The opening of two new important venues for contemporary art in London within the space of a couple of weeks not only says something about the optimism of the art market, writes Richard Dorment, but “confirms the truth of the cliché that London has, for the moment, replaced New York as the centre of the art world.”
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West End Blues (Chapter XXX)
Six London plays have closed less than a month after opening this season. Two ‘blockbuster’ musicals are also about to “expire.” All of which has West End producers fretting about the state of their business.
Scottish Opera Chorus Gets The Official Axe
That the chorus members of the Scottish Opera are about to lose their jobs has been common knowledge for weeks, ever since details of the Scottish Executive’s plan to “save” the company hit the press. But the chorus hadn’t had their fears officially confirmed until last night, when their chorus master informed them, 24 minutes before a performance, that they were all officially being laid off. The chorus has offered singing protests outside the company’s hall before and after concerts lately, and the petition they are circulating in an effort to reverse the Executive’s decision sports the signature of Scottish Opera’s own chief executive.
Dr. Dylan (Now If Only He Could Learn To Sing)
Scotland’s oldest university is awarding Bob Dylan an honorary doctorate. “The University of St Andrews will make Dylan a doctor of music next Wednesday. Dylan has only ever accepted one other honorary degree – from Princeton University in 1970.”
Sony/BMG Merger Would Make No. 1 Company
If a merger of music giants Sony and BMG goes ahead, the combined company will lead the music industry in market share. “Sony BMG would control 25.1% of the global record market – based on 2003 sales data – if they merged their record labels. That would put the joint venture in front of Universal Music, which saw its global share slip from 25.4% to 23.5%, according to figures from trade body the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.”
Moroccan Novel Wins Dublin Prize
“Moroccan author Tahar Ben Jelloun has won one of the world’s richest literature prizes. Ben Jelloun’s novel, This Blinding Absence of Light, won the 100,000 euro [$120,000] International Impac Dublin Literary Award 2004, on Thursday. The prize is the biggest for a single work of fiction in English.”
Call: A Theatre In Every Town
“In 1988, Nigeria published a well-articulated Cultural Policy which promises to mobilise and motivate the people by disseminating and propagating ideas which promote national pride, solidarity and consciousness.” And how best to do that? Theatre. “One of the important steps is to build an average size theatre auditorium in every local government area. A 2000-seater auditorium in every local government area, will give great social service to this nation, especially because it is situated in the metropolis of Lagos, the city that inhabits people from every part of the country.”
Five Years Later – Nazi-Looted Art Still Missing
“Five years after the German government and states vowed to track down and give back cultural artifacts seized from Jews by the Nazis, only a few are back in the hands of the works’ rightful owners. The reasons for the lack of success are complex. When taken together, they make recovery extremely difficult. First and foremost, nearly 60 years after the war, the survivors with firsthand knowledge are passing away.”
Levine Cancels Concerts For Health Reasons
James Levine has canceled a series of concerts in Europe because of a bad back. “Boston Symphony Orchestra management learned of the latest development in Levine’s much-discussed health problems through an article in a German newspaper.”
Tavis Smiley On The NPR Audience:
“It’s the whitest radio audience in the world; it is the most educated audience in the world; and they make more money than everybody else. . . . I have found that when you talk to people who are white, make money, and are educated, you don’t tell them, `I’m here to educate you.’ What we do attempt to do is enlighten them.”