“The world of classical music was in turmoil this morning when officials of the Professional Orchestra League revealed that seven principal players of the New York Philharmonic had tested positive for steroids and would receive automatic life suspensions from the league.” In other surprising industry news, the principal clarinetist of the Cleveland Orchestra has been demoted to the minor leagues, and San Francisco has traded its concertmaster to St. Louis for “its entire flute section and a violist to be named later.”
Blog
Adams Wins Inaugural Northwestern Prize
“The Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer John Adams is the first recipient of Northwestern University’s Michael Ludwig Nemmers Prize in Musical Composition. The biennial award carries a cash award of $100,000 and honors living composers of widely recognized achievement. It is one of the largest in classical music.”
Wong Leaving Honolulu
Conductor Samuel Wong is stepping down as music director of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra. The move is being cast as Wong’s own decision, but the orchestra was informed not by the conductor himself, but by the orchestra’s president, without Wong in attendance. “Wong just completed his eighth season with the Honolulu Symphony. He will remain as the conductor laureate for the 2005-06 season and conduct at least six concerts over the next two seasons.” As for what he’ll do next, Wong, who holds a degree in opthalmology from Harvard, is hoping to help start an Institute of Music & Healing, which would deal with music-related injuries.
Bollywood Director Charged In Production Death
A major Indian film director has been arrested on several charges surrounding the death of an assistant on a film set last week. The assistant, Nadia Khan, was hit by a train during shooting in Bombay, and director Kaizad Gustad is charged with fabicating evidence and negligence. The judge in the case is asking that an additional charge of culpable homicide, which carries a prison term of ten years, be added to the list.
Booker Goes Global
“The organisers of the Booker Prize for Fiction have launched a new £60,000 international literature award. The Man Booker International Prize will be handed out every two years from the middle of 2005… The existing Booker Prize is open to citizens of the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland. The new global prize can be won by an author of any nationality, providing his or her work is available in the English language.”
Case Against Supposed Spanish Art Hoarder Unravels
A Spanish raid on what authorities claimed was an illegal collection of antiquities hidden away from public view has turned out to be an embarrassing mix-up. “What the police described as ‘an illegal archaeological museum’ of ‘clandestine’ objects was anything but hidden. A dusty sign reading ‘Museo’ points to the entrance to the exhibition space, which, it transpired, was open to visitors to the winery and was frequently toured by local school groups. Furthermore, the little museum at the Toro Albalá Winery was included in cultural circuits proposed by the Córdoba tourist office.”
The Best (They Hope) Little Movie Studio In Texas
The University of Texas is attempting to take its film studies program where none has gone before, joining forces with investors to create an actual working, albeit tiny, movie studio. “No American film school has ever tried such an ambitious foray into commercial filmmaking, and the project is being watched with great interest, and great skepticism, in academia and Hollywood.”
Moore Gets Distribution Deal
“The independent studio Lions Gate Films will distribute Michael Moore’s documentary Fahrenheit 9/11, which has gained wide notice for its critique of President Bush and was spurned for distribution by the Walt Disney Company. It will be released on June 25 in about 1,000 theaters.” Lions Gate, a Canadian company, has distributed other Miramax pictures in the past which Disney found too controversial.
NY’s Power Couple Du Jour
A cultural scene as vast and diverse (and expensive) as New York’s could not survive without major benefactors, or without benefactors who are proficient at attracting other benefactors. And in a city where figures like $1 billion are thrown around as fundraising targets without anyone so much as batting an eyelash, the generosity and fundraising talent of such philanthropists are in high demand. The cultural “power couple of the moment” in the Big Apple consists of Jerry Speyer and Katherine Farley, who between them hold the key to many of Manhattan’s most ambitious cultural projects.
Embassy-In-A-Box (America’s Dull New Embassies)
There was a time that American embassies around the world were architecturally interesting. “Unfortunately, the general artistic quality of recently completed embassy compounds, as well as the two-dozen or so now in the pipeline, is not high. We’re looking at a new generation of embassies that resemble American office parks. The unsatisfying design and generally exurban settings reflect the government’s need to quickly replace a huge stock of functionally obsolete and insecure facilities.”