Three months ago Robert Egan moved to Seattle to be artistic director at ACT. “In what he calls ‘a shocking disclosure,’ Egan says he learned two weeks ago that ACT’s big fall fund-raising push had fizzled amid a flagging economy in the Pacific Northwest.
Annual donations totaled $1.8 million instead of the budgeted $2.4 million. Had he known then what he knows now, would Egan have taken the job? ‘That’s a very good question,’ he says. ‘I don’t know’.”
Blog
Golden Globes Share The Wealth
“Chicago” picks up two awards, “Adaptation” and “Gangs of New York” also win. “In a harbinger of what is likely to be a closely fought Oscar race, the Globes split its trophies among a variety of critically praised films ranging from late-life crises to historical drama to a sendup of Hollywood screenwriting.”
How Scotland Yard Recovered “The Scream”
The colorful story of the recovery of Edvard Munch’s painting “the Scream” back in 1994 is just now coming to light. “While it is known that the £50 million painting was eventually returned to the National Gallery in May 1994, following a trap set by Scotland Yard, it has emerged that the British strategy for finding ‘The Scream’ stretched the limits of international law and involved meticulous research, false identities and high risks for two unarmed officers. Twice, the operation was put in peril by the unlucky intervention of other police forces. Twice, the swift action of the undercover officers averted disaster.”
Howells Condemns Pop Singer Robbie Williams For Piracy Remarks
UK culture minister Kim Howells is at it again, this time condemning singer Robbie Williams for his remarks supporting music piracy. “He should also realise that many of these pirate operations are linked to organised crime on a worldwide basis. In saying that piracy is a ‘great idea’, Williams is doing the work for international gangs involved in drugs and prostitution who find music piracy an excellent way of laundering their profits.”
Music Industry Pushes For End Of VAT Tax On CD’s
The European music industry is pushing to eliminate the VAT on CD’s. “The Give US A Break campaign is supported by all the major trade and professional groups, including composers and music publishers, the record industry and retailers. The price of compact discs has long been a complaint the music industry has faced from consumers, and in 2001 was the subject of an investigation by the European Commission.”
Top Of His Game – The High-Flying Career Of David Robertson
“Whenever an opening appears for the music directorship of a leading American symphony orchestra, 44-year-old David Robertson is invariably mentioned. It’s a good time to be an American conductor. The cellist Yo-Yo Ma observes that American classical music is at a moment when ‘really interesting leadership’ can make an enormous impact on the way classical is played here. Robertson is a passionate, articulate advocate of both old and new music who doesn’t, as Ma puts it, see ‘culture as a static block’.”
Music Jobs At Risk If Piracy Isn’t Solved, Says Official
Jay Berman, head of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), tells a conference in Cannes that “all jobs in the European music industry could be in jeopardy if record executives do not tackle the problems of music piracy. That’s 600,000 jobs, he said. “In truth, online music piracy is not about free music. The music creators and rights holders, denied the right to choose how their music is used and enjoyed, are in fact paying the price.”
Shanghai Express – Miracle Out Of Chaos
“As an event, the Shanghai Biennial would seem a success. Major figures from Europe, America and Asia attended, although many, including a delegation from New York’s MoMA, were making a side trip from a curating conference organised by the Asia Society in Hong Kong. But the longer-term picture is cloudier, as the haphazardly installed, barely coherent Biennial—resembling, at times, an art fair—cemented a growing scepticism overseas about both Chinese art and the possibilities of mounting serious art exhibitions in China.”
Star Turns – The New Celebrity Collectors
“Celebrities and stars figure more and more in the art world. Indeed, Madonna, David Bowie, Elton John, Jarvis Cocker of Pulp, Brian Eno and Bryan Ferry are not only avid buyers but part of the group of patrons that supports young talent in Britain. ‘This group of pop and rock stars has truly put its stamp on the market. Such is its impact that it even affects artistic tendencies, but the phenomenon has to be seen as part of a whole movement that includes music, painting and all the arts’.”
English National Opera Chorus Protests Chorus Cuts
Members of the English National Opera have voted a resolution of no-confidence in the company’s management, after the board voted to reduce the number of chorus members from 60 to 40. “There’s obviously a concern for their individual futures and there is a worry that they may be put in a position where they have to audition for their own jobs which is a particularly cruel process.”