Philadelphia’s skyline has always been a bit understated for an American city of its size (due in large part to a longstanding unofficial rule that no building could be taller than the statue of William Penn that stands atop the magnificent city hall) but ever since city officials began allowing developers greater leeway in the 1980s, Philly has been getting vertical. Inga Saffron says that the proliferation of skyscrapers isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but that the city’s distinct lack of an urban plan is a serious threat to Philadelphia’s distinctive look and feel. “The main issue is no longer about how high Philadelphia’s towers should go. It’s about guiding what happens on the ground.”
Blog
Levine Surgery Successful
Conductor James Levine is out of the hospital and recuperating at his New York home following shoulder surgery that will keep him out of action until the summer. Levine, who tore his rotator cuff in a fall following a Boston Symphony Orchestra concert last month, has canceled all his bookings through the spring, but hopes to be ready for the BSO’s Tanglewood season, which begins in July.
M’m! M’m! Expensive!
New York art dealer Irving Blum long ago donated most of his collection of Andy Warhol’s pop art depictions of Campbell’s Soup cans to the Museum of Modern Art, but he apparently held back at least one work, from the days before Warhol discovered silkscreening. “‘Small Torn Campbell’s Soup Can (Pepper Pot),’ an early hand-painted work from 1962, will be auctioned at Christie’s sale of postwar and contemporary art in New York on May 9. It is expected to fetch $10 million to $15 million.”
A Children’s Film Fest That Never Ends
“Beginning tomorrow, New York will have a year-round international, independent film series for children, the only one of its kind in the country. The first weekend of every month, the New York International Children’s Film Festival will show at least one feature for young children and one for ages 9 and older. Each film will be screened twice, preceded by a short, at the IFC Center in Greenwich Village.”
Apple vs. Apple (Again)
Apple Computer is being sued in British court by the Beatles’ record label, Apple Corps, with the label claiming that a copyright infringement occurred the moment the computer company moved into the music business with its iTunes downloading software. It is the third time that Apple Corps has gone after the maker of Macintosh computers and the iPod. At issue in the current fracas are differing interpretations of the out-of-court settlement that resulted from the last clash between the two Apples.
Pixar At 20
The animation company that changed the face of big-screen cartoons is celebrating it’s 20th anniversary. Pixar, which counts Finding Nemo and Monsters, Inc. among its hit films, dragged Hollywood into the age of digital animation more or less single-handedly, thus setting off a raging debate on whether computer-generated characters can ever really have the humanity of a hand-drawn version. Pixar’s chief stands firm: “Computers don’t create computer animation any more than a pencil creates pencil animation. What creates computer animation is the artist.”
Influential Eastman Dean Gets Contract Extension
“James Undercofler, the innovative and influential dean of the Eastman School of Music, has been reappointed to a five-year term at the conservatory… Undercofler has been a driving force behind Eastman’s Institute for Music Leadership, a first-of-its-kind center providing students with cutting-edge music and business skills for the 21st century. He also has played an influential role in the recent expansion of Eastman’s Community Music School, and in last year’s multi-million-dollar renovation of the Eastman Theatre.”
NY Phil Gets Year-Round Radio
The New York Philharmonic and New York radio station WQXR have expanded the orchestra’s national radio series from to 52 weeks (up from 39,) making it one of a very small number of American orchestras to have a year-round radio home for live concerts, and the only American ensemble with a 52-week national series. The New York Philharmonic This Week is currently heard on 250 stations across the U.S.
Sawallisch Retires
Conductor Wolfgang Sawallisch, who led the Philadelphia Orchestra for much of the 1990s and is known in Europe as one of the finest operatic conductors of his generation, is reported to have officially retired from the podium. “The 82-year-old Sawallisch has canceled a series of appearances with the Philadelphia Orchestra and other groups this season because of an unspecified illness… He has suffered from orthostatic hypotension, a blood pressure problem, in the past.”
The Year Of The Bard
The Royal Shakespeare Company is preparing to mount every play the Bard ever wrote, all within a single calendar year. “A new 1,000-seat Stratford venue, the thrust-staged Courtyard, opens in July and will be used alongside the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and the Swan. Not that matters are confined to conventional spaces; Holy Trinity Church, where Shakespeare is buried, will host the politics and pageantry of Henry VIII.”