Julian Lloyd Webber takes exception to doom-and-gloom stories about the health of classical music. “The trouble with polemics on this scale is that they raise more questions than answers. But are things really that bad? The answer depends on your view of classical music. If you think it should remain a fossilised art that never changes its methods of dissemination or presentation, the answer is yes. If, on the other hand, you believe – as I do – that classical music is a living, vibrant art that evolves alongside society, the answer is no.”
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Remote Autograph? We Don’t Want It!
Margaret Atwood is working on a device that would allow her to sign autographs remotely and cut down on traveling. But autograph collectors reject the idea. “We quite understand the idea behind Margaret Atwood’s invention because, as she says in interviews, she is an old-age pensioner [who doesn’t want to face the rigours of book tours], but the intriguing thing we found is that it’s not so much the signature that fans care about, it’s meeting the author in person, that’s the real thrill,”
Report: Textbook Price Increases Outpace Inflation
A new study says textbook publishers have hiked the prices of their books at a rate much higher than inflation. “Textbook prices have increased at four times the average rate of inflation in their category, finished goods, over the past 10 years, according to figures from the Producer Price Index maintained by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The wholesale price of textbooks increased 62 percent over that decade while the average price for all finished goods increased by just 14 percent. Prices for general books increased 19 percent in the same period.”
Cleveland Museum Director Steps Down
Katharine Reid is stepping down as director of the Cleveland Museum of Art after five years in the job. Reid’s surprise announcement comes “a month before trustees are to vote on going ahead with a major expansion and renovation. She said she was stepping down for personal reasons and in the best interests of the museum. She wants to give the institution a chance to find fresh leadership if it begins a construction project that could last five years or more.”
Cost Of War (Can’t Tell It From American Culture)
“What’s startling about American culture in wartime today is how much it resembles American culture in peacetime. If earlier wars soaked deep into the fabric of the nation, Iraq has become a sporadically demanding background, popping into the nation’s consciousness at times of extreme carnage, and then politely making way for other stories, from natural disaster to the foibles of teenage celebrities.”
UK Facing Theatre Funding Crisis (Some Theatres Will Have To Close)
National funding for theatre in the UK is going down in the next couple of years. But funding from local governments will also decline too, warns the chair of the National Association of Local Government Arts Officers. “This is devastating for the arts. There will certainly be closures [of companies]. This is a slow, downward spiral at a period when there is so much that is positive.”
Philly Mayor Working On Major Arts Funding Plan
Philadelphia mayor John Street says “arts and culture groups in the region need a new revenue stream that he estimates would be between $50 million and $100 million each year, and he is working quietly on a mechanism for putting that funding in place.”
A New Direction For BBC Orchestra?
Jiri Belohlavek on what he wants to accomplish as new director of the BBC Symphony Orchestra: “I came to the evaluation that I can offer a focus on the mainstream repertoire, the mastery of playing, sound quality and ensemble playing, qualities that I have focused on over a career of more than 25 years. And I will have a colleague who is focused on contemporary music. But we will not be putting up artificial borders, so that he does only Steve Reich and I do only Beethoven.”
Kurtz Fights Bioterrorism Charges
University at Buffalo professor Steven Kurtz is in court trying to get charges against him dismissed. “The attorney for an artist accused of illegally obtaining bacteria for his artwork is asking a judge to throw the case out, saying authorities have sought to portray his client as a bioterrorist.”
The Oscar Movies Much Of America Can’t See
“The inability of moviegoers beyond both coasts to see this year’s Oscar-nominated films has been a thorny issue for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, sponsor of the Academy Awards, and never more so than this year. Film companies have increasingly chosen to let their Oscar prospects trickle into the marketplace, letting the awards hoopla build before they risk advertising dollars on a wider market. ‘It’s a money-driven situation. ‘We’re able to distribute the pictures where we can get box office’.”