The Pittsburgh Symphony, now done with its three-year experiment of making do without a music director, is hoping that the newly installed Manfred Honeck can take it back to the heights it enjoyed under conductor Mariss Jansons. The climb began this weekend, and early indications are good.
Author: sbergman
Which Eschenbach Will The NSO Be Getting?
The National Symphony’s choice of Christoph Eschenbach to be its next music director puts one of the most polarizing figures in the classical music world at the helm. One Philadelphia critic once said that there were two schools of thought: “those who say Eschenbach is a second-rate conductor now being forced to the top by a vacuum; and another group claiming him as a major talent, long overlooked, now being forced to the top by a vacuum.”
The Dark Side Of Prodigy
Superstar pianist Lang Lang attracts criticism almost as easily as he attracts publicity. And when some critics heard that the 26-year-old was writing a memoir, questions flew over what such a young man could possibly have to write about. As it turns out, though, the pianist has a harrowing personal history to recount…
SPAC in Black
“Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) is expected to finish 2008 in the black – despite high gas prices, rainy weather and economic worries that may have kept fans away.” But 2009 is looking like a very tough year…
Fighting To Revive An Orchestra
The CBC may have killed off its Radio Orchestra months ago, but its conductor hasn’t given up on resurrecting it. “It’s a long shot but this is too good an orchestra to go down without a fight — it’s one of the four or five best in the country.”
What’s The Point?
Playwright Tony Kushner was recently awarded $200,000 as one of the most influential figures in American theatre. Terry Teachout wonders what the benefit of handing out cash to talented but established artists is supposed to be. The answer seems to be all about star power, but “in a pop culture, no amount of money is large enough to make an egghead famous, much less the group that gives it to him.”
Cultural Policy Shut Out Of Presidential Politics
Whether or not tonight’s presidential debate in Mississippi goes forward as scheduled, there’s no chance that cultural policy will be even a blip on the radar screen of the participants. “The reason these questions won’t be asked is not because they are trivial. Quite the contrary. The debates, which aren’t really debates but elaborately scripted reality television shows, are designed to be trivial.”
Could Hip-Hop Celebrity Be Coming To Broadway?
Hip-hop star Jay-Z may be on the verge of investing in a new Broadway production in a big way. Fela! – which is based on the life of Nigerian musician and political activist Fela Kuti – is a creation of choreographer Bill T. Jones, and is currently running off-Broadway.
D.C. Gallery To Auction Off Part Of Its Collection
“The Corcoran Gallery of Art plans to sell 10 paintings from its permanent collection at a public auction in December as a first step toward refining the museum’s focus and providing funds for purchasing future works. The sale is an extremely rare move for a Washington museum, but not surprising for the Corcoran, which has grappled with its direction and finances for several years.”
Venerable Editor Charlotte Kohler Dies At 99
“Charlotte Kohler, who as a longtime editor of The Virginia Quarterly Review was a quiet influence on the course of 20th-century American writing, died at her home in Charlottesville, Va., on Sept. 15. She was 99.”