“Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, is getting a valuable painting by Rembrandt that might otherwise have come to Montreal if the donor, Alfred Bader, had not been refused admission to McGill University in 1941 because he is a Jew. The painting, estimated to be worth millions of dollars, is the latest bequest to Queen’s from Milwaukee philanthropists Bader and his second wife, Isabel… [The] gift, titled Head of an Old Man in a Cap, was painted about 1630. It is one of only four paintings in Canada by Rembrandt van Rijn.”
Tag: 10.23.03
Those Daring Young Pianists On The Flying Trapeze
Piano competitions are a grand old classical music tradition, but in recent years, it’s become harder and harder for some of the smaller events on the circuit to raise enough money to keep it all going. A case in point is Canada’s Esther Honens competition, run by Andrew Raeburn, who has been employing every technique he can think of to generate interest, and cash. Inlcuding, believe it or not, trapeze artists.
Ultraviolence & The MPAA
A slew of unbelievably violent and bloody new movies is hitting American multiplexes this fall, and absolutely no one seems concerned about it. Not only that, the Motion Picture Association of America appears not even to have considered assigning such gorefests as Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill its strictest rating of NC-17, which is generally given to films with graphic nudity and/or particularly harsh language. Should we care that movies are becoming bloodier by the day? Or, as the MPAA claims, is it all just good fun so long as the violence remains “cartoonish,” whatever that is?
What Is Wrong With Us, Anyway?
“We are so numb it no longer hurts when people call us demented. Once-unspeakable violence has moved from the unbalanced fringe into the middle of our surround-sound home theater systems. We’ve gone from ‘Impeach Bill’ to Kill Bill, from Animal House to House of the Dead, from the post-Sept. 11 death of irony to the postmodern death of revulsion.”
Is Bad Theatre Ruining The West End?
A growing band of critics believe that “the increasing number of poor-quality shows in the West End are damaging its image. ‘A lot of theatres are kept open because somebody will take something in that should never be in the West End. In the past five years there have been many shows in the West End that had no right to be there. They weren’t good enough, shouldn’t have been there and didn’t stand a dog in hell’s chance. It puts people off theatre’.”
Dismissed Ballet Star Sues Bolshoi
Ballerina Anastasia Volochkova has filed suit against the Bolshoi Ballet after being fired last month for being “too heavy.” “Russia’s Labour Ministry said the dancer’s firing violated Russian labour laws and called on the Bolshoi to reinstate her. But the ministry acknowledged that the final decision rested with the theatre, and the Bolshoi has refused to budge. ‘Unfortunately, I have to do it because I am seeking justice and want to assert my rights as well as the rights of other artists’.”
Music’s Do-It-Yourselfers
A new generation of musicians is producing recordings on its own. “It has never been easier to make a record than it is now. Computers and digital recording technology have put the means of production into the hands of the musician. So, if you can make a record that sounds every bit as polished as an expensive studio recording, press copies and produce an eye-catching sleeve with the aid of graphics programmes, what do you need a major record company for?”
Glam Kid Lit – More About The Author
Why are all these celebrities writing children’s books? “Everyone agreed there was lots of money and publicity to be made in kid lit. It was a time, after all, when a young British woman — who didn’t have a famous name when she started — wrote a series of books about a boy named Harry and, legend has it, became richer than Madonna, and richer, even, than the Queen of England.”
Disney Hall – A French Curve In A T-Square World
Herbert Muschamp writes that LA’s new Disney Hall is more than a building. “It’s a home for everyone who’s ever felt like a French curve in a T square world. Disney Hall is a riotous rebirth. Not just for downtown Los Angeles, where the building is situated, and not just for the whole sprawling mixed-up La-La. What is being reborn is the idea of the urban center as a democratic institution: a place where voices can be heard.”
Disney Hall’s Great – But Where’s Money For The Poor?
Disney Hall’s opulent opening may herald a redefined downtown for Los Angeles. But nearby homeless and advocates for the poor see Disney as a symbol of catering to the rich. “It’s fine to have a music centre, but this has cost $276m and, if you add the $200m that the cathedral cost, that’s almost half a billion dollars to provide services for the rich. Where’s the half billion for the poor?”