There are times when it seems that conductor/pianist Daniel Barenboim must be the busiest speechmaker in the classical music world. “This week, Barenboim puts down his baton and some of his worries to deliver the first in his series of the BBC’s annual Reith Lectures. He will argue that music lies at the heart of our understanding of what it is to be human and his theme will encompass how music provides a way of making sense of the world: of politics, of history and of our future.”
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Big Expectations For The New SF Conservatory
San Francisco Conservatory is preparing to move into its fancy new digs in the heart of the city’s arts district next fall, and hopes are high that the $80 million facility will finally allow the school to compete with the U.S.’s major conservatories on something closer to an equal footing. “Serving roughly the same number of students and faculty with twice the usable space of [the current building,] it will have at least double the current number of classrooms and practice rooms. The library will be three times [the current] size, and boast a listening room, reading room, and far more computer stations… There will also be an electronic music studio and a recording studio, a café, and a genuine box office for concert ticket sales.”
The Cult of Corporate Radio
Commercial radio has plenty of detractors, of course, and no shortage of critics who call it soulless, corporate, and gimmicky. But what about those who work on the inside? “Working for commercial radio, certainly my experience of it, was, I suspect, a lot like being in a cult.”
Not All Plagiarism Stories End Badly
It was just over a year ago that UK playwright Bryony Lavery’s career appeared to be on the verge of imploding. Accused of plagiarizing large portions of her award-winning play, “Frozen,” from a New Yorker profile of a psychologist specializing in serial killers, Lavery argued vociferously against the charges, but faced an avalanche of publicity. But instead of killing her career, the accusations caused the artistic community to rally around her, and even the New Yorker author rushed to her defense.
Will Podcasting Threaten Public Radio’s Revenue Stream?
Podcasting has been a godsend for many public radio shows, allowing them a way to distribute their product far more widely than traditional radio allows. But the phenomenon may be hurting America’s public radio stations – after all, when a listener gets used to hearing his favorite shows through downloadable audio, he’s no longer listening to his local public station, which puts him out of range of the dreaded pledge drives.
From Bombs To Music: A Kurdish Life
By the time Serwan Serini was 30, he had founded the Kurdistan National Symphony Orchestra despite a near-total lack of arts infrastructure in his homeland in the north of Iraq. He had dreams of using his love of music and art to help craft a true national identity for his people. But the endless cycle of violence in Iraq drove him to the U.S., and now, from his home base in the Twin Cities, “[he] has a new dream — to open a school to give Kurdish children a chance to learn music in ways he couldn’t.”
Richmond Arts Supporters Splinter By Age
“In the wake of stalled plans for a downtown [Richmond, Virginia] arts center and a struggling Virginia Performing Arts Foundation, a group of young supporters has separated from the foundation to carve out its own identity. Opus, an organization of men and women younger than 40 whose mission is to promote performing arts downtown, originated in 2003 as an outgrowth of the foundation. Now it’s working to become a nonprofit corporation with bylaws and a board.”
MN Arts Groups See Mixed Results In Funding Push
It’s bonding bill time at the Minnesota State Legislature, and for Twin Cities arts groups, that means it’s time to hit up the state for extra cash for special projects, expansions, and the like. But there’s only so much money to go around, and for those lobbying at the Capitol, it winds up being a zero-sum game, with definite winners and losers.
Glasgow Fair Tries To Take The Next Step
“After 10 years of financial development but fluctuating quality and a growing belief that it was falling just too far downmarket to attract serious players, this year’s Glasgow Art Fair is making determined efforts to mature. Of course, growing up is hard to do and the fair has come under concerted pressure from those local galleries who perceive themselves as unfairly excluded… For the visitor, the ability to breathe will be welcome, the atmosphere is far more visually careful, with spaces well hung and a better focus on individual artists rather than a pile-’em-high Wal-Mart approach to retailing that was beginning to prevail.”
The Year Of Rembrandt
“This year, the 400th anniversary of Rembrandt’s birth, will be celebrated with a broad spectrum of artistic activities across Europe, ranging from a major exhibition which contrasts Rembrandt with that other great painter of light, Caravaggio, to a stage musical about the Dutch master and a walk in his footsteps in his home city.”