Category: people

“James Beck, a Columbia University art historian who became well known as a critic of what he viewed as the ruinous conservation of world masterpieces, including Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling, died on Saturday in Manhattan. … It was the extensive restoration of the Sistine Chapel frescos, begun in 1980, that initiated his vigorous critique of conservation in the art historical field. He argued that the Michelangelo frescos were being drastically overcleaned….”

“Long before moving west to become what he somewhat ruefully described as a ‘game show fixture,’ Mr. Reilly was an actor and an acting teacher in New York City. In 1962, he won a Tony Award for his portrayal of Bud Frump in the original Broadway production of ‘How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.’ But he was proudest of ‘The Belle of Amherst,’ a one-woman play starring Julie Harris based on the life of Emily Dickinson, which he directed on Broadway” in 1976.

The Zimmers are a 40-strong band with a combined age of over 3,000, brought together by the documentary-maker Tim Samuels as part of the BBC’s Power to the People series. And they have a hit, as propelled by YouTube, with the Who’s 42-year-old hit that includes the line: “I hope I die before I get old”

“His diary is packed with prestigious guest engagements on both sides of the Atlantic. But looking back over the past 30 years, it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that Mark Elder works best in a collaborative environment with people who know his quirks – such as his small beat, a legacy of the English choral tradition. There’s no other way to explain his long stint as English National Opera’s music director (1979-93) or his quick bedding-in at Manchester, where standards and morale have risen under his leadership.”

After protests by consumer groups over high ticket prices, Barbra Streisand has canceled a performance in Rome. “Asked whether the protest over tickets was a factor in the decision by tour promoters to drop Rome from Streisand’s itinerary, the spokeswoman said: ‘Absolutely not’.”

“The point of her work, the best-selling writer Patricia Cornwell recently told an interviewer, is to speak up for victims of crime. This week a Virginia courtroom heard the 50-year-old writer speak up for herself, as she described how another, less celebrated author, had stalked her on the internet, causing emotional distress and damaging her reputation.”

“Heinz Berggruen, who has died aged 93, was one of the most prominent German art collectors of the 20th century. A friend of Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, Max Ernst and many other leading artists, he was also a journalist, author and art patron.”

“The art dealer Charles Saatchi spends a lot of time sitting at his desk. You might, too, if your desk were more of a table, capacious enough to occupy almost an entire wall of a parlor-floor room in your Belgravia town house; if its placement allowed you to hear snatches of birdsong and to look onto leafy Eaton Square; if its surface were laden with monographs, notebooks, a pewter platter of cookies, several bright-colored plastic cigarette lighters, and a Mrs. Potato Head toy.”

“World-renowned architect Frank Gehry was sued by a company that claims he defrauded them in a deal for his new Tiffany jewelry collection. Circa Publishing Enterprises LLC of Culver City contends that it had a deal with Gehry for the exclusive rights to produce, distribute and sell Gehry-trademarked jewelry and gift items.”

“Los Angeles Master Chorale music director Grant Gershon has been appointed to the new position of associate conductor and chorus master of Los Angeles Opera, the company announced Monday. His term will begin in the fall and extend through the 2008-09 season. Gershon, 46, also has extended his contract with the Master Chorale through 2010-11.”