“Culture wars over blasphemous art, such as Andres Serrano’s urine-dipped crucifix or Chris Ofili’s elephant dung-decorated Madonna, have flared up periodically in the United States in recent years. A similar conflict is now raging in post-Soviet Russia. But there, the debate is not about whether taxpayer money should be used for museum displays that offend some people’s religious beliefs. It’s about whether a provocative exhibition at a privately owned museum should be a crime with harsh penalties for the accused blasphemers.”
Tag: 03.23.05
Pavarotti Recovering From Surgery
“Opera superstar Luciano Pavarotti had neck surgery to repair two vertebrae earlier this month. The 69-year-old tenor spent two days in hospital in New York for the operation, which was described as ‘routine and regular’ by his spokesperson. Pavarotti is to return to Italy this weekend before continuing his farewell tour in South Africa next month.”
Study: The Arts’ Impact Across The US
“Nearly 3 million people — representing 2.2% of all jobs in the United States — work in the arts, according to a new survey by Americans for the Arts, released to coincide with Arts Advocacy Day on March 15 in Washington, D.C. The report states that arts companies, organizations, and related businesses now exist in all 435 Congressional districts, lending credence to the position maintained by many arts advocates that the economic power of America’s “creative industries” should not be underestimated.”
A List: 13 Things We Don’t Understand
There are plenty of things we understand about how the universe works. Indeed, it seems like every month there’s something wonderfully impossible that we’ve managed to figure out. And yet, the number of things that make absolutely no sense whatsoever is long. Here’s a list of 13 things about the world that defy explanation (so far)
MP’s Attack Arts Funding Freeze
A group of influential British members of Parliament has condemned the government’s freeze in arts funding. “The government needs to re-evaluate its allocation of resources to the arts taking a long-term view, to ensure that real terms cuts are avoided where no compelling arguments or evidence are presented for their necessity. In our view no such arguments have been made. The government should reconsider and find the £34m needed to keep the Arts Council funding in line with inflation.”
Ha Jin Wins PEN/Faulkner
American author and poet Ha Jin has won the 25th annual PEN/Faulkner fiction prize for his latest novel War Trash.
Aussie Orchestras Meet To Plan Protest
Representatives of Australia’s national orchestras are meeting in Sydney to fight proposals to cut government orchestra funding. “The orchestras are fighting the recommendations of former Qantas chief James Strong to save money by cutting musician numbers in some ensembles by 25 per cent.”
Controversial Bolshoi Opera Opens Tonight
The stage is set for the opening of the Bolshoi theater’s first new opera for 30 years on Wednesday, but Russian critics are branding it pornographic and conservatives want it banned before the curtain even goes up…
Kicking Muti Out At La Scala
One thing is clear about the La Scala mess, writes Norman Lebrecht: Riccasrdo Muti is out as music director. “Gradually, a realisation dawned that Muti’s tyranny was at an end. The relief was spontaneous and universal. Milan, more with a whimper than a bang, had brought down a musical dictator who modelled himself on Arturo Toscanini, demanding fanatical fidelity to the score and throwing screaming fits when thwarted. Muti, now 64, is a self-made anachronism. A Neapolitan of modest origins, in ever-black designer hair and suits so sharp you can cut a finger on the crease, he tempers feral energy and vicious tantrums with a magnetic warmth that he switches on and off at will.”
Jarvi Appointed Director Of Hague Orchestra
Neeme Jarvi, 67, who steps down from 15 years leading the Detroit Symphony, has been appointed music director of The Hague Residentie Orchestra in the Netherlandsis. He’s already scheduled to become music director of the New Jersey Symphony next fall. “Though not of the same size and stature of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam or the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the Residentie Orchestra is an important symphony in Dutch musical life.”