What is it about certain Broadway dancers that when casting lists are announced, their names always appear? – Backstage
Blog
JUST A GUY WAVING A STICK?
“On Broadway, a conductor is often as overlooked as so much wallpaper, that nameless fellow waving a stick under the stage. But in addition to wielding the technical skill involved in conducting the orchestra, musical directors play a major role in shaping a show, acting as the liaison between the composer and the cast.”- New York Times
A SHADOW OF ITSELF
BMG Classical was once a giant in the classical music recording business. But a major reorganization will gut the label – where it once produced hundreds of new recordings a year and boasted a roster of the biggest stars, it now focuses on its archives, and will drop most of its recognizable performers. – Washington Post
DIGITAL PLAY-ALONG
Giant EMI Music Publishing will make available the sheet music for one million of the songs it publishes on the web. The sheet music will be downloadable. – Wired
BIG GUYS FOLLOW
Finally the major recording labels are getting into the music download business. But is there any sign they’ve learned lessons from the independent labels already on the web and making money at it? – Wired
ART OR PORNOGRAPHY?
A San Diego judge has ruled that a pair of art books in the San Diego Library that feature photographs of nude girls, are pornography. Police are investigating; they have requested from the library the names of anyone who has checked the books out. – San Diego Union-Tribune
WHO’LL PAY THE BILLS?
Berlin’s cultural world is in crisis. Of course pretty much every other European capital has gone through some sort of public funding crisis in the past two decades, but that doesn’t particularly ease the pain. “Berlin supports three opera houses, seven orchestras, 50 theatres, 170 museums and 300 galleries – all this for 3.5 million residents.” Where is the money going to come to keep this extravagance afloat? – The Telegraph (UK)
HIGH TIMES/HIGH CREATIVITY
What is it about artists and substance abuse? “Artists have long taken refuge in substances during barren spells, or indulged in them as part of macho rituals. Yes, a great many writers, and other artists, would toast the liberalisation of illegal highs. But to cause a real commotion, politicians would have to criminalise the innocuous pick-me-ups and blameless crutches that are their true inspiration and solace.” – New Statesman
IT’S NEA GRANT DAY
The National Endowment announces 800 grants today. More than half are going to outreach and arts education, bringing the arts to “underserved” communities. – Washington Post
TUT TUT TATE
The newly renamed Tate Britain aims to re-present British art thematically. Does it work? “The Tate, it seems, has fallen into the hands of experts, not in art, but in marketing and presentation, and the pun in representing, worn thin already, is thrust home in every printing of the word as Representing – how much did they pay the wit who thought of that?” – London Evening Standard