A decision to build Scotland’s new national theatre is a major cultural accomplishment. “It is by far the boldest thing they have achieved in the cultural arena. They have consulted with the theatrical community and they have listened. It isn’t fanciful to say that this is the first major cultural decision which has been arrived at in Scotland through a full democratic discussion.”
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How To Give Away A Strad In Canada
The Canada Council’s recent competition to loan rare string instruments to young musicians is a quintessential Canadian exercise. “All of these musicians had international careers by the time they were in their teens. They are already playing with great symphony orchestras and chamber ensembles, and already recording classical CDs. These lovely instruments are, for the three years of their tenure, going to further their careers, giving them richer sounds and greater delicacy of tone and enabling them to impress even more audiences and producers.”
The Cult Of Adorno
Theodor Adorno was born 100 years ago. He’s “recognized as one of the leading critical minds of the 20th century, a man with an intellectual range that seemingly knew no bounds. He was a musicologist who studied in Vienna with Alban Berg and a composer in his own right, a social theorist steeped in the tradition of western Marxism, and a highly regarded commentator on literature and poetry. Yet Adorno polarized many with his dialectical style and his uncompromising assault on the enlightenment, Hegelian idealism and existentialism.”
Big Concerns About Miami’s New $265 Million Arts Center
Flaws in Miami’s new $265 million Performing Arts Center, currently under construction, could “compromise its crucial sound quality, delay its opening and drive up its cost by up to $50 million, officials overseeing its construction and management charged Tuesday. These are issues affecting what the building looks like, what it sounds like, what it feels like.”
Report: Canadian Arts Groups Up, Symphony Orchestras Down
Canadian symphony orchestras have had a few difficult financial years. But “theatre, music, dance and opera entered the new millennium with a healthy financial surplus, thanks to record revenues of $543.7 million,” according to new government figures.
Government Report Criticizes Kennedy Center Management
The General Accounting Office criticizes the Kennedy Center for inadequate management of its construction projects. “The report, which focused on the center’s construction of new parking and exterior areas, said what originally appeared to be a $28 million job wound up costing about $60 million more and created only about half as many new parking spaces as estimated. The GAO said the poor management raised questions about how officials will handle the massive additions planned for the center over the next 10 years.”
To The Pointe At 46
Janie Hampton started ballet at the age of 46. “No, we don’t wear tutus. No, we don’t dance on points – can you imagine what 12 stone of fat and gristle would do to those tiny bones in my toes? No, I haven’t lost any weight, but I am definitely a lot more supple and I can stand on one leg for a lot longer. My French has improved too – though I haven’t found many uses for croise devant, sur le cou-de-pied or temp de flêche when I’m on holiday.”
Controversy Over Overweight Bolshoi Ballerina
“Anastasia Volochkova, Russia’s most loved and loathed ballerina, has sparked a bitter row with the prestigious Bolshoi theatre following the reported hospitalisation of her male dancing partner, whom industry sources have said was injured lifting her ‘overweight’ frame.”
Is Good Art Making A Comeback?
“Thrillingly, for the first time in a while, art seems more important than the system. The professionalism of the recent past, the thing that made the late-’90s art world seem corporate and unsafe, is morphing into something less predictable, more homespun. The fringes feel frisky, good new artists and galleries are appearing, hype and fashionableness matter less, those capacious Chelsea galleries don’t seem as off-putting, and art is becoming the focus again.”
A Test Of Carnegie’s New Hall
A closed concert takes Carnegie Hall’s newest auditorium for a spin. “Naturally, the question buzzing about the hall during this varied program was: How are the acoustics? I think a pass is called for on that one until I hear some full-fledged programs this weekend, though my very initial reactions were mixed. The sound seemed bright but not especially warm; details and definition came through better at soft volumes…”