Author: sbergman

Daring To Take A Swipe At Dudamel

The breathless media coverage accorded Venezuelan wunderkind Gustavo Dudamel since he was announced as the next music director of the LA Philharmonic has been almost uncorrupted by naysayers – almost. “Dudamel’s hyperactive conducting style seemed, in Lucerne, like a smokescreen for a lack of real engagement with the core repertoire.”

DPRK Orchestra Tour On Hold

“A tour of Britain by the North Korean state symphony orchestra has been postponed until next year… Although a bank has withdrawn its sponsorship for the tour because of the credit crunch, organiser Suzannah Clarke said the concerts could have gone ahead with another backer but concerns over the venue in London had forced a rethink.”

Venice/Toronto Film Fests Shifting Roles

“The film fests in Venice, Italy and Toronto do more than just overlap. They make for the oddest of couples, rivals who act like best friends. For the longest time, Venice was the older brother, the stately fest that embraced tradition, and… Toronto (or TIFF as it’s usually called) was the eager younger sibling, billing itself as a people’s festival.” But are the roles reversing?

Telling The Civil War From The Confederate Side

“For Northerners, the history of the Civil War seems pretty much settled. [But] things are interpreted more ambiguously here in what once was the capital of the Confederate States of America… Institutions here — the Museum of the Confederacy and the American Civil War Center — argue that the war should be seen, at least in part, from the perspective of the losing side, and that such understanding need not be completely derailed by the moral outrage of slavery.”

Classical Music: Stuff White People Pretend To Like?

The popular satirical web site “Stuff White People Like” has finally gotten around to skewering the lily-white world of classical music. “Though white people do not actually listen to classical music, they like to believe that they are the type of people who would enjoy it… [The genre] has used white guilt to exist for over a century beyond its relevance.”