The dance world was surprised last year when choreographer Donald Byrd, who had had to close down his own company, took a job running a tiny Seattle dance company. “How would someone who was used to running a major company, someone whose “Harlem Nutcracker” was a worldwide draw, accustom himself to a small troupe of dancers of varied backgrounds and a shoestring budget?”
Tag: 03.30.03
Looted Art On Display In Moscow
An exhibition of paintings taken from a German castle by Soviet troops after World War II went on display in Moscow this weekend. “A campaign by mainly Communist members of Russia’s parliament has kept the 364 works in the country, though many Liberals back the idea of returning them to Germany. Returning war booty has long been a sensitive issue in Russia, where memories remain keen of more than 20 million Soviet war dead during a four-year campaign against the Nazis. The Moscow Museum of Architecture has held the 362 drawings and two paintings – which include works by Rubens, Degas, Delacroix and Goya – in safekeeping for 43 years.”
Sony CEO: CD Sales Could Drop 15% In 2003
Andy Lack, the new CEO of Sony, says that his company predicts that CD sales will fall 15 percent this year. “We’ve prepared for a scenario that acknowledges that industry sales may be down as much as 13-15 per cent this year.” The drop in sales could lead to layoffs of 1000 employees this year.
An Older Appreciation Of Music
You might think – given the youth-obsession of marketers, that music buyers are almost all in their 20s. Far from it. “The most powerful record buying bloc in America is made up of people over 40. And they’re buying a wide variety of music – from newcomers such as Norah Jones and John Mayer, to new work by veteran artists such as James Taylor and Bruce Springsteen. There’s more to the story than Baby Boomers flexing their demographic muscles yet again, though America’s 81 million 35-to-54-year-olds do outnumber the country’s 75 million 15-to-34-year-olds, according to 2000 Census figures. Boomers not only have the critical mass and the cash, they also have an entirely different relationship to music than young people do.”
Deathwatch On CDs
“The music industry braces for a future that will involve the death of CD stores and the rise of wireless, pocket-size MP3 players that will enable consumers to access thousands of hours of music at the touch of a button. The only real question is how long it will take for those scenarios to become reality. You’ll see CD sections in stores decline quickly over the next few years because they will be replaced by technology that provides dirt-cheap storage and the ability to basically access and play any type of music anytime, anywhere. Wireless technology basically will create a world where we can have anything we want all the time.”
Reasons To Love/Hate The CD
Cd’s revived the recording industry when they were first introduced. They allowed you to listen to music differently and they were a big improvement over vinyl (or so most people thought). But there are drawbacks too to CDs…
Chicago Lyric Opera Slips Into The Red
The Chicago Lyric Opera sold 96 percent of its tickets this season. But that’s a few percentage points below its customary 100 percent sale. So the company will post a $1-2 million deficit, only its second shortfall in the past two decades.
More Women Moving Into Museum Leadership
As recently as 1989 there were fewer than a dozen women directing American museums. Now there are more than 50. “While there has been an increase in the number of women museum directors, the largest increase has been in the small museums.” But for the most part, women haven’t cracked the top jobs at larger museums.
Where Did All The Critics Go?
“Time was you knew where you stood with pop critics. There were certain bylines in the pop press that you could trust with your life, and more importantly, with the future health of your record collection. What strikes me about pop criticism of late – and this afflicts the broadsheets as well – is the tyranny of received opinion. What gives here? Maybe writers are too hidebound by the notion of providing their readers with glorified consumer guides rather informed criticism. Maybe the sheer doggedness of the reviewer’s task dulls the senses, precludes reflection and encourages the quick response. Are there so many mediocre albums coming out that, were reviewers to be honest, their negativity would send readers scurrying to the news section in search of some light relief?”
Evgeny Kissen – Beyond Prodigyhood
Evgeny Kissen was the child everyone was talking about in the early 90s. Now he’s 31, and “he has avoided the Icarian fate of many prodigies, some of whom have faded into obscurity with aching hands and broken hearts. His key to surviving the transition from wunderkind to adult virtuoso, under the eyes and ears of a public whose fascination often calls for superhuman displays of technical wizardry, was moderation.” He limits his concerts to 40-45 a year.