When the UK’s Cheltenham Festival appointed conductor Martyn Brabbins to be its new director last year, all involved knew they were taking a chance. “Conductors lead busy, peripatetic lives; they are far from obvious candidates to run music festivals… A year on, the appointment seems an inspired choice. Not only had Brabbins made his home in Gloucestershire, but he had the reputation of being a conductor with an unusually wide range of musical sympathies.”
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Legendary English Gallery Owner Dies
IM Birtwhistle was more than your average gallery owner and art aficionado. A prominent part of British cultural life for decades, Birtwhistle was a well-known lyric poet, owner of any number of well-regarded art galleries, and a tireless champion of up-and-coming young artists. She died this week at the age of 88.
Comic Artist Alex Toth, 77
“During a restless career of more than 45 years, the American artist Alex Toth, who has died aged 77, drew comics in almost every genre – from war and western to horror and romance – and illustrated stories of Superman, Batman, Zorro, Green Lantern, the Flash and the X-Men… A man of strong convictions, he was impatient with pedestrian scripts, meddling editors, shortsighted publishers and his own shortcomings. Yet he remained passionate about improving his craft and his chosen media, animation and, above all, comics.”
Germans Wish Nazi-Era Painting Could Have Stayed At Home
“Germany reacted with dismay yesterday after a painting by the country’s most famous living artist, revealing his family’s tragic history under the Nazis, was sold to an overseas buyer. Gerhard Richter’s work, Aunt Marianne, went for £2.1m at auction… to a private Asian buyer at a Sotheby’s auction in London.”
Studio Sues Over Student Film
A Yale film student uses a bootlegged script and shoots a scene from Oliver Stone’s upcoming 9/11 movie. The project is a hit on the internet and Stone’s studio is suing. “If this was just a class project that would be seen by a very limited audience, that’s not such a big deal. But when it is on the Internet and starts spreading and causing confusion, we have to exercise our copyright.”
A Film Fest In Film’s Backyard
Why does Los Angeles need a film festival? “So many people in L.A. are, quite frankly, ground down by life in the industry. We want to remind them why they came here in the first place. We want to remind them that it was for a love of film.” Oh, right, film. The stuff that came before the designer gowns, competitive canapes and celebrity pregnancy countdowns.”
Still Learning Toronto’s New Opera House
Robert Everett-Green isn’t ready yet to pronounce on the acoustics of Toronto’s new Opera House: “I’ve been in the hall four times (five, if you count a hard-hat tour) and heard music from six different seats on three levels. It has been a steep learning experience so far, and I’m not just talking about the stairs up to the fifth ring. One thing I’m sure of is that it’s mighty interesting to have a new opera house on the block.”
Uproar Follows CBC Decision To Bump Newscast For Reality Show
” ‘I cannot think of two types of programming that are more at odds with each other. It’s a terrible decision, I think it’s a wrong decision. It seriously diminishes . . . the spirit and letter of the public broadcaster. It’s almost as if the CBC is at war with itself’. CBC’s new programming team, led by executive vice-president Richard Stursberg, has made no bones about the need to shake up a public network that has seen ratings slide the past couple of years as audiences bailed in droves.”
A Plan To Help Diversify Chicago Arts Leadership
The Chicago Community Trust is investing $1 million in a program to try to diversify management of the city’s cultural institutions. “The trust cited data showing that non-Hispanic whites fill 88 percent of the management positions of arts and cultural institutions nationwide. Among the six participant institutions, whites compose 82 percent of management posts, African-Americans 9 percent, Latinos 5 percent and Asians 4 percent.”
The Curiously Uneven Royal Ballet
“As the Royal Ballet marks its 75th anniversary, do we find the troupe in good health, paying due homage to its signature creations while striding confidently into the future? Well, not exactly, based on this initial view…”