A Canadian man sets a record for continuous handbell ringing. “While bell-ringing is usually performed by choirs of 11 people, Devries played solo for close to 28 hours, drawing from the roughly 1,300 songs he had prepared. He began at 8 a.m. local time Tuesday and stopped at approximately 11:45 a.m. Wednesday.”
Blog
Half of Jujamcyn Theaters Up For Sale
“The owner of Broadway’s third largest theater chain is looking for a partner. Rocco Landesman, the colorful Broadway producer who bought Jujamcyn Theaters last year for $30 million, is trying to sell a 50 percent stake in the company for about $50 million.” But Landesman, who is pursuing some of Broadway’s richest financiers for the partnership, could get more than he bargained for, given Broadway’s long history of political and financial squabbles.
Is LACMA Losing Its Artistic Soul?
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is certainly not the only American museum to recognize the economic potential of blockbuster exhibitions that come with massive corporate sponsorship, but Holly Myers worries about the museum’s soul, and wonders where all its curators have gone. “LACMA’s flirtation with corporate production is lamentable in relation to Tut. More distressing, however, is the fact that many of the same problems also plague… a comparatively low-profile exhibition that doesn’t involve extraordinarily precious artifacts and isn’t likely to draw record-breaking crowds — suggesting that LACMA’s problem goes deeper than the necessary indulgence of an occasional blockbuster.”
Lesson: Ask Before You Demolish
A sculpture by Canadian artist Haydn Davies was torn down and dumped in a field last week by an Ontario college, infuriating the sculptor and his family, who were not consulted before demolition. “Officials said the sculpture, commissioned by the college in the early 1970s for $10,000, had deteriorated so much that its lack of stability made it a safety hazard, especially to young children who liked to play around and under it.” But the family disputes the safety claim, and says that the rough manner in which the removal was conducted (a bulldozer was involved) damaged the sculpture beyond repair.
The Language of Empire
Over the last half-century or so, English has risen to become the dominant global language of the era, spoken as the default in everything from international business transactions to air travel. But achieving a global reach doesn’t necessarily give a language long-term staying power, as the Assyrians and the Silk Road traders found out centuries ago. Then again, some languages are kept alive past their political and economic prime by a powerful religious influence. Linguist Nicholas Ostler’s new book delves into all of these factors, and aims to sort out what gives a language its power, and what can take that power away in a heartbeat.
Scrapping For Every Dime In The Original Blue State
Three year after absorbing a brutal 62% cut in its state funding, the Massachusetts Cultural Council has made slight gains at the legislature, receiving an additional $1.3 million in public funds for fiscal 2006. The increase, signed into law by the state’s Republican governor last week, puts the council’s overall budget at $9.6 million. Most of the additional money is meant to restore grants that were eliminated in the wake of the budget cuts in 2002. The governor had originally threatened to veto the increase, but changed his mind under pressue from legislative leaders and the public.
Canaletto Masterpiece Up For Sale
“A painting by Italian master Canaletto is expected to fetch between £4-6m at auction in London. Bucintoro at the Molo on Ascension Day is part of a £15m auction of items owned by Portuguese businessman Antonio Champalimaud, who died last year. The painting shows the Doge’s barge, the Bucintoro, with crowds on what is thought to be Ascension Day, when the Doge blessed the city.”
Gergiev’s Obsession (Hint – It’s Not the LSO)
“The unexpected news that the Russian super-conductor Valery Gergiev has added Britain’s top orchestra, the London Symphony, to his bulging portfolio is still reverberating round the classical-music world… Gergiev is clearly delighted to be chosen by the LSO, but his real passion is reserved for the Kirov Opera and Ballet. With a single-mindedness that borders on obsession, Gergiev has thrown himself into creating a company to rival, and many would say, overtake, the Bolshoi in Moscow.”
No Red Ink In Dallas
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra has balanced its $23 million budget for the second year in a row, bringing in $8.48 million for its annual fund drive and boosting its endowment to $100 million.
Top Exec At BBC Scottish Calling It Quits
It’s an exciting time for the Glasgow-based BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, which has just extended the contract of its popular music director, Ilan Volkov, and will shortly move into its new permanent home in the heart of the city’s entertainment district. “By any yardstick, then, there is everything to play for in the orchestra whose technical ability and reputation has utterly transformed in the past decade and a half.” So why is the orchestra’s longtime general director choosing this moment to walk away?