The Philadelphia Orchestra has announced, and music critic Peter Dobrin of the Philadelphia Inquirer has published, that St. Louis Symphony Orchestra principal horn Jennifer Montone is about to become the principal horn in Philly. Montone says she’s not comfortable with the announcement, though. ‘It’s not a done deal yet’.”
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Filling Leadership At The Chicago Symphony
What to make of the Chicago Symphony’s decidion to appoint Bernard haitink as principal conductor? For one thing, it means Leonard Slatkin (who really wanted the job) is being passed over. “In addition to its work with Boulez and Haitink, the orchestra will make a two-week tour of Europe under the direction of Riccardo Muti in fall 2007. Muti is believed to be the top choice for music director among the musicians, but he is prohibitively expensive and unlikely to want to take on another American music directorship after his tenure in Philadelphia in the 1980s.”
Government Crackdown A Blow For Chinese Art
“Contemporary art in China has matured from the days when it was mainly imitative of the Western avant garde. The number of artists has spiked. Yet the crackdown on political art shows that official lines continue to be drawn firmly when it comes to the sacred goods of the nation, and that no political images or themes that are unapproved may be shown – even in relatively secluded places like Dashanzi, visited mainly by foreigners and a self-selecting group of educated Chinese.”
Chicago Symphony Appoints Haitink
The Chicago Symphony has named Bernard Haitink to the newly-created post of principal conductor, as longtime music director Daniel Barenboim prepares to depart. “Pierre Boulez, 81, the CSO’s principal guest conductor since 1995, will become conductor emeritus.”
Why Lit Prizes Pass Over Women
“The most prestigious prize-giving culture in Britain still often shows itself weirdly unable to recognise and reward the greatest writing, and for some reason books by women are still often the ones that lose out. When Zadie Smith’s ferocious and heartfelt novel On Beauty lost out in the Booker race last year to John Banville’s desiccated The Sea, it was only what one has come to expect from the Booker prize.”
Billy Joel Piano Concerto To Get Premiere
“Pianist Jeffrey Biegel will perform the Concerto for Piano and Orchestra with the EMF faculty orchestra. Biegel had initially asked Joel to write him a concerto, but due to time constraints the pop star suggested that some of his solo piano pieces be reworked into a concerto.”
Kennedy Center’s Arab Initiative
The Kennedy Center will stage a major festival of Arab art. “We don’t know enough about what other people are about. We read about government and politics. That doesn’t say anything about what they like, what they find beautiful. Also, the idea starts from my rather naive belief that arts create peace.”
Publisher Pulls Viswanathan Book
A novel by a Harvard student has been withdrawn from publication by the book’s publisher. Michael Pietsch, the firm’s publisher, said in a brief statement that bookstores would be asked to stop selling “How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life” and return any remaining copies to the publisher. He said the book’s author, Harvard sophomore Kaavya Viswanathan, had agreed to the withdrawal.
Pittsburgh Library A Hit With Kids
Who uses Pittsburgh’s libraries? Kids. According to a new study, the city’s Carnegie Library is a hit. “A magnet for teenagers and 20-somethings, the library rivals a shopping mall with its assortment of books, videos, DVDs and Internet access. The former bastion of the bookish, the library draws more crowds than the region’s sports teams.”
Back To The 80s – The Wedding Singer
“This transformation of a Hollywood movie into a Broadway musical, a trend that appears as irreversible as global warming, is an example of recycled recycling, or second-hand nostalgia.”