Category: people

Jean-Paul Sartre would have turned 100 this year, and the anniversary is sparking renewed debate – both in France and the U.S. – concerning the philosopher’s body of work, and whether or not he can still be considered relevant in a world which has passed by many of the ideas he embraced. “There is no underestimating Sartre’s influence over French intellectual and political life for three decades after World War II. Indeed, many who grew up in his shadow, as supporters or opponents, are now among the politicians, intellectuals and journalists who shape public opinion here. And in that sense, traces of Sartrism still flow through the country’s veins… What Sartrism actually means, though, is hard to pin down.”

Charlie Parker died 50 years ago. “It said “pneumonia” on the death certificate, but it might have been more accurate to have written “everything”. At that point he had advanced ulcers, dropsy and a bad heart, and his liver was gravely damaged. The influence of Charlie Parker has been so all-pervading that it’s hard to imagine music without it; his influence has reached places where it would scarcely be suspected.”

Robert Craft has never been music director of an orchestra, and has always taken great pride in causing discomfort to the more staid and traditional corners of the classical music world. Still, Craft’s influence over the direction of 20th-century music was profound, and a slew of reissued CDs on the budget Naxos label are reasserting his position as one of the primary trendsetters and culture shapers of his era.

Whatever you may think of his slightly offbeat style or flamboyant stage manner, there can be no denying that pianist Lang Lang is bringing people back to classical music in droves with a devastating combination of “charm, charisma, stamina and an almost evangelical sense of mission… As far as Lang Lang is concerned, changing the world means you don’t just play concerts, you also appear on The Tonight Show and Sesame Street.” His open embrace of all the publicity that has come his way in recent years has led to an unusually bitter critical backlash, but none of the sniping seems to have dimished the pianist’s confidence or ability in the slightest.

What does it take to become a player in the hypercompetitive world of opera? “Even a stellar voice is no guarantee of success. It helps, but so do looks and luck and that intangible, uniquely human quality called charisma. A knack for strategic schmoozing can’t hurt either. And great hair. Very important, that.” Sherrill Milnes, who knows a thing or two about all of those qualities, may be the best thing ever to happen to young singers hoping to become the next big operatic thing. From his perch at Northwestern University, Milnes has earned a reputation as not only one of America’s great vocal teachers, but as a man who can prepare students for what they will face in the professional opera world.

Legendary classical music critic Shirley Fleming, who wrote for the New York Post and the New York Times, has died at her home in Georgia, aged 75. In addition to her newspaper work, Fleming spent 25 years as editor of Musical America magazine.

Rocker David Byrne is touring with his current instrument of choice – a computer loaded with PowerPoint. “Byrne is most interesting when he goes off on flights of fancy that illustrate why he is called the Renaissance man of rock. “PowerPoint is a symptom of a long train of thought that started picking up steam during the Enlightenment,” he says. “The idea was that we could name everything and draw lines that connect them.”

Two Philadelphia bloggers have created a serious presence for themselves within the city’s art world, reviewing exhibitions and commenting on the scene with the incisiveness of devotees and the fervor of investigative journalists. But navel-gazing doesn’t satisfy them, which is why they could be found this week on a frigid Philadelphia street corner, handing out free art (in the form of collectible trading cards) to confused passers-by.

Ask a musician who the greatest conductor currently working the international scene is, and it’s likely that the name you’ll hear will be Mariss Jansons. The 62-year-old Latvian has risen to the top of his profession in the last decade, and has done so without any of the maestro’s traditional pomp and showboating. For Jansons, music is all about the emotional connection, and he goes to great lengths to instill this idea in the musicians he conducts. “My philosophy is that I can conduct if I have a relationship with a piece. If I don’t, what’s the point?”

London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts has chosen journalist and broadcaster Ekow Eshun as its new artistic director. “Aged only 28 he was appointed as editor of men’s style magazine Arena. Today he writes regularly for publications including the Guardian, the Observer, the New Statesman and Wallpaper*. He is a founding director of Bug Consultancy and, as a broadcaster, is a regular contributor to Newsnight Review and Radio 4’s Front Row.”