“An exhibition celebrating a century-old piece of legislation may not seem an obvious crowd pleaser. But for the curators, it’s a way of arguing that Italy’s art treasures would be vastly diminished were it not for its strict — some assert, draconian — cultural-heritage laws.”
Author: sbergman
Tough Decisions In Uncertain Times
“Those in both the for-profit theater industry, which depends on wealthy investors, and the nonprofit world, which depends on corporate donations, are anxiously watching to see just what kind of fallout will land on them” from the current economic crisis. “How do you maintain the momentum and at the same time cut your exposure down to the minimum? Where do you cut and where do you stay the course?”
Tracing A Composer’s Awakening
John Adams’s new memoir, Hallelujah Junction, reads like a gentle repudiation of the idea, popular at mid-century, that audience approval is irrelevant to classical music. “He knew at once, he says, that atonality, far from being the promised land that Schoenberg and Babbitt had predicted, was a dead end.”
LA Phil Establishes Comissioning Fund
“The Los Angeles Philharmonic has created a special new-music fund in honor of Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen, who steps down after 17 years at the end of the season. The fund will support the commissioning of new work, something Salonen increasingly has brought to the orchestra’s repertoire through the years.”
Conductor Wants Scottish Opera To Embrace Elitism
The new music director of Scottish Opera ” is forthright, straight-talking, to the point and fearlessly provocative.” In fact, Francesco Corti is unlike anything the company has seen before. “I’m sorry; probably this is heretical, but I believe that opera is still something for the elite… You don’t have to be commercial to sell it. You have to aim always at the top.”
More Than One Way To Skin An Orchestra
Look at orchestras from coast to coast in Canada, and you’ll discover very different ways of running things. “Ottawa’s orchestra is a bit on the conservative side, sticking with the more classic classical… Across the country, the Victoria Symphony’s conductor Tania Miller eyes that line between pop and classical.” And Kent Nagano’s Montreal Symphony “peppers its programs with post-tonal scores and edgy guest conductors.”
Falletta Named To US Arts Council Post
JoAnn Falletta, the music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic and the Virginia Symphony has been appointed by President Bush to the National Council on the Arts. “The council advises the National Endowment for the Arts on programs and policies. Council members help oversee grant applications, funding program guidelines and national initiatives.”
The Art President?
When Americans think of President Andrew Jackson, we usually think of him first as a war hero, and second… well, we probably don’t think twice. But a new book offers an extended assessment of the Jackson presidency’s impact on American art and culture.
Is Van Zweden On The Verge Of Global Stardom?
The Dallas Symphony’s new music director, Jaap van Zweden, is enjoying a well-deserved moment in the sun, as he strives to reach the heights as a conductor that he achieved so early in life as a violinist. (At 19, Van Zweden was the youngest ever concertmaster of Amsterdam’s acclaimed Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.) “The buzz is only getting louder…”
Maybe It Could Replace A Question About Flag Pins?
The moderator of tonight’s presidential debate, NBC’s Tom Brokaw, sits on the board of LA’s Norton Simon Museum of Art, and has a long history of supporting art and culture. But in the midst of a global financial meltdown, will even Brokaw manage to work in a single question about cultural policy?