“Eight years and $200 million in the making, the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center, or Empac, resembles an enormous 1950s-era television set. But inside are not old-fashioned vacuum tubes but the stuff of 21st-century high-tech dreams dedicated to the marriage of art and science as it has never been done before, its creators say.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Paris Opera Ballet’s Tough Cookie
“That [Brigitte] Lefèvre, 63, has lasted 16 years in different capacities, mostly as dance director, is in itself remarkable. Historically dance directors have tended to fall like flies at the Paris Opera.”
Atlanta Ballet Returns to Using Live Music (Temporarily)
The company, which switched to recorded music two years ago to save money, will use a pit orchestra for four productions this season, thanks to a one-time $200,000 grant.
Smithsonian Chooses New Reformer Chairwoman
“Patricia Stonesifer, a member of the regents since 2001, serves on its executive committee and has been a leader in reforming how the regents operate since the Smithsonian faced a severe crisis of management last year.” She formerly ran the $38 billion Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Judge Allows Dan Rather’s Suit Against CBS to Proceed
“A New York state Supreme Court judge on Monday limited the scope of Dan Rather’s $70-million lawsuit against CBS Corp., tossing out his claims that the network committed fraud and unlawfully interfered with his contract… [but] allowed Rather to proceed with his claims that CBS broke the terms of his contract… in the wake of a controversial story about President Bush’s service in the Texas Air National Guard.”
What’s Lorin Maazel Doing After The NY Phil?
Why, starting his own festival, of course. The Castleton Festival will take place next summer on Maazel’s Virginia estate, with the maestro at center stage.
MTT on Lenny
“As he awoke from a nap and performed his ablutions, you could hear the splashing, singing and kvetching over the whole apartment. It was a ritual for shaking off fatigue and the dread of having to push everything uphill all over again.”
Fallen Arts Philanthropist Alberto Vilar Bitter as Fraud Trial Begins
“His life is a far cry from what it was in the mid-1990s, when he rode the market boom, especially in technology stocks. His funds soared in value, and the profits rolled in. Mr. Vilar’s investment firm was managing $9 billion, and his wealth at one point was valued at a near $1 billion.”
Composer Mauricio Kagel, Imp of the Avant-Garde, Dead at 76
“His pieces include a string quartet to be played by gloved musicians using knitting needles (String Quartet II); a lecture on avant-garde music that is interrupted by music and mime (Sur scène); and an orchestral piece in which the conductor tries to get through a performance while negotiating with hostage-takers (Kidnapping in the Concert Hall).”
A Netflix of Magazines?
Maghound, a new service from Time, Inc., lets its subscribers choose different magazines to receive each month. “Assuming Maghound takes off, it will offer a pure look at what consumers want to read… when offered a broad array of choices. It could become the Billboard charts of magazine popularity… it allows you to sample issues without paying the price of a subscription or the higher price of a news stand copy.”