The American music world is celebrating Leonard Bernstein’s 90th birthday this year, and looking back at the man’s career, whether as conductor, composer, or speaker, it’s clear that his discography represents one of music’s most complete and engaging portraits. “For those of us of a certain age part of Bernstein’s appeal was his ability to teach, painlessly.”
Author: sbergman
Van Zweden’s Dallas Debut Goes Well
Jaap van Zweden has conducted his first concert as music director of the Dallas Symphony, and critic Scott Cantrell, never a fan of van Zweden’s predecessor, Andrew Litton, is blown away. “Whatever you’ve planned, drop it and get to one of these performances… The high-drama moments were dazzling, but no less amazing were the many delicacies.”
Finally, Downloading Gets Classical
“If you’re a classical music connoisseur, chances are you’ve never felt much love for the likes of iTunes and Napster.” But this week, a music download service specializing in classical was launched, featuring much higher fidelity than traditional downloads, and a library that already boasts 18,000 titles.
New Jersey Gets Its Opera Back
The New Jersey State Opera, “which was deeply in debt and in danger of folding after four decades after its founder, Alfredo Silipigni, died two years ago, has been reorganized” and will have its first performance since 2006 this weekend. The company is also looking to build a summer venue on the Jersey Shore.
BET Programming Chief To Depart
“Reginald Hudlin, a Hollywood veteran who was brought to Washington-based Black Entertainment Television three years ago to overhaul programming, is leaving the embattled network… Before joining BET, Hudlin was a vocal critic of its programming; as programming chief, however, he vigorously defended the schedule — even as he pledged to dramatically alter the lineup with original scripted shows.”
Schwarz Leaving Seattle
Gerard Schwarz will step down from the music directorship of the Seattle Symphony in 2011, after more than two decades at the orchestra’s helm. “Schwarz, 61, said there was no pressure on him not to seek a renewal of his contract. However, the last few years have been tumultuous for him, with fierce power struggles on the board and among the staff; disputes between him and SSO musicians; lawsuits; million-dollar budget deficits, and yards of bad press, locally, nationally and internationally.”
Ambitious ROM Documentary To Premiere
A whopping 400 hours of footage shot during the Royal Ontario Museum’s “controversial and much-delayed” expansion project has been condensed down to a two-part television documentary. The filmmakers “caught some remarkable behind-the-scenes moments, [including] the startling candour of the ROM staffers who appear in the film.”
Forget Harry’s Wand – It’s Shaffer’s Play That Matters
Daniel Radcliffe’s nude scene may have stolen all the headlines in last year’s revival, but Michael Riedel says that Peter Shaffer’s Equus is worth a much closer (and less prurient) look. “The haunting drama about an emotionally disturbed boy who blinds six horses with a spike stunned audiences into what Shaffer calls ‘breathless silence’ when it premiered at the Old Vic in London in 1973.”
Report: Toronto FilmFest Needs Much More Funding
“The City of Toronto should designate the TIFF Group a ‘major cultural organization’ and more than double its financial support, says a staff report to the city’s economic development committee.”
Feisty CEO Can’t Stop Sirius Stock Plunge
With satellite radio still struggling to attract a mass audience, Sirius chief Mel Karmazin is taking direct aim at terrestrial radio, saying it “sucks” as an investment compared with satellite. The CEO’s message, delivered at a Merrill Lynch conference, seemed to fall on deaf ears Tuesday, though, and Sirius XM stock sank to a price not seen in more than five years.