“Crisis is sexy. Crisis shakes you up. And if it changes our habits when it comes to looking at art, reading about it, or even making it, then that’s probably good, too. Artists, if they’re any good, are engaged in a war against habit, complacency and indifference.”
Tag: 11.09.09
Patience And Fortitude, Redesigned For The Digital Age
“For the first time in at least a quarter century, the New York Public Library has unveiled a new logo, this one designed to work both online and in print. Consisting of a profile of a lion inside a circle … it uses bold, simple lines that evoke the style of stained-glass windows, woodcuts, or old printers’ marks.”
Texas Ballet Theater, Minus The Musicians
In a letter to the editor, the chairman of Texas Ballet Theater explains why her organization is doing without live music, even at the new Winspear Opera House: “It was heartbreaking, but temporarily suspending live music was the financially responsible decision. Had we not done so, there would be no Texas Ballet Theater.”
Amazon Whisks Lit Agents To Seattle For Day Of Wooing
“According to one participant, the aim of the meetings, which culminated in a dinner Thursday evening, was for Amazon to ‘explain itself’ to the agent community,” and particularly to persuade the group of prominent New York agents that the company is “not trying to destroy publishing as we know it.”
Philanthropy Isn’t Working — But We Can Fix That
“Much of current philanthropic giving, by foundations and individuals, neither meets the needs of our charitable organizations nor addresses some of our most urgent public needs. … Here are nine changes that would go a long way toward making philanthropy do what we all claim we want it to do.”
School Library Trades All Of Its Physical Books For Digital
“If I look outside my window,” the school’s headmaster says, “and I see my student reading Chaucer under a tree, it is utterly immaterial to me whether they’re doing so by way of a Kindle or by way of a paperback.” But critics, such as the president of the American Library Association, say that “the issue here is how far [the school] went.”
Why Dudamel Vs. Gilbert Is A Specious Smackdown
Tempting though it is to pit them against each other, “the spiritual godfather of both new conductors may be Esa-Pekka Salonen, who has influenced and empowered Dudamel and Gilbert to follow the groundbreaking path he cut during his just-ended 17-year directorship of the L.A. Philharmonic.”
Rocco Landesman In Peoria (Or: Humble Pie! Yum!)
The NEA chairman’s unflagging ebullience during “a grueling day of arts appreciation” reflects “his natural tendency to play the extrovert…. But it should be remembered that he hasn’t come all this way simply to launch his national cultural crusade, under the NEA slogan he dreamed up: ‘Art Works.’ He’s also here because being off-the-cuff can land you in the soup.”
Is The Traditional Symphony Orchestra Model Doomed?
Michael Kaiser: “Somehow the cost structure for American orchestras has risen to the point that every orchestra is likely to struggle to make ends meet. I do believe that a group of elite orchestras will survive, and even thrive. … But the number of orchestras that will be able to achieve this status will be limited.”
Russian Wins Honens Piano Competition
Russian pianist Georgy Tchaidze has won top honours at the Honens International Piano Competition in Calgary, which ended a gruelling two-week search for the world’s most “complete” young pianist on Saturday.