A dog shelter in England has begun playing classical music to calm its canine guests. “The animals are said to respond well to the strains of Beethoven and Mozart, but are not fans of pop or dance music.”
Blog
A New Look At Abstract Expressionism
A new documentary focusing on the revolutionary changes that hit the American art scene beginning in the 1960s has an intriguing premise: that artists of the era consciously abandoned any attempt to cater to existing public interests and began creating art that viewers would simply have to “catch up” to. But in the years since Warhol, Stella, Hockney, and others burst onto the scene, much of the museum-going public has managed to embrace the revolutionary style they embodied.
Success Is Nice, But It’s Not Really The Point
Former eBay president Jeff Skoll has crafted a niche for himself as a different kind of Hollywood mogul. “After cashing out of eBay with $2 billion in his pocket, he started Participant Productions, a movie company that had a remarkable burst of critically acclaimed films last year… If you notice a lack of boneheaded action, smarmy romance, and brain-dead comedy, it’s because Participant’s mission was to make not blockbusters but messages – movies that promote social and economic justice.”
Poll: Consumers Say CDs Too Expensive
What ails music? Recording company execs say its illegal file-sharing. But a new poll of music consumers has plenty of criticism for the music industry. “Eighty percent of the respondents consider it stealing to download music for free without the copyright holder’s permission, and 92 percent say they’ve never done it. Meanwhile, three-quarters of music fans say compact discs are too expensive, and 58 percent say music in general is getting worse.”
Page Six vs. WaPo
The famously aggressive gossip columnists at the New York Post have come out swinging against Washington Post arts writer Philip Kennicott, following Kennicott’s scathing review of a new book about the effort to stop the looting of Iraq’s national treasures and mount a recovery effort following the American invasion. The Post calls the review “an unprovoked hatchet job… on Manhattan Assistant DA-turned-war-hero Matthew Bogdanos” and Bogdanos himself is quoted asking “What has that man [Kennicott] ever done for ‘culture?'”
More Than Just A Book Review?
Was Philip Kennicott’s review of Thieves of Baghdad really an “unprovoked hatchet job”? He does allow that there is “a good narrative and a lot of fascinating detail in this book.” But then, he also accuses author Matthew Bogdanos of subscribing to “an interpretation of military culture that goes beyond mere duty and includes a disturbing degree of entitlement — to bend rules, disdain criticism and place oneself above the people one serves.” Read the full review here…
China Bans Geisha Over Casting
Chinese censors have banned the film Memoirs of a Geisha, calling the casting (two Chinese actresses portray Japanese geishas in the film) “insensitive… because of Japan’s atrocities during their occupation of China in the 1930s.” China has also banned Brokeback Mountain due to its storyline involving a homosexual love affair between two cowboys.
Union Wants Lip-Synchers Exposed
The UK Musicians Union is pressing British broadcasters to institute an on-air system to notify viewers when a musical performance is being lip-synched, saying that such a system would encourage more bands to perform live. “Just as when you buy a can of beans and it tells you what’s in the beans, we think if you are going to buy a ticket for a show or watch a band on the TV, you should know exactly what it is you are buying and what you are watching.”
How Not To Have A Career As A Pianist
Stephen Kovacevich has made a series of moves thta conspire against his being more well known. But, wonders Charles Michener, isn’t he one of America’s best pianists? “In a poll of New York music lovers and critics, the names most frequently mentioned would probably be Emanuel Ax, Yefim Bronfman, Richard Goode, Garrick Ohlsson, Murray Perahia and Peter Serkin. Few would think to nominate Stephen Kovacevich.”
Ozawa Ill
Conductor Seiji Ozawa, 70, has canceled all his winter engagements with the Vienna State Opera, where he is music director, due to a severe bronchial infection and a case of shingles. Ozawa, who has led the VSO orchestra since 2002, is expected to recover, and plans to keep all his summer engagements.