The Edmonton Symphony thought it had $1 million or more coming to it from the estate of philanthropist Stuart Davis, but a dispute over the money has erupted between the orchestra and Davis’s son, who believes that the money is rightfully his. At issue is a handwritten copy of Davis’s will, which includes multiple revisions and crossed-out sections. The pbilanthropist distrusted lawyers to the point that he refused to consult them in preparing his estate for posthumous dispersal, leading to the dispute.
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Concord Buys Telarc
Cleveland-based classical recording company Telarc International has been acquired by the California-based Concord Music Group. In Telarc’s nearly 30 years of existence, it has captured 46 Grammy awards and led the way in making compact discs the new standard for recording in the 1980s. “[Telarc’s] catalog has 1,000 titles, including albums by the Cleveland Orchestra, jazz great Dave Brubeck and the South African vocal ensemble Ladysmith Black Mambazo.” The merger will not mean the end of the Telarc name, and the business will continue to operate from its suburban Cleveland home.
Zukerman Taking A Break From Nat’l Arts Centre
Ottawa’s National Arts Centre Orchestra has announced that music director Pinchas Zukerman will take a half-season sabbatical from the ensemble, effective with the start of the new year. He was scheduled to conduct five more concerts in the current season, but the NACO will find guest conductors to cover those dates. The centre says it fully expects Zukerman, whose current contract is up at the end of the 2006-07 season, to return in fall 2006, but news of the sabbatical came as a surprise to the orchestra’s musicians.
NACO on Zukerman: Don’t Fret, He’ll Be Back
The Zukerman announcement had a predictable effect on the orchestra world – speculation is rampant concerning the violinist/conductor’s longterm status with the National Arts Centre Orchestra. But NACO officials are taking pains to make clear that Zukerman’s unexpected “sabbatical” is not a precursor to his leaving the ensemble, and the orchestra’s managing director says that he expects to announce an extension of Zukerman’s current contract soon. “There has been some tension behind the scenes in recent seasons, as musicians have become divided about Zukerman, but [one] musician said ‘there’s been nothing really that unusual that you would think might have provoked this.'”
Kidding Because They Love
Peter and Bobby Farrelly are not exactly known for highbrow comedy. The sibling filmmakers behind the slapstick hits There’s Something About Mary and Dumb & Dumber have always relied on gross-out gags and borderline-offensive jokes to sell tickets, and while their movies frequently garner good reviews from serious critics, they are hardly the stuff of serious art. So you might have expected the folks at the Special Olympics to react with horror upon learning that the Farrelly’s next movie would feature a protagonist who fakes a mental disability in an attempt to steal the gold at the games. Instead, though, officials from the organization saw an opportunity, and the result is a movie that all involved hope treads the line of good taste in the name of humanizing those with disabilities.
How Many 18-Year-Olds Do You Know With Any Money, Anyway?
If you’re not between the ages of 18 and 49, you may as well be dead to the American entertainment industry and its attendant advertisers. The rationale behind this seemingly arbitrary distinction has always been based on issues of disposable income and willingness to spend it, but as an article of faith, the dominance of the young adult crowd seems to be seriously flawed. “It’s almost impossible to get anyone to revisit conventional wisdom, but maybe it’s time advertisers took a deep, relaxing breath and a careful second look. It’s possible they’re coveting a demographic that’s strapped for cash and not watching much television. And ignoring one, with cash, that is.”
Emmy To Recognize “Non-Traditional” Media
The Daytime Emmy Awards have taken the first step in acknowledging the importance of new media forms in the modern entertainment industry, announcing the creation of a new category for Outstanding Achievement in Content for Non-Traditional Delivery Platforms. “The award will recognize excellence in entertainment programming created specifically for viewing online or via cellphone, Ipod or video-on-demand.”
Is Satellite Radio On The Verge of Stability?
Satellite radio has never suffered from a lack of faith on the part of its investors. “It’s only a matter of time,” we’ve been constantly told, before pay radio becomes the new standard in a media universe clogged with corporate radio conglomerates, 8-minute ad blocks, and shrinking playlists. The predictions may have seemed grandiose, but with XM and Sirius finally snaring some top-of-the-line star personalities (Howard Stern, Martha Stewart, and Bob Dylan) and securing exclusive deals with the four major sports leagues, satellite may be on the verge of fulfilling its promise.
Middle America May Not Hate Gay Cowboys After All
There was never really any question about whether Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain, fast becoming known as “the gay cowboy movie,” would be a good film. From the beginning, the critics were nearly unanimous in their approval. But the larger question was obvious: is the wider America of 2005, a country deeply divided along social and political lines and embroiled in a bitter debate over issues of homosexuality, ready to embrace a love story with two men in the lead roles? The early answer, it appears, is yes. In its first weekend in wide release (beyond the notoriously liberal boundaries of New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco,) cracked the top ten in national box office receipts, and scored with moviegoers in locales as diverse as St. Louis, Miami, and Plano, Texas.
Deck The Halls With Blood And Tears
“What’s going on in [London] theatres this Christmas? Discerning theatregoers have long had access to alternative shows at the festive season as innovative companies eschew the commercial instincts of the panto industry. But this year, it seems, some theatres have abandoned the glitz entirely, taking audiences to a far darker world where macabre is all the rage.”