“Kirkus Reviews has long prided itself on being a sort of Consumer Reports for the book publishing industry, proclaiming its independence by steadfastly refusing to accept advertising and producing early, plain-spoken reviews that can amplify or smother a new book’s early buzz. Now, however, Kirkus is embracing a new spirit of commercialism,” offering to review any book for $350 in its new online publicatiion, and considering the possibility of selling ads in its main print edition.
Blog
Remote Controlled Orchestra
As Broadway pits have shrunk to make room for theater seating, musicians (especially those who play bulky instruments) have increasingly found themselves consigned to remote locations, following a conductor on a monitor and playing into a microphone. Not that they’re complaining – not being in the pit means wearing whatever you want to work and getting to read or talk to friends between cues. Besides, as one Broadway music director points out, “Once you’re hearing an orchestra solely through a sound system instead of hearing them acoustically, then it doesn’t really matter where they are.”
California Town Legislates Against Art Glut
The town of Carmel, California could be considered an art mecca in miniature – four out of every ten businesses in Carmel are art galleries, with 61 having opened in the last four years. But last month, the Carmel city council decided that you can have too much of a good thing, and passed a moratorium on new galleries. “The ordinance puts an immediate halt to issuing business licenses for new art galleries that don’t meet certain standards, such as being a working artist’s studio or a gallery that features the work of just one artist.”
Positive Presence
As the AIDS epidemic closes in on a quarter-century of global devastation, many of the world’s biggest television networks are embarking on a concerted effort to increase awareness about the disease. For some networks, this means more prominence for news coverage about the epidemic; for others, HIV-positive characters will soon begin finding their way into sitcoms and other staple programming.
Who Knew New York Was A Swing State?
Actor and playwright Sam Shepard is the latest in the ever-extending line of theater types who would like a piece of President Bush, and he’d like it before November 2, if possible. That’s awfully short notice in the New York theatre world, but Shepard’s new play found a willing short-order team at Manhattan’s New School University. Performances of The God of Hell, which Shepard describes as “a takeoff on Republican fascism, in a way,” begin four days before the presidential election.
No Red Carpet For Some Foreign Filmmakers
Some of the best foreign-language films of the year will have no chance at winning the Academy Award for best foreign language film, due to industry politics and an outmoded set of rules regarding which films can be considered. “Every country designates a group that presents a single film to the Academy, which has special committees that winnow submissions down to the five nominees announced in January.” So what if your country actually managed to crank out more than one Oscar-worthy picture this year? Tough. And if you’re a director with an enemy or two on your country’s panel? Gee, that’s a shame. See you next year. Maybe.
Boulez, In Retrospect
Pierre Boulez, the iconoclastic composer/conductor who, in his youth, delighted in savaging his contemporaries and disdaining his predecessors, seems to be mellowing in his old age. How can you tell? Well, he recently admitted to being occasionally wrong.
Vermeer Mysteriously Appears In Philadelphia
“Johannes Vermeer’s Young woman seated at the virginals, was sold for £16.2 million ($30 million) to an unnamed bidder at Sotheby’s in London on 7 July. Now it has quietly appeared on display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (until 30 March 2005)… A spokesman for the institution would not answer questions concerning the ownership of the painting, nor would he say whether the Philadelphia Museum expects to receive more works of art on loan from the same source.”
Kremlin Museum To Get Makeover
Russia’s State Kremlin Museum will be getting a major face lift over the next two years, with the federal government picking up the lion’s share of the tab. “The buildings to be restored include part of the 17th-century Patriarch’s Palace which is to open as a new exhibition hall, as well as the early 16th-century Belfry of Ivan the Great that is to get a new hall for a permanent exhibition on the history of the Kremlin’s architecture. The early 16th-century Archangel Cathedral, which currently functions as a royal crypt housing the remains of Muscovite leaders from the early 1300s until the end of the 1600s, will also be renovated.”
Dodging Tomatos Before The Overture
The English National Opera’s current revival of Calixto Bieito’s much-hated 2001 production of Don Giovanni is causing critics and opera devotees the world over to wonder whether those involved in the show have taken leave of their senses. Mark Stone, who has the lead in the revival, doesn’t quite see what all the fuss is about, but as he reveals in his online diary leading up to opening night, he’s more than a bit nervous about his decision to accept the role.