Martin Feinstein, who helped build the Kennedy Center into a significant artistic institution in the 1970s and then put the Washington Opera on the map in the 1980s and ’90s, was an irrepressible entertainer.
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A London Renovation Forces Orchestras To Cope
London’s Royal Festival Hall is closed for extensive renovations. “The closing of the roughly 3,000-seat Festival Hall — a regular stopping point on the Famous Performer circuit (from Callas to Hendrix to Karajan) — was traumatic, said Michael Lynch, the chief executive of the South Bank Center. The center comprises Royal Festival Hall, the smaller Queen Elizabeth Hall, the even smaller Purcell Room, the Jubilee Gardens and the Hayward Gallery. The renovation, more than 20 years in the making, is part of a revitalization of the complex.”
Irony Abounds – Frey Fights For Truth And Integrity
Disgraced author James Frey was in Hollywood in January attending to the making of a movie of his memoir. The movie makers had changed some details in the book. Frey had what was described as “a classic Hollywood fit.” Frey said they didn’t have the right to alter the facts in the book, the observer recalled this week. “How could they do this? This was his life! How could they change the facts of his life?” Eventually, Frey fired his agency.
English National Opera Wins Labor Peace With Contract
Staff of the English National Opera have agreed on a new contract after threatening to strike. “The deal includes a 3% pay rise, backdated to August 2005, as well as a slight increase in employer’s pension contributions.”
Frey’s Editor: I Was A Victim Too
James Frey’s editor now says he was duped by the author, and believed that everything in the book was true. “Throughout the editing process, I raised questions with James about the veracity of events he recounted in the book and in each instance he assured me that his account was accurate and true. The only things in ‘A Million Little Pieces’ that I understood were altered were the names and identifying characteristics of some of the people in the book to protect their real identities.”
The Art Fair Problem
Though art fairs like Frieze and Art Basel Miami are doing well, there is mounting evidence that many traditional art fairs are struggling to survive…
Is The Internet Endangered?
Big media and telecommunications companies are considering plans that would dramatically change how the internet works. “Under the plans they are considering, all of us–from content providers to individual users–would pay more to surf online, stream videos or even send e-mail. Industry planners are mulling new subscription plans that would further limit the online experience, establishing “platinum,” “gold” and “silver” levels of Internet access that would set limits on the number of downloads, media streams or even e-mail messages that could be sent or received.”
Appreciating Nam June Paik
“Paik understood the challenge of the new age he helped usher in. He maintained that the central objective in combining art and technology was ‘not how to make another scientific toy, but how to humanize the technology and the electronic medium.’ For him, humanization involved a giddy, celebratory joyfulness. His aim, he once said, was a ‘TV version of Vivaldi’.”
Amazon’s Online Music Store – Added Value?
Word is that Amazon is getting into the online music business. “Customers who buy a CD will receive a digital copy of the album or song, which they can transfer to a portable digital music player.”
Movie-Going – It’s The Online Critics Who Count
The internet is changing the way people make choices about what movies to see. “With the advent of the Internet, geography is history. Today, more than 90% of the target moviegoer demographic ages 13-34 go online to get their movie information.”