Charles Wuorinen is not the type of composer anyone would ever mistake for a populist. “Words that have been used to describe his works [include] difficult – modernist – rigorous – impenetrable – gnarly – imposing – severe.” Yet in an age when modernist composition is supposed to be out of fashion, Wuorinen is thriving.
Author: sbergman
Boston Symphony Claims Massive Economic Impact
“Seeking to back its claims of a substantial economic impact on Boston and the Berkshires, the Boston Symphony Orchestra has released a study that found that the world’s largest symphony organization and its visitors generate more than $166 million in economic activity each year.”
Columbus Cancels Musician Contracts (Or Tries To)
“The Columbus Symphony has terminated its labor contract with musicians — a move intended to save the cash-strapped orchestra $800,000 in wages. [But] a musicians-union official said yesterday that the symphony’s board of trustees can’t cancel the agreement.”
Why Do Women Need A Special Prize?
Is there still a need for women-only literary prizes like the Orange Prize? “What is it about being a woman that is particularly under threat, in need of attention, or indeed distinctive from being a man when it comes to picking up a pen?”
Competition Eating Into Sotheby’s Profits
“Increased competition from Christie’s, particularly in the fields of impressionist, modern and contemporary art, contributed to an $18.1m (or 12%) fall in turnover at Sotheby’s for the first three months of 2008, compared with the same period last year.”
Who Killed The Columbus Symphony?
So what really happened to the Columbus Symphony? Orchestras its size generally don’t just up and die, after all. One group working to save the CSO says that media coverage of the crisis was badly slanted and that the ensemble’s management seemed uninterested in building audience.
Dickens Desk Sale Exceeds All Expectations
“The desk where Charles Dickens wrote Great Expectations and his final correspondence hours before his death fetched £433,250 [over $845,000] at auction on Wednesday, around seven times its pre-sale estimate.”
Wait – The Downloads Cost More Than DVDs?
“British customers will be able to buy films from Apple’s iTunes website, in a move that is expected breathe new life into the digital download market. From today, Britons will be able to download new release films from iTunes for £10.99 – about £1 more expensive than buying a DVD version on Amazon.”
The Outsourcing Of British Film
“Trace the whereabouts of Britain’s most celebrated film-makers and it is striking how few of them have been working at home. Of course, producers don’t just look for the perfect locations for their movies. They want tax breaks, easy funding, affordable labour and the best studio facilities. But is Britain providing them with the conditions they need to make their movies?”
Seeing Art In All The Faces
“Portraiture is all around us, at every stage in our lives… And yet in spite of its ubiquity, many take it for granted, or even treat it as the poor relation of other forms of painting.” How many of us can even say that we really know how to look at, and judge, a portrait?