“Harold C. Schonberg, the ubiquitous and authoritative chief music critic of The New York Times from 1960 to 1980, whose reviews and essays influenced and chronicled vast changes in the world of opera and classical music, died yesterday… He was 87 and lived in Manhattan. Writing daily reviews and more contemplative Sunday pieces, Mr. Schonberg set the standard for critical evaluation and journalistic thoroughness. He wrote his reviews in a crisp, often staccato style that gave his evaluations unequivocal clarity and directness, attributes that earned him a Pulitzer Prize for criticism in 1971, the first for a music critic.”
Blog
The New Urban Darling Of Hollywood Shoots
Hollywood traditionally shoots its films in L.A., New York, and, when there are budget concerns, Canada. But in recent years, a revitalized and newly sexy Philadelphia has become increasingly popular with filmmakers looking to bring a distinctive look to their sets. “‘Philadelphia has a vibe — it doesn’t feel like Boston or New York,’ says actor/director Kevin Bacon, a Philly native. ‘There are a tremendous amount of looks you can get. You have a downtown that feels like an urban center, and you’re not gonna find as many diverse working-class neighborhoods elsewhere.'”
AJ Blogs: Why Classical Music Should Survive
Greg Sandow likes classical music. But he acknowledges that this is not a wholly compelling reason for it to survive as an art form. “I don’t think classical music makes us smarter, or makes us better people. I don’t think it’s ‘better’ than other kinds of music… I don’t think classical music has any special claim to be considered art. In fact — as it’s practiced currently in America — I think it fails dramatically on one of the most important things that art ought to be about.” And yet, there are a few positive aspects of classical music left to cling to, and Greg would love to hear from anyone knows of more.
Carter At 96
“Elliott Carter is a phenomenon. Now halfway through his 96th year, he is as productive a composer as he ever was – maybe even more so… There are no compromises with Carter. His music is tough to get to grips with in terms of all its complexities, wrought of conflicts, contrasts, contradictions and intricate rhythmic conundrums. Not that audience appreciation seems to be a top priority, or even a particular concern.”
It Doesn’t Have To Be British To Be Important
Amidst all the brouhaha over the UK Heritage Lottery Fund’s decision to spend £11.5 million to keep a 9-inch Raphael painting in the country is a debate over what constitutes “national heritage.” To Charles Smith, the Lottery’s attempt to keep a foreign work of art in London is a promising sign that Britons are finally beginning to get past the notion that a work of art must be thoroughly British to be important. Still, with budget cuts running rampant in the UK, such programs of national preservation are under threat, and Smith says that the nation would do well to remember the reasons for their creation.
History vs. Agriculture
“A campaign launched 133 years ago finally resulted yesterday in a demand by archaeologists to end the trashing of 8,000 years of British history, through successive governments permitting and even encouraging farmers to plough archaeologically sensitive land… The scale of the destruction is awesome, and getting worse. There are government-issued ploughing permits for almost 3,000 scheduled ancient monuments, the archaeological sites that are recognised as nationally important.”
Indie Record Stores Continue To Thrive
The music industry is in a horrible slump. Really. Just ask any CEO of a big corporate record label or mega-CD chain. But owners of many of the country’s independent record stores continue to thrive, and their proprietors say that the big, impersonal chains have no one to blame but themselves. “Without the resources of the big national chains, independent and mom-and-pop stores might seem ill-suited to weather the tough sales market. But free from the big-business mindset of corporate labels and the chain stores beholden to big releases by bigger stars, independent record stores are increasingly in a position to succeed where so many big companies and chains are failing or faltering, finding unique and creative ways to trump the slump.”
American Arts Interest Stays Stagnant
“A recently released report from the National Endowment for the Arts indicates that the percentage of adults attending at least one jazz, classical music, opera, musical, play or ballet performance or visiting an art museum over the course of a year has stayed stubbornly at around 40 percent over the last 20 years. The total number of arts participants has increased, but so has the total U.S. adult population.”
The Radio Clear Channel Can’t Touch
With the corporate megalith that is the music industry closing ranks around the nation’s independent radio stations, it has become increasingly difficult to hear an original mix of truly diverse music anywhere in America. So it probably shouldn’t come as a surprise that, as companies like Clear Channel continue to gobble up stations faster than Pac-Man eats dots, the raw and edgy world of college radio is becoming increasingly popular with listeners.
A Painting Worth $20 Mil – Or Five Bucks. We’re Really Not Sure.
Back in the early 1990s, truck driver Teri Horton purchased a drip painting for $5. Now, she wants to sell it: for $20 million. “This is the estimated value of what one forensic art expert has pronounced a Jackson Pollock. However, the prestigious International Foundation for Art Research does not think it genuine… Ms Horton, who is 70 and lives in Costa Mesa, southern California, thinks it is ugly. She kept it only because it would not fit through the front door of the friend for whom she bought it from a thrift shop.”