“Women have yet to attain the power, prestige and astronomical pay scale of baton-wielding superstars at the Big Five orchestras in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Cleveland and Chicago. They’re not exactly flourishing at a variety of other ensembles, either. Why is it that in our supposedly enlightened age, when so many gender barriers have been broken, female conductors still have difficulty reaching the top of the profession? What needs to change in order for that to happen?”
Blog
Fiction Down…
“Has American culture begun to mimic the chronic nostalgia of a certain strain of post-imperial Englishness? Is the embrace of these fantasies part of, in Michael Moorcock’s words, a ‘longing to possess, again, the infant’s eye?’ Or is there something in them that speaks to the moment more clearly than, say, ‘Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous’?”
In Baltimore – History Wins Over Design
“Going back in time, architecturally, was the overriding concept behind the $32 million restoration and modernization of Baltimore’s Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was built starting in 1806 and dedicated in 1821. It was the reason the 1940s-era stained-glass windows were removed. It was the impetus for re-creating 24 skylights in the dome – to ‘restore the light’ in the cathedral as Latrobe meant for it to be seen. But what happens if restorers discover works of art or other artifacts that are so significant and so well preserved that it would be a shame to peel them away?”
An Author’s Festival Begins A New Chapter
“Two years after Greg Gatenby’s resignation as director, Toronto’s International Festival of Authors’ founder is a long way from having been forgotten. But the annual program of readings, author interviews and panel discussions — the 26th edition of which runs Wednesday to Oct. 29 — gives every appearance of continuing to thrive under successor Geoffrey Taylor, contrary to concerns expressed by some at the time of Gatenby’s departure.”
Opera – The Future Is Live
So we’ve seen the last of the great studio opera recordings. But maybe there’s something new to be made of the live recording. “Think of all those bootlegged accounts of Maria Callas that once surreptitiously circulated among fanatics. More recently, EMI has been legitimizing those recordings and releasing them, sonically cleaned up as much as possible, in its comprehensive Callas Edition. But through the years there have been many distinguished, well-engineered and perfectly legal live recordings of operas.”
Simon: No To Pinter Nobel
Flamethrower John Simon objects to Harold Pinter winning the Nobel Prize for literature: “I would have gladly accorded him the Nobel for Arrogance, the Nobel for Self-promotion, or the Nobel for Hypocrisy—spewing venom at the United States while basking in our dollars—if such Nobels existed. But the Nobel for Literature? I think not.”
Washington Opera To Simulcast Opera Outdoors
The Washington Opera plans to simulcast a performance of “Porgy and Bess” on the National Mall. “The 2 p.m. performance will be transmitted live from the Kennedy Center Opera House and shown on a gigantic video screen, 18 by 32 feet, that will be located near the Capitol, with speakers set up for sound. Although large screens have been used to let audiences view close-ups of musicians while they were playing on the Mall, this is believed to be the first time that a performance originating elsewhere will have been transmitted there live.”
Ripped From The Tabs: Dali Sculpture In Exorcist Basement!
“A sculpture of Christ that Salvador Dali gave to his exorcist has been found among the belongings of the deceased Italian priest.”
Video On The Go – Still Some Hurdles
Apple’s announcement of a video iPod has people excited that they’ll be able to watch TV on their handhelds. But it’s not as easy as that. “The future for watching video on a portable player is uncertain, with the latest iPod offering the industry a chance to gauge interest. So the question for the big companies will be asking themselves is how much should they invest in a technology if the demand for the product is not yet proven?”
Beethoven In Philly
How did a manuscript of Beethoven’s Grosse Fuge end up in Philadelphia? “The more immediate question is how such a manuscript ended up at Palmer, previously known as Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Though important manuscripts are scattered over the globe by world wars, this one had a more genteel route, arriving in 1950 among a collection of hymns donated by philanthropist Marguerite Treat Doane.”