Istanbul has opened a Museum of Modern Art. “Istanbul has been a very important city like New York, London, Paris etc. for centuries. Its only deficiency was a modern arts museum. Now we have one. This museum has added another beauty to the city. Istanbul will be the city of museums and our studies for this will continue.”
Tag: 12.12.04
NY Phil To Break Performance Record
The New York Philharmonic will set the Guinness World Record for ‘the most concerts performed by a symphony orchestra’ with concert No. 14,000 on Dec. 18. “In the course of our 163 years, we have commissioned 128 new works, and performed 485 world premieres and 443 U.S. premieres, including music that has become a staple of the classical repertoire.”
Bogdanovich: Today’s Movies Are Just Computer Graphics
Director Peter Bogdanovich says today’s movies are lacking. “There isn’t the cumulative effect of beginning, middle and end, and an impact that grows. There’s no craft left. Maybe I sound old-fashioned, but I’m proud of it.”
The Paris Opera Ballet’s Extraordinary School
Tobi Tobias spend a day at the School of the Paris Opera Ballet and comes away dazzled. “On their own, these 16- to 18-year-old ingénues display sparkling footwork that makes you think of water drops set in play by an exuberant fountain. Their extensions fly high, as do their huge cross-stage leaps, yet everything appears unforced. The beautiful alignment in which they’ve been schooled from the start—and can now maintain even when they’re sweeping through space—has become second nature, and they’ve learned to make the correctness that governs their most complicated and difficult feats look like child’s play.”
In Minnesota: Arts Giving Up, Social Services Down
“In all, Minnesota’s 12 largest arts organization — driven largely by proceeds from major capital campaigns — saw total revenue rise 18.1 percent. Meanwhile, total revenue generated by the state’s 29 largest social service agencies — from Lutheran Social Services to Catholic Charities to the Salvation Army — fell 4.4 percent.”
What Happened To Resident Theatre Companies?
“When did the idea of a regional theater supporting a resident artistic company become quaint, outmoded and ultimately, insupportable? Somewhere along the line, we lost our belief (or maybe just our interest) in the notion that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. We don’t think of theater companies as teams of artists anymore. They are simply temporary homes for “hot” directors and “star” actors — and the shows they send to Broadway.”
Learning The Lessons Of North Adams
Could the success of MassMOCA in revitalizing the town of North Adams be repeated elsewhere? Researchers are planning to find out. “The question is, can this be translated to other communities as a model, or are there special things about North Adams that have contributed to its growth? That’s what we’re trying to find out.”
DVD Rules
Pixar’s postponement of its next feature to summer indicates a new reality in the movie business. “The DVD tail is now wagging the movie dog. There is so much money to be made from the fast-growing home DVD market, studios are beginning to plan their movies around the DVD release, not the theatrical one. Many movies now make their money not from the theatre, but from the living room and rec room, where box-office disasters frequently turn into cash cows — and people are much more willing to buy a DVD than they were the old VHS format.”
Denver Center’s New Era
Denver theatre watchers are wondering what kind of director Kent Thompson will be as he takes over the Denver Center Theatre. He’s got a reputation for championing American plays but also someone who can dish conservative fare. “One challenge is making sure you have programming that will appeal to 25-to-49-year-olds, and that material, I think, has to speak in a more contemporary voice. At the same time, though, you must continue cultivating that core audience in their 40s to 60s. So I suspect we will be thinking of ‘cutting edge’ here as cutting edge within a larger season.”
A Place At The Architectural Table
Washington, D.C. is experiencing a theatre building boom, and the designs reflect not only an impressive devotion to audience comfort, but a revolutionary new way of looking at the building process. “For the first time, many theater artists are sitting at the design table, shaping the spaces in which they’ll practice their craft.”