A new NEA report suggests that “not-for-profit dance companies may see as much as a 30% loss of earned income in the next few years, and even a heavier fall in contributions.”
Tag: 09.11.03
Powell: Media Ownership Rules Will Prevail
FCC chairman Michael Powell believes his rule changes on big media ownership will stand, despite growing opposition in Congress. “His opponents claim that the power of big media firms is rising. Mr Powell says the opposite. With the growth of cable, satellite and digital media, the number both of media outlets and of owners has increased almost everywhere in America. After the success of Mr Murdoch’s Fox, there are now four rivals instead of three even among the big TV networks. ‘We have facts,’ claims Mr Powell. ‘They have none’.”
Getting Angry At Vilar
Now that philanthropist Alberto Vilar is broke and unable to meet his pledge commitments to opera companies such as the Metropolitan, a surprising degree of anger towards him has surfaced. “Vilar thinks that the Met simply does not understand the American model of philanthropy, in which giving marches in step with the ups and downs of the financial markets. In strong markets, the wealthy give more; the quid pro quo is that when markets are weak, donors must be allowed to reschedule pledged payments until the markets rebound.”
Recordings And Porn – A Reason To Object?
The recording industry seems to be hitching its objections to file-trading to the porn industry. “It said that peer-to-peer file-sharing – the technology used by Internet sites like Kazaa and Morpheus – was bad not only because citizens could share music without paying for it, but also because it was used to swap pornographic images. One odd thing here: If you tweak that sentiment just a little bit, it becomes: We join our friends the child pornographers in deploring file-sharing of protected works of art.”
Joffrey Goes Live
The Joffrey Ballet, which has performed frequently with recorded music, has made a commitment to perform with live music for the next season and beyond. The company has also hired a new music director, Leslie Dunner, who made headlines last year when he was publicly dismissed by the Annapolis Symphony for reasons which were never disclosed.
Scotland’s National Achievement
A decision to build Scotland’s new national theatre is a major cultural accomplishment. “It is by far the boldest thing they have achieved in the cultural arena. They have consulted with the theatrical community and they have listened. It isn’t fanciful to say that this is the first major cultural decision which has been arrived at in Scotland through a full democratic discussion.”
How To Give Away A Strad In Canada
The Canada Council’s recent competition to loan rare string instruments to young musicians is a quintessential Canadian exercise. “All of these musicians had international careers by the time they were in their teens. They are already playing with great symphony orchestras and chamber ensembles, and already recording classical CDs. These lovely instruments are, for the three years of their tenure, going to further their careers, giving them richer sounds and greater delicacy of tone and enabling them to impress even more audiences and producers.”
Government Report Criticizes Kennedy Center Management
The General Accounting Office criticizes the Kennedy Center for inadequate management of its construction projects. “The report, which focused on the center’s construction of new parking and exterior areas, said what originally appeared to be a $28 million job wound up costing about $60 million more and created only about half as many new parking spaces as estimated. The GAO said the poor management raised questions about how officials will handle the massive additions planned for the center over the next 10 years.”
A Test Of Carnegie’s New Hall
A closed concert takes Carnegie Hall’s newest auditorium for a spin. “Naturally, the question buzzing about the hall during this varied program was: How are the acoustics? I think a pass is called for on that one until I hear some full-fledged programs this weekend, though my very initial reactions were mixed. The sound seemed bright but not especially warm; details and definition came through better at soft volumes…”
Teachout: Mixed First Impressions
Terry Teachout has mixed first impressions of Carnegie’s Zankel Hall. “I’m sure it’s obvious that Zankel Hall didn’t make as favorable an impression on me as I’d hoped, but I long ago learned that first impressions of a new auditorium can be deceptive. What seems problematic on first hearing often proves less so later on (and vice versa).”