Conductor David Zinman has long been the world’s greatest unknown conductor, the guy whose commitment to contemporary American composers and less-than-tactful way of getting things done kept him a guest rather than a resident with the world’s top orchestras. A man of principles, Zinman relinquished his conductor laureate title at Baltimore because current management hadn’t sustained modern American music programming. Then, almost stealthily, the budget-priced Zinman/Zurich recording of Beethoven symphonies on the Arte Nova label – acclaimed for the crisp manner of period performance, but with the “oomph” of conventional instruments – infiltrated the music world with sales that now top 1 million discs. Now, the unknown conductor and the provincial orchestra are thinking about recording all the Brahms and Mahler symphonies.”
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Oboist With An Involuntary Reflex
Alex Klein is one of the world’s best oboists. He’s principal of the Chicago Symphony. But three years ago he was diagnosed with “focal dystonia, a neurological disorder in which the brain, for unknown reasons, sends messages through the nerves that cause muscles in a certain part of the body to contract and curl up involuntarily. The disease is usually painless, and the contractions occur only during specific tasks. For instance, the third and fourth fingers on Klein’s left hand might fail him in a Mozart concerto, but they work perfectly when he ties his shoes or uses his left hand for other fine motor tasks.” After going through 30 doctors, Klein is resigning from the CSO.
How To You Preserve The Ephemeral? (Should You?)
There was a time when some artists, rejecting the whole art “scene”, strove to make art that couldn’t be captured, couldn’t be collected, couldn’t be bought and sold. That was then. “We do live in more conservative times, not just politically but culturally; hence the impulse toward conservation. More poignantly, artists want to be remembered when they’re gone. It’s easy if you’re Rembrandt, even though all things must eventually fade. But it’s not so easy if you’re a creator of youthfully defiant ephemeral art.”
Online Music – Good For Music Industry, Or Not?
“Online services account for just a small fraction of overall music sales, but they’re growing rapidly. And the new choices they give consumers threaten to remix the recording industry’s traditional revenue streams, pumping up the volume of singles and subscriptions and turning down album sales. The shift to online shopping could be lucrative for the music industry if the flexibility and convenience lead people to spend more on tunes than they do today. But some industry executives and analysts fear the opposite result, with music lovers buying a few 99-cent singles instead of $15 CDs.”
Some Museums Suffer With UK’s Free Admissions Policy
British museums that previously charged entrance fees have seen a 72% increase in attendancesince December 2001. That’s 11 million extra visitors. “But the organisation behind May’s Museum and Galleries Month says many of England’s 1,500 museums and galleries have not reaped the benefit.”
Politico To Direct Harlem Boys Choir
The Boys Choir of Harlem has named Ernie Hart, chief of staff to New York City Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott as its new director. The choir’s founder was asked to step down earlier this year for failing to report allegations that a counselor was abusing a student.”
California Arts Economic Engine
“California’s nonprofit arts groups pump $5.4 billion annually into the state’s economy, according to an economic impact study released Thursday by the California Arts Council. This represents a 152 percent increase since the last study was done in 1994.”
Report: Arts Council Should Move From London
A new report suggests that Arts Council England should consider moving out of London. “The institute’s report suggested museum attendance outside London was half that of the capital’s. The report said there had to be more effort to encourage arts participation. The report said London was so much higher than the rest of the country because there were many more artistic venues in the capital.”
The Color Of Bollywood
The much-hyped $14 million Bombay Dreams finally opens on Broadway. Ben Brantley finds it colorful but familiar: “Such is the perverse spell cast by this friendly, flat and finally unengaging tale of glamorous movie folk and lovable untouchables that everything seems to melt into one neutral blur before your eyes, like a monochromatic symphony in the key of beige. Advertisements for the show may tout it as a voyage to “somewhere you’ve never been before.” But even theatergoers who have never seen a sari or eaten papadum are likely to find “Bombay Dreams” as familiar as this morning’s breakfast. It takes more than color, evidently, to be colorful.”
WTC To Get Smaller Insurance Payout – Some Rebuilding Projects In Doubt
A jury has limited the payout of insurance to the developer rebuilding on the World Trade Center site, cutting $1 billion from the expected total. “The decision cast doubt on his financing for four office towers planned for the ambitious project designed for ground zero. Still, money seems assured for the $1.5 billion, 1,776-foot Freedom Tower, while federal funds will be available for a $2 billion transit center. A combination of private and federal money will pay for the planned memorial and a museum and performing arts center.”