Should the Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan be rebuilt? They were destroyed two years ago by the Taliban. “The statues looked solid but they were fashioned out of the cliff here because the sandstone is soft. Now the remains are mostly sand. The idea of rebuilding seems laughable. But these piles are the cause of one of the most passionate debates in archaeology.”
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Publishers Cancel Khouri Book
“The U.S. and Australian publishers of a best seller in at least 15 countries about a Jordanian honor killing have canceled the book, questioning the story’s authenticity. Norma Khouri’s Forbidden Love had been the subject of an extensive newspaper investigation.”
Department Of Defacement: Disney Hall’s New Sign
Why does Disney Hall need a giant Claes Oldenburg/Coosje van Bruggen tie-and-collar on the sidewalk out front? Christopher Knight writes that “on a digitally fabricated picture of the sculpture on-site, it works like the giant Carpeteria genie or Michelin Man outside a rug shop or tire store — sculpture that functions as a sign. In less than a year, Disney Hall has become perhaps the most famous building in Los Angeles, which means one of the most famous in the nation. You wouldn’t think it needs a sign.”
Philadelphia Orchestra – Some Auditions Are Tough, But…
Nineteen-year-old Curtis violist Rachel Ku won an audition for a spot in the Philadelphia Orchestra. Then she didn’t have the job. Now she does again.
When Pop Musicians Break “Classical”
Many pop musicians seem to want to take a whack at composing “classical” music. But why, wonders Greg Sandow. “Why do these terrific musicians — really lively spirits, in their own area — put on handcuffs when they write classical music? There might be two reasons. First, classical music is too well-bred. Or, at least, the classical music world is. People come to it from outside with genuine respect, and do what the Romans do. Second, classical music is largely defined by older repertoire, so when people from outside come to it, that’s what attracts them, and that’s what they move towards.”
Atlanta Opera Gets New General Director
Dennis Hanthorn, general director of Milwaukee’s Florentine Opera Company, is leaving to take the top job at Atlanta Opera. “Hanthorn said Atlanta offers ‘a bigger pond to play in.’ The metropolitan population is more than 4 million, compared with Milwaukee’s 1.3 million. The Atlanta Opera’s budget, Hanthorn said, was $6.8 million to Florentine’s $3.7 million. Atlanta staged four operas vs. the Florentine’s three. But the Atlanta Opera has a debt of about $1 million; the Florentine has been in the black for 11 years.”
Buildings Of Commitment
Milwaukee is in love with its new Calatrava-designed Milwaukee Art Museum. But it’s clear now that if the museum is going to be able to keep up its new treasure, there’s going to have to be a new level of commitment to doing it. “The difference between simply owning an icon of international architecture and paying for maintenance on a complex, innovative, precedent-smashing structure isn’t always understood.”
Miami Commissioners Approve Plan To Finish Performing Arts Center
They’re incredibly grumpy about it (and who wouldn’t be?) but “scolding and grumbling about the past and expressing doubt about the future,” Miami-Dade commissioners voted to approve a plan to finish the Miami-Dade Performing Arts Center — 20 months late and $67.7 million over budget. Said one commissioner: “I feel like an abused wife who isn’t leaving a relationship even though she still may be abused in the future.”
Movies In The Absence Of Words (Make ’em Up)
It’s the latest thing – movieoke. People watch a movie together with the sound off, performing the script themselves into a microphone. “It’s harder than karaoke. People don’t watch movies over and over again the way you listen to songs over and over again. And there’s no music in the background to help when you mess up.”
America’s First Arts Journalism Degree (It’s In Syracuse)
Syracuse Universuty has announced America’s first degree program in arts journalism. “While a few general cultural reporting and some short-term mid-career enhancement programs exist throughout the United States, this is the first program from an accredited university to grant a degree in arts journalism.” It starts in the 2005-06 school year.