Mark Morris essays a Sylvia, and it’s a serious ballet, writes Joan Acocella. “In its classicism, “Sylvia” could start a fashion. The big ballet companies are always crying out for three-act story ballets, because that’s what the public wants. And what they end up with, usually, is either some same-old revision of “Giselle” or “Swan Lake” (the San Francisco troupe has these) or the opposite, a new-style, lurid, hauling-the-girls-by-the-crotch melodrama (San Francisco also has one of these, Lar Lubovitch’s “Othello”). “Sylvia” could point a new way: both purely classical—a symbol, not a soap opera—and also serious.”
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Looking At Our Radio Roots
Increasingly, scholars are studying the history of radio. “Occupying a research niche between the older, higher-profile province of film studies and the more cutting-edge terrain of television studies — and aided by an obsessive Internet-linked web of buffs devoted to old-time radio — scholars are shuffling through the metal disks, wax records, and audiotapes that compose the archival remnants of the original broadcasting medium. Collectively these researchers seek to break through the static of moving-image centricity in media scholarship and remind us of the first true network of simultaneous mass communications in human history.”
Whitney Back On Expansion Track
“Little more than a year after the Whitney Museum of American Art scrapped its plans for a $200 million expansion designed by the Rotterdam architect Rem Koolhaas, its board has started the process all over again. A building committee has been interviewing other architects, including the Italian Renzo Piano, who is considered the favorite, people in architectural circles said.”
The Mystery Of The Conan Doyle Papers
The papers of Arthur Conan Doyle are about to go on auction. “Even as that auction house has attracted a stream of Conan Doyle enthusiasts thrilled at the newly released material, it has also been sharply criticized by some scholars and members of Parliament for allowing the sale because they say crucial legal questions remain unresolved. They also say that the material is too important to be sold off piecemeal.”
Haimovitz: Bach In The Clubs
Cellist Matt Haimovitz has given up traditional concert life to play in nightclubs. “No one hearing Mr. Haimovitz at CBGB could doubt his integrity and passion as he continues a 50-state tour that included a performance at a pizza palace in Jackson, Miss. Still, just as there are trade-offs when restless young listeners go to a chamber music concert at a venerated recital hall where they are expected to sit quietly and pay attention, no drinking, no eating, there are trade-offs to hearing Mr. Haimovitz play at a place like CBGB, among them his use of reverberant amplification.”
Scotland’s Oldest Theatre Could Close
“Owners of Scotland’s oldest working theatre – the Theatre Royal in Dumfries – have warned that it could close if they are forced to abandon a planned multi-million pound renovation scheme. The playhouse, in Shakespeare Street, was built in 1792 and was saved from demolition in 1959 when it was bought by the Guild of Players. Robert Burns was a patron and JM Barrie was inspired at the theatre to write plays including Peter Pan. Stan Laurel and Charlie Chaplin were visitors.”
Turner Prize Shortlist
This year’s shortlist for the Turner Prize has been announced. “The four artists on the shortlist are Kutlug Ataman, Jeremy Deller, Langlands and Bell and Yinka Shonibare. The installation of video and photos from Afghanistan by Langlands and Bell is called The House of Osama Bin Laden.”
Schwarzman On Tap For Kennedy Center
Stephen A. Schwarzman, president and CEO of the Blackstone Group, is the leading candidate to be the new chairman of the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. “Schwarzman, 57, runs a firm that has invested more than $60 billion in scores of companies across the globe. The Financial Times of London last week called him “one of the most powerful dealmakers in the world.”
The Turner Four
“The four artists shortlisted for this year’s Turner prize include a pair of sculptors exploring the relationships between people and architecture, an artist who uses his west African heritage to play with cultural identity and an artist best known for his re-enactments of battles which became turning points in British history.”