John Tavener is the composer of the moment in Britain. His music is undeniably popular with the public. But he’s not exactly a fan of much music history: “I hate progress, I hate development and I hate evolution in most things, but in music particularly,” Tavener has written. Schoenberg is “the filthy, rotten ‘dirt dump'” of the 20th century. The German tradition from Bach to Berg is a “rotting corpse” and “a hideous sound world”. – The Guardian
Tag: 09.22.00
TRYOUTS
- Kurt Masur withdraws from two weeks of subscription concerts with the New York Philharmonic, citing health reasons. No big deal, but the orchestra’s choices to replace him happen to be two conductors rumored to be in the chase to succeed Masur as the NYPhil’s next music director. – New York Times
YOU CAN’T DIE WITHOUT PERMISSION
A small village in France ran out of room in its cemetery. So the mayor issued an edict: “It is forbidden for any person not in possession of a family vault to die on the village’s territory.” – Sydney Morning Herald 09/22/00
TOE-ING THE LINE
In Paris thousands roll through town once a week in an inline skate. The fad has spread to Amsterdam and now to London, where every Wednesday hundreds roll by Buckingham Palace with the now-traditional “Hi Queenie” greeting. – London Evening Standard
FREE SHELVES ONCE AGAIN
A US federal judge has struck down a local law in Wichita, Kansas that allowed signers of a petition to yank “objectionable” books from the public library. – MSNBC (AP, REUTERS) 09/22/00
COME HERE, MY PRETTY
This month marks the hundredth anniversary of the publication of “The Wizard of Oz”. But “if you only know the story from the Judy Garland MGM movie of 1939, you’ve missed a few bricks along your yellow brick road.” – National Post (Canada)
BOOTLEGGED BOOKS
While Napster is driving the music industry crazy, bootleggers have been making complete texts of books available for downloading. Is this a threat to publishing? – Wired
“HEIDI WANTS ME TO DO THIS”
The mother of the Boston Ballet dancer who died possibly of an eating disorder is planning to sue the company, claiming the company’s “insistence on thinness caused her daughter’s untimely death.” – Boston Herald
SELLING JEAN-MICHEL
Jean-Michel Basquiat’s artwork is the top-selling of the 1980s. “Does the artist’s work live up to the market’s hype? While Basquiat produced a lot of junk, if you look at his high-water mark as a painter, you can’t help but be impressed by the sophistication of his compositions, painterly surface and effective use of language.” – Artnet
THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF BAD REVIEWS
No such thing as opening quietly out of town anymore. “Seussical” got a plateful of bad reviews at its Boston tryouts earlier this month. Some are saying that’s a good thing – the show is being revamped (fixed) before it heads off to Broadway this fall. – Boston Globe