“Classical music groups both large and small are tightening their belts so much that it hurts. Budget cuts, salary reductions and hiring freezes are as commonplace as the sound of an orchestra warming up before a performance.”
Tag: 05.05.09
Translating Urdu Literature: First Up, A 19th-Century Epic
“Launching a new publishing venture in the current economic climate is risky enough, but Toronto-based writer and translator Musharraf Ali Farooqi is really going out on a limb. Not only is his new company, Urdu Project, dedicated exclusively to publishing English translations of classical and contemporary works of Urdu literature, but he has chosen, as his debut offering, a centuries-old, 24-volume fantasy epic.”
UK’s Immigration Laws Are Harming The Arts
“Thanks to the one-size-fits-all anti-terrorism laws, artists from outside the EU now need to go through a complex process of finding a sponsor and getting all manner of fingerprints and face-scans prior to travelling to the UK. … [D]o we really need a scan of Robert LePage’s face to know that he’s not coming here to bomb Canary Wharf?” And that’s hardly the only problem with the laws.
Why Are Creative People Crazy? Because It Helps.
“According to new research, … [c]reative minds in all kinds of areas, from science to poetry, and mathematics to humour, may have traits associated with psychosis. Such traits may allow the unusual and sometimes bizarre thought processes associated with mental illness to fuel creativity.”
Karole Armitage, The Billy Boys And Slumdog Up For Astaire Awards
Among the finalists for the honors dedicated to Broadway dance are choreographers Armitage (Hair) and Graciela Daniele (Pal Joey) as well as performers Karen Olivo (Anita in West Side Story) and the three young men sharing the title role in Billy Elliot. For film choreography, a category added last year, nominees include Slumdog Millionaire, Mamma Mia and the unavoidable High School Musical 3.
Cleveland Museum Cuts Pay But Not Jobs
“The Cleveland Museum of Art, battered by a bad economy and a 30 percent drop in the value of its endowment since June, is cutting salaries and eliminating other expenses to keep its budget in line. […] The Cleveland museum isn’t cutting jobs – for now. And it plans to push ahead with a $350 million expansion and renovation.”
That Famous Bust Of Nefertiti? Fake.
“The bust of Queen Nefertiti housed in a Berlin museum and believed to be 3,400 years old in fact is a copy dating from 1912 that was made to test pigments used by the ancient Egyptians, according to Swiss art historian Henri Stierlin.”
Tolkien’s Legend Appears Headed To Best-Seller List
“The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún features Tolkien’s translation of two epic poems from Norse mythology, The New Lay of the Völsungs and The New Lay of Gudrún.” Unlikely best-seller material? Perhaps, but Waterstone’s said it “was on course to make the top three of the best-seller chart by the week’s end.”
ENO Loses Iranian Director Angered By Visa Ordeal
“The English National Opera’s season has been thrown into chaos after an acclaimed Iranian director pulled out of a production in a row over the ‘disrespectful’ behaviour of British Embassy staff in Tehran. Abbas Kiarostami objected to the behaviour of officials as he attempted to negotiate his way through the ‘unduly time-consuming and complicated’ visa application process, which requires all applicants to be fingerprinted.”
What Really Cost-Conscious Theatre Will Look Like
“A new player will be popping up more and more frequently on Baltimore stages next season: The Almighty Dollar. As local companies prepare for the 2009-2010 theatrical season, never in recent memory has the economy played such a prominent role in determining the number and type of shows that will appear on local stages.”