall season is unveiled in New York this week, where the U.S. networks are spinning their lineups, one thing is becoming clear: we’re approaching The Year of the Woman.”
Hollywood vs. Bollywood
Hollywood releases dominate multiplexes around the world, but in India, a thriving and well-funded homegrown film industry has always held its own against the American blockbusters. Now, though, Hollywood is beginning a major push to make itself the primary player in Indian cinema, and Bollywood can be expected to push back, hard.
Poetry’s (Free) Answer To iTunes
An online service provided by the University of Pennsylvania allows users to download recordings of the work of hundreds of poets past and present, free of charge. Included in the 10,000-strong collection of recordings are rare readings by Gertrude Stein and Ezra Pound, and the site has already registered more than 8 million downloads.
Another State Offers Hollywood A Cash-Back Deal
Massachusetts lawmakers are offering newly sweetened deals for Hollywood filmmakers who want to shoot in the Bay State. “The change, which must be approved by lawmakers, would give just about everyone making a movie in Massachusetts a financial reward for shooting here. Previously, only projects with budgets of a certain size qualified for cash back.”
Venerable History Mag Stops The Presses
American Heritage, which has brought history to life for more than 50 years, announced this week that it is suspending publication. “The magazine has always been a bit of an anomaly among American publications. The circulation is currently 350,000, or as high as it has ever been,” but the magazine has been for sale for months, and no one in the industry appears to believe it has a future.
Met To Expand Live Simulcasts
“The Metropolitan Opera says its simulcasting of operas into theaters, which has sent ripples through the opera world, was so successful over the last five months that it will expand the program next season. [The company] hopes to double the number of theaters for each broadcast; increase the number of simulcast productions to eight; expand its foreign coverage… and offer pay-per-view showings for a month after the live event.” The first season of simulcasting was so successful that the Met even expects it to turn a profit in future years.
Warhol Sale Sets New Record
“A new record was set for work by Andy Warhol when a painting of a car crash sold for $71.7m in New York. The 1963 painting, Green Car Crash (Green Burning Car I), depicts an overturned car on fire. It easily beat the previous auction record for work by the pop art pioneer, set last November when a painting of Chairman Mao sold for $17.4m. The sale, at Christie’s, was part of the second most-lucrative art auction ever, earning a total of $385m.”
K-W Symphony Still Looking For Long-Term Stability
Ontario’s Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, which came dangerously close to shutting down earlier this season, has presented a new financial plan it says will keep the orchestra solvent going forward. A key component of the plan will be boosting the KWSO’s endowment, and new directors of marketing and development are being sought.
NY Opera Orch Bounces Back
“Having come through the financial struggles that jeopardized its continued existence earlier this year, the Opera Orchestra of New York has announced a complete three-work season for 2007-08… Reports of OONY’s money woes seem to have galvanized what company spokespeople describe as an outpouring of support from legions of fans, many of the opera world’s leading singers, and members of the orchestra.”