When BBC director general Greg Dyke was forced out following the Hutton Inquiry, BBC staffers protested and many commentators bemoaned the loss of Dyke at the helm of Britain’s largest broadcaster. But as it turns out, Dyke was able to laugh all the way to the bank, with a £456,000 severance package.
Tag: 07.08.04
Gardeners Can’t Like Beethoven?
This August, just like every year, the BBC will devote a sizable chunk of its schedule to presenting the BBC Proms, the world’s largest classical music festival. But its choice of host this year has some devotees in a snit: Alan Titchmarsh, host of a popular gardening program. But Titchmarsh is firing back at the highbrow crowd: “I was rather amused that people thought it was all right for a newsreader to present the Proms, not a mere gardener, as though gardeners, by definition, know nothing about music, which is very insulting to gardeners. I have loved classical music for 45 years… I come to the Proms from the perspective of a shared passion, not as a musicologist.”
State Arts Funding Stabilizing?
US state budgets are in better shape this year, and so arts funding may not be targets of cuts this year in most parts of the country. One survey sees “state expenditures growing by a national average of 2.8% during the next fiscal year. And one of the primary reasons why state legislatures and governors have cut arts funding so deeply — deficits — appears to be cresting and perhaps even receding a bit.”
Spamalot Gets A Cast
The new Monty Python musical Spamalot is due to open on Broadway in February 2005. “Based on the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, it will star Frasier actor David Hyde Pierce, alongside Tim Curry and Simpsons star Hank Azaria. Python star Eric Idle wrote the book for the musical, and collaborated on music and lyrics with John Du Prez.”
Philadelphia Orchestra, Musicians Union Far Apart In Contract Talks
The Philadelphia Orchestra’s contract with its musicians expires in September, and negotiators seem to be far apart. “Deficits are nothing new at the orchestra, but this season’s shortfall is unusually large: $4 million. In response, management has already implemented a number of surprising cuts, asking music director Christoph Eschenbach to take a 10 percent pay cut, reducing fees for guest soloists and conductors by 10 percent, and asking administrators to take a week’s unpaid vacation.”
Opera – A Lost Plot?
“Down in the mists of Greenwich, miles from the nearest Ring, they are dusting off Graham Greene’s only opera. Never seen it, say the buffs. Worth a tube trip for curiosity value. Add it to the stock of esoterica for the bar chat at Bayreuth. That’s how opera fans go about their business, collecting wayside works for the inevitable Wagnerian longueurs.”
New Saddam Novel Published
Portions of a new novel by Saddam Hussein have been published in London. “The manuscript was found in Iraq’s Ministry of Culture after the U.S. military overran Baghdad. The newspaper said it had received its copy from Saddam’s physician, Alla Bashir, who fled the country following the war.”
Could New Copyright Law Make iPods Liable
A bill under consideration in the US Congress would make operators of media-swap networks such as Kazaa and Grokster liable for users’ actions. “Opponents say the language is so broad it could apply to makers of MP3 players, such as iPod, and CD and DVD recorders, as well as to media organizations that give consumers tips on using digital content. The recording and movie industries support the bill to help curb piracy. But the tech industry is worried.”
When Was Rock Born?
So rock music is officially 50 years old. So much for officially. “Just when did rock really begin? It’s an issue that has long been tinged with racism, specifically the notion that it took a white man to make it rock ‘n’ roll, whereas before it was only R&B and what was then described as ‘race music’.”
Kurtz Expected To Plead Not Guilty
Artist Steve Kurtz is expected to plead not guilty today on charges that he acquired biological substances illegally. “The bizarre case of Steven Kurtz, 46, has attracted international attention in recent weeks, pitting U.S. prosecutors and FBI agents who say they’re only protecting public safety in the wake of Sept. 11, and the arts community that claims the federal government is indiscriminately and mistakenly attacking artistic expression and freedom of speech.”