On the surface all looks like a go for rebuilding New York’s Penn Station within the old US Post Office across the street from Madison Square Garden. “Designed by David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the project, with its soaring glass-enclosed great hall, was originally unveiled in 1999. It has been a pet project of politicians from both sides of the aisle, including Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, for whom the proposed station is named, and Gov. George E. Pataki. Most of the $800 million needed to complete the project’s construction has been in place since 2001. And the post office abandoned the space this summer, in part to make room for the news media covering the convention.” So why has the project stalled out?
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Lebrecht: I Was Right – Classical Recording Industry Has Died
Norman Lebrecht predicted at the start of 2004 that this would be the recording industry’s last year. “Well, I was over-cautious. No need to wait for Christmas: it’s over now. The closure signs are up in neon. There is barely a new symphony or sonata to be heard this season from any of the six major labels which command three-quarters of store space and classical sales. Game over.”
The Next JK Rowling?
British author Michelle Paver wrote her novel Wolf Brother in 1982 and it sat on a shelf for years. So she rewrote it as a children’s book, and sold the publishing rights internationally for a $US 5 million advance – the highest ever paid for a debut British children’s book. “The book, which went on sale on Thursday, generated record-breaking interest in publishing houses around the world.”
Vettriano Auction Nets £2.5 Million
Artist Jack Vettriano might not get respect from critics, but his work gets a big vote of priase on the auction floor. “An auction of 40 paintings by Jack Vettriano, a self-taught artist snubbed by national collections, has raised £2.5m at Sotheby’s in Scotland. The highest sum paid was £330,400 for Mad Dogs – painted in 1991 when he was selling work for a few hundred pounds.”
The Celebrity Gramophones
This year’s Gramophone Awards are being served with celebrities. “The editor of Gramophone says using celebrities as champions for its awards shortlist would raise the profile of the recordings, and help put classical music back in the spotlight: We hope that this year’s celebrity initiative will rekindle an interest in classical music and the great musicians who have dedicated their lives to it.”
Can Loud Music Puncture Your Lungs?
That’s what doctors now think. They “suspect that loud music may damage the lungs due to its booming bass frequency, which can be felt as a vibration going through the body. The lungs may essentially start to vibrate in the same frequency as the bass, which could cause a lung to rupture.”
Pop Goes The Classical (Or Is It The Other Way Around?)
Why do do many pop stars try to write “classical” music? “Do they really aspire to be one of us? Are we to be envied by millionaires with legions of fans? Have we, at last, arrived? Perhaps we have, but truth be told, it seems more and more like we want to be one of them — and ought to be, according to some critics.”
Lynching The Confederate Flag
An exhibition examining the Confederate flag has not yet opened at Gettysburg College, but it has already attracted the ire of a Confederate heritage group with a flag-lynching piece called “The Proper Way to Hang a Confederate Flag”…
Lack Of Kids’ Shows Violates Law, Watchdogs Say
Watchdog groups have petitioned the Federal Communications Commission not to renew the licenses of two Washington, D.C., television stations. “The groups argue that the two stations have not complied with the FCC’s 1996 guidelines regarding the Children’s Television Act, which require stations to air at least three hours of educational programming for children per week. The act has never before been cited in a petition to revoke a license.”
Protesting A Movie Without Seeing It
There is a niggling problem with the outcry against the Toronto International Film Festival’s decision to screen “Casuistry: The Art Of Killing A Cat,” and it’s the same problem that accompanied the releases of “The Passion of the Christ” and “Fahrenheit 9/11”: The people working themselves into a righteous fury haven’t seen the movie.