Blog

Barnes-Lovers Gear Up For Battle

In September a judge will hear further arguments about whether the Barnes Collection ought to be allowed to move to downtown Philadelphia. “On the face of it, opponents of the move appear overmatched by the trustees, the deep-pocketed foundations subsidizing the plan, the Philadelphia tourist industry, and many cultural leaders. But they have begun to mobilize for what might be the Barnes loyalists’ last chance to keep the foundation’s collection in Merion and its school intact. The mobilization has taken two forms, fund-raising and public relations.”

The Incredible Shrinking Band

Band breakups are often spectacularly dirty. But “the music world — full of notoriously volatile and dysfunctional types who have long preferred to rock it out, not talk it out — has become more receptive to therapists and their ministrations. Though the notion of seeking help remains one of rock’s dirty little secrets, some of these therapists have become a regular part of band retinues.”

Morris: Musicians Have Lousy Rhythm!

Mark Morris is known as a particularly musical choreographer. And he has some Particularly strong opinions about musicians. At Tanglewood this summer he has musicians up dancing. “This experience makes musicians better. Way better! The thing is, I’m the enemy of the conservatory, because it kills music. Nobody gives a damn about intonation. It’s not about that. Imagination has been wrung out of these people, and it’s tragic. Really, musicians have lousy rhythm.”

Today’s Architects – Flashy Design Over Structural Soundness?

What’s wrong with architects these days? There have been a number of high-profile design failures – leaking rooks, structural malfunctions…. “These setbacks and controversies have allowed sober-minded skeptics to accuse the profession of abandoning its original purpose — holding up a roof and keeping out the weather — in favor of reckless and phantasmagorical aesthetic effects, best exemplified by the wavy titanium surfaces of Frank Gehry’s Bilbao Guggenheim or the angled walls of Mr. Koolhaas’s new Central Library in Seattle.”

Pearl Now World’s Biggest Piano-Maker

The Pearl River Piano Company based in the southern Chinese metropolis of Guangzhou, is now the world’s largest piano maker. At the company’s spotless factory, 280 pianos a day roll off the production line like cars in an auto plant. “China’s one-child policy has created a culture where parents invest heavily in their children’s education – a boon for piano makers like Pearl River.”

Underwater Symphony

“A symphony conductor donned scuba gear and used a red snorkel for a baton to lead a group of underwater ‘musicians’ wearing tuxedos and sequins Saturday in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The scene was part of the yearly Underwater Music Festival that attracted more than 400 divers and snorkelers to Looe Key Reef, about 6 miles south of Big Pine Key.”

Readers = Involved Active Citizens (And Non-Readers?…)

This week’s survey by the National Endowment for the Arts “indicates that people who read for pleasure are many times more likely than those who don’t to visit museums and attend musical performances, almost three times as likely to perform volunteer and charity work, and almost twice as likely to attend sporting events. Readers, in other words, are active, while nonreaders — more than half the population — have settled into apathy. There is a basic social divide between those for whom life is an accrual of fresh experience and knowledge, and those for whom maturity is a process of mental atrophy. The shift toward the latter category is frightening.”

Michigan In New Arts Funding Cuts?

A year after Michigan slashed arts funding, another round of cuts appears to be on the way. “Across Metro Detroit, arts and cultural institutions are surviving — if not thriving — in the face of budget cuts, a sluggish economy and shrinking corporate and private sponsorship of the arts. But with another state budget deficit looming, they’re bracing for the state arts budget to be cut again, if not eliminated entirely.”