English, once thought to be the heart of humanities, is in a bad way. It has been “theorised” to destruction, writes John Sutherland.
Tag: 07.14.06
Steinem: Where Are The Women In Radio?
Gloria Steinem says the male-dominated radio industry is producing programming women don’t want to hear. “Female listeners are down in almost every music and talk format, a seven-year decline that spans all ages and ethnic groups, she said. ‘Only public radio has shown a 25 percent increase in women’ during the past six years, she added.” Steinem sits on the board of GreenStone Media, a radio network owned by and aimed at women.
Opera’s Power List
Who are the most powerful people in American opera? Opera News made a list. “You have the expected, of course: the chiefs of the four biggest opera companies (and eight of largest 10), high-powered agents from IMG and CAMI, the two maestros named James (Levine and Conlon), “The Diva” (Renée), and, naturally, The New York Times (collectively). But there are a few surprises, too.”
A State Of Opera Power
Why make a list now? “There’s new management in many other houses, including major companies in Houston and San Francisco as well as dynamic smaller companies such as Atlanta Opera and Madison Opera. And everyone’s talking about the same thing and asking the same questions: What’s the future of the art-form? Where are new audiences going to come from? How are we going to maintain the cultural relevance of opera in the United States? In response to this compelling scenario we made a list of 25 names that represent power in the industry now as the industry looks forward.”
Met Museum Joins Art-For-Money Loans
The Metropolitan Museum joins the ranks of museums loaning works in their collections for fees, with a show going to the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. “The upcoming Met blockbuster is an ‘opportunistic event,’ made possible by the need to remove the museum’s French 19th-century paintings from the walls while those galleries are expanded. It is, he said, intended to ‘raise funds for this construction’ – the first time that the Met has structured a traveling exhibition as a big moneymaker.”
Canadian Bookstore Ban Of Harper’s Results In Bestseller
Last month Indigo, Canada’s largest bookstore chain, decided to ban Harper’s Magazine from its racks because of some of the magazine’s content. But the controversy over the move helped make the June issue of Harper’s a best-seller in canada, as readers flocked to other outlets to buy the magazine.
Seattle Symphony Musicians Survey: We’re Not Happy With Conductor Schwarz
A survey of musicians in the Seattle Symphony shows widespread unhappiness with music director Gerard Schwarz and the orchestra’s ineffectual board, which recently renewed the conductor’s contract to a 26th season. “The comments – mostly centering on the artistic direction of the orchestra, which Schwarz has led since 1983 – are overwhelmingly negative about the music director and the current leadership of the board, widely regarded as his ally.”
Anti-Bad Provenance Insurance
An insurance company is selling a new policy that insures the ownership of art. “Their brainchild, art title protection insurance, ‘transfers risk to a third party so that people can buy and sell art with the confidence that there is not a World War II claim, an import-export issue or a lien or judgment against the artwork’.”
Another Political Battle For The Corporation for Public Broadcasting?
“The nomination of Warren Bell, executive producer of ABC’s ‘According to Jim’ and a contributor to the online edition of the conservative National Review magazine, has puzzled and alarmed some public broadcasters, who fear he would revive the sharp political debate that engulfed the system last year.”
In Service Of The Conductor
Music critic Tom Service packs off to conducting school. How hard can it be? “As a critic, I’ve spent years talking about what conductors do, blithely assessing their interpretations, gestures, and podium antics, as if I knew how to do it better. Of course, with the virtual orchestra of my imagination, I can kid myself that I do, but what the course made me realise is just how hard it is to communicate your intentions to a group of musicians.”