“Including drama and music, creative arts degrees are studied by approximately 37,000 young people in England each year. Taxpayers provide more to students who study these courses because they typically earn less than other degrees and therefore pay back less of their loans. The [Institute for Fiscal Studies’] report claims because of this, taxpayers spend about 30% more on arts degrees than on the equivalent engineering courses.” – The Stage
Blog
Elgar Manuscript Found After 100 Years And Performed
Composed in 1924, the ‘Andante’ melody had originally been scribbled by Elgar on a sheet of manuscript paper, which he signed clearly with his name. But for more than a century, it was hidden within the pages of a small black autograph book once owned by Lydia Tabb – a Barnardo’s charity fundraiser. – Express and Star
In 18 Months At The Helm, Michael Fothergill Has Made Ballet Arkansas Flourish
“We have considerably increased the marketing for our organization and have rebranded the company entirely. We have tripled our seasonal programming, created a series of special performances for young audiences and added a number of popular events.” – Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
There Are A Surprising Number Of Copies In Museums. Are Those Museums Being Honest About What They’re Showing?
The role of copies still raises larger questions about the mission of museums and the nature of authenticity. Does it matter if the works of art or historical objects on display are copies? Does it render the experience of visitors less meaningful? And are the institutions that don’t clearly identify the copies in some way shirking their responsibility to the public? – Washington Post
‘It’s Like The Life Of An Athlete’: How Ethan Hawke Prepares Himself, Eight Times A Week, For ‘True West’
“The unfortunate thing about [stage] fights is the more you practice them, the better they get, the more out of control they can seem. … We have to work really hard to make sure we actually feel like the other one is not trying to hurt us, so that [co-star] Paul [Dano] and I can maintain our friendship.” (photo journal) – Vulture
Early Days: Cashing In On Artificial Intelligence-Created Art
If they hadn’t found each other in the New York art scene, the players involved could have met on a Spike Jonze film set: a computer scientist commanding five-figure print sales from software that generates inkjet-printed images; a former hotel-chain financial analyst turned Chelsea techno-gallerist with apparent ties to fine-arts nobility; a venture capitalist with two doctoral degrees in biomedical informatics; and an art consultant who put the whole thing together, A-Team–style, after a chance encounter at a blockchain conference. Together, they hope to reinvent visual art, or at least to cash in on machine-learning hype along the way. – The Atlantic
The Musical That’s ‘Too Dark To Live’: ‘Lolita, My Love,’ Lerner’s Worst Disaster
Troy Patterson: “Its first act is weird and perfect; the second indicates the limits of this salvage operation. In The Complete Lyrics of Alan Jay Lerner, the editors ask, in a headnote, ‘How could songs and laughter be woven into a sinister story of a murderous pedophile?’ In other words, how do you solve a problem like Lolita? You don’t, not entirely, but the attempt offers a rare view of a masterpiece.” – The New Yorker
A Ballet Company Director On What Ballet Can Learn From Broadway
Marcello Angelini of Tulsa Ballet: “I think the current system for ballet companies robs dancers of their edge, whereas in Broadway, you need to remain marketable all the time. When a show opens, nobody knows how long it will run, and there is always a chance you may be unemployed in a matter of weeks. The cast needs to engage their audience show in, show out, as lackluster performances may lead to reduced ticket sales and, rather quickly, the show closing.” – Dance Magazine
Pianist Jacques Loussier, Who Brought Jazz Style To Bach, Dead At 84
“The combination of Bach’s elegant contrapuntal melodies with jazz swing had instant commercial appeal. [Loussier’s LP release] Play Bach No. 1 proved a runaway hit and two follow-up releases were equally popular. A subsequent European concert tour was so successful that the Jacques Loussier Trio continued to tour for 15 years, during which they sold more than 6 million albums.” – The Telegraph (UK)
No, Steven Spielberg, Netflix Is Not The Problem
“The debate about the future of moviegoing shouldn’t be a binary one between a studio system increasingly beholden to franchises and intellectual property, and a nihilistic streaming service set on eliminating all competitors and monopolizing its users’ attention. The real problem with film right now is a lack of diversity caused by a lack of competition — both in Hollywood and online.” – The New Republic