Category: people

Handwritten poems and cartoons, a matchbox with a snarky homemade label, Christmas cards and signed gifts from various Beatles (who were friends), and other miscellaneous stuff belonging to the comedian and founder of BBC radio’s legendary Goon Show went for surprisingly high prices at Bonham’s in London this week. (Oddly, a restored 1883 Broadwood grand piano, estimated at £2,000 to £3,000 and occasionally played by no less than Paul McCartney, went to a friend of the family for £400. Where were the period-instrument folks?)

“Rae Imamura, a pianist and music educator with an abiding passion for new and experimental music, died of cancer Saturday at her home in Berkeley. She was 63. For decades, Ms. Imamura was a devoted advocate for the works of living composers, including John Cage, Robert Ashley, Lou Harrison, Terry Riley, John Adams and Paul Dresher. Her collaborators also included jazz luminaries such as Ornette Coleman and the Art Ensemble of Chicago.”

Michael Riedel writes that, “though he may not have been as well-known to the public as the impresarios of the past, Gerald Schoenfeld wielded more power than all of them put together… His death yesterday shocked the theater industry, for although he was 84, the Shuberts without Gerry – indeed, an opening night without Gerry – hardly seemed possible.”

“Miriam Makeba, the South African singer known as ‘Mother Africa,’ was celebrated as much for her unwitting activism against apartheid as for her lilting and dramatic voice… [But she maintained that] ‘I am not a political singer. I don’t know what the word means. People think I consciously decided to tell the world what was happening in South Africa. No! I was singing about my life.'”

“Kenny MacLean, a Canadian musician who shot to fame with the 1980s New Wave band Platinum Blonde, was found dead in his Toronto apartment and recording studio on Monday… Police aren’t treating the death as suspicious and found no evidence of drug use.”

“Gerald Schoenfeld, the longtime leader of the theatre-owning powerhouse known as the Shubert Organization and a man routinely referred to as the most powerful man on Broadway, died Nov. 25.”

Norman Mailer’s death a year ago is no reason for author and former housemate Peter Manso to drop their feud. “With Mailer snugly in the grave, Manso is firing back. His new afterword to the oral biography ‘Alas, Poor Norman’ is a masterpiece of invective, innuendo, and character assassination. Manso sustains the tension and the tone for a good seven pages. Unfortunately the essay is 44 pages long.”

“Karl Bissinger, whose lustrous black and white portraits created a memorable gallery of the leading figures on the postwar American arts scene, died Wednesday at his home in Manhattan. … Mr. Bissinger created indelible images of the new generation of writers, actors, dancers and free spirits who were reshaping American culture after World War II.”

“Leading British conductor Richard Hickox has died of a suspected heart attack at the age of 60. Hickox, who was the musical director of Opera Australia as well as a regular conductor of major UK orchestras, died after a recording session in Wales.”

Going to see Gustavo Dudamel conduct? “If so, keep an eye on the young conductor’s left hand. No, this isn’t some weird fetish thing. It’s a chance to focus on a key element of his technique, which is what makes him the real deal. A quick tutorial….”