The Florida Philharmonic’s bankruptcy auction marked the final humiliation for an orchestra which, for any number of reasons, never found its niche. In fact, orchestras across the Sunshine State are in similarly dire straits, and many observers fear that Florida is losing whatever tenuous commitment it once had to creating a respectable arts scene as a result.
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PhilOrch Official Heads To Jersey
Months after losing its executive director to Pittsburgh, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra has plucked its next chief executive from Pennsylvania’s other major city. 40-year-old Simon Woods, currently the artistic operations manager of the Philadelphia Orchestra, will take over the business operations of the NJSO in March. The announcement completes the transition to a new management team in Newark, where the NJSO recently announced the appointment of Neeme Järvi as its next music director.
Smithsonian Gets Martial
“Officials at the National Museum of American History yesterday announced plans to open a $19 million permanent exhibit exploring an oft-times fervently debated topic: the depiction of the nation’s military history, beginning with the French and Indian War in the 1750s, running through World War II and Vietnam, and culminating with the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan… It will be the first time the museum has taken a panoramic view of the U.S. military experience.”
So He Cut Off The Ear Just For Fun, Then?
“A recently discovered letter by Vincent van Gogh on display for the first time speaks of a tiny grave and his father’s grief over the loss of his first child — a boy also named Vincent who was stillborn. The letter, the first authenticated one by van Gogh to surface since 1990, is the only known reference by the artist to the family tragedy, said Leo Jansen, a researcher at the Van Gogh Museum, which added the letter to its exhibition yesterday. He and other experts say its passionless tone contradicts theories by some biographers that van Gogh may have suffered from alienation as a ‘replacement child.'”
The World’s Most Inexplicable Awards Show
The Golden Globe Awards will be handed out Sunday night, and you can be sure that the organizers will do their usual bit of proclaiming the ceremony to be the precursor to (and predicter of) the Oscars. But in reality, the Globes are handed out by a collection of fawning entertainment “reporters” from random countries who care more about sucking up to studio chiefs than honoring serious film. As Hollywood honors go, the Golden Globes should be closer in prestige to the People’s Choice Awards than to the Academy Awards. So why does everyone continue to buy into the hype? Because the Golden Globes people are smart enough to put together an entertaining show, that’s why.
Reassuring The Arts Crowd. Or Not.
Hélène Chalifour Scherrer fears that she may have gotten off on the wrong foot with Canada’s arts community, and she wants to make amends. The newly appointed Heritage Minister, who (apparently unintentionally) terrified arts leaders when she told a reporter that sports was the part of Canadian culture that interested her the most, is taking great pains to point out that she also loves opera and theater. She also wants everyone to know that her lack of experience in the arts won’t affect her ability to run the ministry: “Culture is a tool. And you need a vision to be the guardian of the Canadian identity. You don’t necessarily have to know what books were published last week.”
Grand Opera, Tinseltown-Style
Now that the Los Angeles Opera has its performance space all to itself, the company is determined to set about revitalizing the genre for a new generation of Angelenos. “While opera may be a tough sell in the shadow of the international movie factory, tapping the city’s entertainment industry is an obvious move,” and artistic director Placido Domingo hasn’t been shy about his desire to give LA Opera’s productions a touch of Hollywood glitz if it will bring in the crowds.
Carmen, In Her Natural Habitat
This fall, the Spanish city of Seville will stage an outdoor production of Bizet’s Carmen. You opera buffs already see where this is going: the famous opera is set in Seville, and the city plans to stage it in the actual locations called for in the libretto, with the entire production (and the audience, naturally) picking itself up and changing locations between acts. The ambitious project is the feature attraction of the First Seville International Music Festival, which will also boast appearances by cellist Mstislav Rostropovich and the New York Philharmonic.
Ann Miller, 84
“Ann Miller, the long-legged actress and dancer whose machinegun taps won her stardom during the golden age of movie musicals, died Thursday of lung cancer. She was 84.”
Is Self-Producing The Future Of Classical Recording?
With the major record labels continuing to downsize or eliminate their classical imprints, an ever-increasing number of orchestras have been taking their recording business in-house. Now, violinist Gil Shaham, dumped two years ago by Deutsche Grammophon in favor of the more photogenic Hilary Hahn, has started releasing independent albums as well, and the movement towards classical independence very likely represents the future of classical recording. As Shaham puts it, “I think of a chef opening his own restaurant. You may take on the risk, but with risk comes an unbelieveable freedom — you can put as much garlic in the hummus as you like.”