Ownership of London’s West End theaters have been changing hands at a frantic rate this year. Another case of Big Bad Business Consolidation – with all the predictable corporate blandishments to follow? Surprisingly not, reports one critic. The changes seem to be for the better. – The Times (UK)
Who’s Who in London’s theater ownership sweepstakes. – The Times (UK)
There’s nothing particularly “classical” about Canada’s Top Ten classical recordings bestseller list – Bocelli and Church and some crossover stuff. “So how many copies does a real classical album sell? On average, 300 in Canada. (And for reasons that remain obscure, 40-50% of those sales will be in the province of Quebec.) A few albums, of course, do much better than that – Heppner’s Great Tenor Arias has almost gone gold. But BMG’s 94-CD set of Rubinstein’s complete recordings sold only 30 copies in Canada – which is not entirely surprising given the price tag of $1,500. – National Post (Canada)
London’s Covent Garden opened with a string of disastrous technical disasters that marred opening performances of the hall. “According to those on the front line, machinery is not to blame. The more uncomfortable explanation is this: to maintain public confidence in the controversial redevelopment, the ROH’s executive director Michael Kaiser was obliged to claim last year that the £214 million project was absolutely on schedule and tickety-boo. the building was therefore obliged to start producing performances before it was truly ready to do so.” – Daily Telegraph (UK)
The Detroit Symphony is planning a $60 million makeover of its 2000-seat 1919 concert hall. – Toronto Globe and Mail
“Who’d want to be a fussy follower of fashion? While the trend for all encompassing music festivals has now more or less gone the way of zoot suits, ponytails, gurning and hula hoops, it seems that something somewhat more defined has taken their place. These days, musical tastes have not only diversified but become more focused. A music-loving audience has turned into discerning customers who will shell out for selective, channeled events.” – Irish Times
What is it about pop music entertainers that makes them think they can do anything they fricken well please? “They produce movies. Star in movies. Write movies. Write novels. Diddle about with stocks and shares and web-related ventures. Import absinthe. Model for Calvin Klein. Become priests. Today’s pop star has the attention span of a cocaine-addled gnat. No wonder it takes them an average of six years to make an album. No sooner have they completed a bass-line, or a bleeping noise, or whatever it is that they specialise in, than they are seized by ennui and disillusionment and have to rush off and chase dreams that we, the public, have not endorsed and should not be expected to indulge.” – The Scotsman
“The relationship between poetry and pop music is caught up in ongoing debates about definition and categorisation. It is often described in terms of rivalry – John Keats versus Bob Dylan is the favoured pairing, in a ding-dong bout between supposedly high and low cultures. Dylan is certainly a better standard-bearer than Vanilla Ice, but his lyrics – lacking the complexities and nuances of Keats’s poems – tend to reinforce notions that the poet’s art belongs to an altogether different sphere of creativity.” – Financial Times
“From 1950 to the late 1970s, the Central Intelligence Agency covertly spent many millions of dollars spreading American art and American ideas while hiding behind a front organization, the Congress for Cultural Freedom. The CIA practiced stealth subsidy. That project was clownish in some ways – and totally undemocratic. In theory it was a terrible idea. But what didn’t work in theory worked in practice. It left unwitting readers of CIA publications with highly conflicted feelings. I, for one, sternly disapprove of the whole idea but also remain permanently grateful for it.” – National Post (Canada)
In a bid to promote access to Seoul’s cultural resources the city’s artists have gone underground – to the subway. “The subway theater project, which was conceived late last year, is aimed at providing commuters and passersby with an easy access to a wide range of cultural experiences. In addition, the project is designed to help artists who are unable to hold shows either due to limited spaces or from lack of money.” – Korea Times
Canada’s Al Purdy dies. “If there’s a heaven and a hell, Al has a foot in both camps as he argues first with God and then with the Devil. I think I know who’s winning the argument or, if not winning, at least breaking even in eternity. – The Globe and Mail (Canada)
