It’s been three years since New York’s Morgan Library last welcomed visitors to view its impressive collection of modern art, and when it relaunches itself next week following a $102 million renovation, it will do so with a flourish designed to elevate its status in the culture-rich Big Apple. “For the 82-year-old Morgan, the point is to proclaim that it is not just a well-preserved relic from Manhattan’s Gilded Age, but a modern museum with world-class collections and a full schedule of special exhibitions. For the first time it will have space to show off considerably more of its own treasures, including a rare Gutenberg Bible, ancient Near Eastern seals and drawings by masters like Leonardo, Rubens, Degas and Schiele.”
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Royal Scottish Slashes Ticket Prices, Gets Casual
The Royal Scottish National Orchestra is joining the expanding ranks of orchestras seeking to re-popularize their product by making it more appealing to the casual listener. “Principally, [this includes] two new series of concerts: Symphonies at Six, the RSNO’s first rush-hour series, and Naked Classics, a series devised to dissect and popularise classical music. Other new elements feature a design-it-yourself subscription series, a kids-go-free policy, and a dramatic reduction in the cost of concert tickets.” The RSNO’s young music director, Stephane Deneve, will also be getting involved in nearly every aspect of the season, leading family concerts and a Hallowe’en special in addition to his more traditional duties.
A Gathering Of Dying Languages
“By the end of the century, linguists predict, half of the world’s languages will be dead, victims of globalization. English is the major culprit, slowly extinguishing the other tongues that lie in its path.”
Hiring Outside The Box
The Philadelphia Orchestra has tapped the dean of the Eastman School of Music to be its next president and CEO. James Undercofler is a surprise choice for two main reasons: first, it is very unusual for an orchestra executive to come from the academic world; and second, Undercofler officially took himself out of the running for the position and signed a contract extension with Eastman a month ago.
Why Pop Doesn’t Travel Well
Why is it that pop music not sung in English doesn’t do well in the UK? “Indeed, with only 15% of UK record sales going to acts from outside the UK or US, the window is barely open at all. William Luff, senior press officer at EMI, puts this down to the strength of Anglophone pop as much as our notoriously insular attitude.”
Apple: One Price Fits All (We Insist On It)
Should different songs cost differnt prices? Steve Jobs thinks not. “Negotiations between Apple and the four major music companies – with which iTunes deals all expire in the next two months – have reached a crucial point as several record executives now say they are unlikely to convince Jobs to allow variable pricing, sources said. This marks a change of tune for the record industry as late last year several executives said they believed variable pricing – something the music companies have been pushing for – was imminent.”
Iconic Painting Slips Away From Aussie Museums
Australia’s museums fail to acquire an iconic work by John Brack. “One thing is certain: it is a painting lost to the people of the city whose recent past it documents in luminous panes of brilliantly executed light; not just a bleakly witty record of the six o’clock swill, but one of the most exquisite moments in Australian — Melburnian — modernism. Gone.”
Renzo Piano And Harvard’s Museum Transformation
Harvard has announced “a comprehensive transformation of its museums that will integrate the collections currently housed in separate facilities, and eventually add a second permanent facility for modern and contemporary art in Allston.”
French Galleries Sales Boom
“French art dealers have been cheered — and rather surprised — by the results of a study released last month, which showed that art galleries in France turned over five times more than auction houses in 2004.”
Parents Buying More CDs Than Kids
“The top 100 is strewn with records that can only be described as easy listening. And it is all a reflection of a significant change in the music industry – the power of ‘mum rock’. Forty-somethings now buy more than twice as many pop CDs as teenagers and the gap is growing every year.”