Buffalo has restored a Frank Lloyd Wright building, and is working on resurrecting (and completing) others. “Around the country, 15 Wright projects have been erected posthumously, but the Martin House structures are thought to be the first Wright designs rebuilt at their original locations after demolition, said archivist Margo Stipe of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation.”
Tag: 11.19.06
Pittsburgh Symphony Gets $29.5 Million
“It is the fifth-largest private gift ever to an American orchestra, said Larry Tamburri, the PSO president. The gift is meant to give the orchestra some short-term breathing room while it restructures its long-term budgeting and goals.”
Americans Voted For The Arts
Arts measures did well in the recent American elections. “Ten arts-related ballot measures that went before voters in Northern California, Louisiana, Ohio, Oregon, Texas and Utah were passed – some overwhelmingly. There were no other such ballot propositions elsewhere.”
Some Concerns About Google’s Book Project
Jean-Noël Jeanneney is president of France’s Bibliothèque Nationale. And he has some big-picture concerns about Google’s project to digitize the world’s books. “Jeanneney, in short, looked at Google’s ‘boast’ on its Corporate Information page – ‘Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information’ – and thought, ‘Mais non. Not your job.’ And too important a task to be run by a company whose “dominant philosophy is still that of short-term profit.”
Why Beethoven Might Not Make A Good Movie
So another movie about Beethoven lands with a thud. “As one of the titanic figures of Western culture, though, Ludwig surely deserves his own ‘Amadeus.’ Why has no movie captured the imagination of the masses on his behalf? It’s not for lack of trying. But there may be something about the nature of the Beethoven myth, and the bare facts of his biography, that challenges fictionalization in a way the Mozart myth doesn’t.”
Broadway Battles Over Who Owns What
“The copying of Broadway productions — or, more precisely, what constitutes the copying thereof — is a suddenly prominent issue that pits the economic interests of theater directors and choreographers against the interests of writers and composers. Right now, it’s the writers and composers who get the bulk of the royalties when Broadway shows such as ‘Urinetown’ or ‘The Producers’ are licensed to other producers. But… directors are now after a piece of that lucrative pie.”
New Peabody Director Kicks Off Music Crusade
“It may be a cliche that music bridges boundaries, but it’s true – and it needs to be true. Music brings people together. Music reaches you on a profound, visceral level. I want to campaign for this art form, locally and nationally.”
Study: TV’s Youth Kick May Be Backfiring
“Nearly two-thirds of people in the United States say they believe that most TV programming and advertising is targeted toward people under 40, the survey said. More than 80 per cent of adults over 40 say they have a hard time finding TV shows that reflect their lives. A significant number of baby boomers — 37 per cent — say they aren’t happy with what’s on television.”
Privitizing Your Local Newspaper
“Though most newspapers today are owned by publicly traded corporations, that’s a relatively recent development. Fifty years ago, almost all of the nation’s newspapers were privately owned, in many cases by the families that had founded them.” Now, as newspapers struggle, corporations are thinking about unloading, and there appears to be interest among private buyers.
In Australia – Criminalizing iPods?
A preoposed new copyright law in Australia might make it illegal to own an iPod. “Section 132AL(2) of the bill provides that a person commits an ‘indictable offence’ if they possess ‘a device, intending it to be used for making an infringing copy of a work or other subject-matter’.”