“Vivian Schiller, 47, will take over as president and CEO of Washington-based NPR at a time when many media companies are under severe economic stress due to declining advertising support and rapidly shifting consumer tastes.” So far, NPR has avoided fiscal trouble, but “Schiller takes over an organization… that has been roiled by internal disagreement.”
Author: sbergman
Philly Children’s Museum Quadruples Its Space
“To the adult eye, [the Please Touch Museum’s] $88 million new home in [Philadelphia’s Memorial Hall,] a Beaux-Arts-style granite palace built for the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Fairmount Park, is super-size in every way… The reborn children’s museum, which reopened last month, offers 38,000 square feet of exhibit space, almost four times that of its previous location.”
Hip-Hop Artists Celebrate Obama
“Since last week, hip-hop artists have issued a host of new songs in tribute to Obama’s victory… There’s obvious joy and celebration, but also a sense of historic moment, and almost a tragicomic awareness of what it took to get to this point.”
Manhattan Artists’ Club Selling Off Its Studio Space
The Pen & Brush, “a century-old former club in Greenwich Village devoted to female artists and writers,” is selling its longtime home after concluding that it can no longer afford to maintain the space. “Those who rent the artist studios on the upper floors, are distressed by the prospect of losing work and exhibition spaces to which they have grown attached.”
The Recession Comes To Sotheby’s
“In a salesroom overflowing with collectors like the actor Steve Martin, the financier Eli Broad and the fashion designer Valentino, Sotheby’s barely managed to sell $125.1 million worth of contemporary art on Tuesday night, well below the low estimate of $202.4 million.”
What Qualifies As A New Book?
“Among the nominees for this year’s National Book Award in fiction, which will be presented next Wednesday, is a book that some have complained is not exactly new: Peter Matthiessen’s ‘Shadow Country,’ published by Modern Library, which is a one-volume compilation of three novels that Mr. Matthiessen published from 1990 to 1999.” But Matthiessen does appear to have substantially rewritten the text, so some wonder what all the fuss is about.
“New” Caravaggios Make Their Debut
“Two newly discovered paintings by the Italian artist Caravaggio will go on display in Scotland for the first time… the pieces were verified as Caravaggio originals during the cleaning process, when specialists were able to carry out detailed examinations of several paintings and assess their status with scholars in the field.”
Last-Minute Filmmaking
“Director Baz Luhrmann says he has yet to finish his $130m (£84.2m) epic film Australia, despite the fact it is due to have its world premiere next week… The 46-year-old, who has spent the last four years working on the film, said he was ‘going back to the mixing desk to finish it in 24 hours’.”
Violinist of the Future?
“In a world where there are scores of amazingly trained, virtually interchangeable violin virtuosos, Pekka Kuusisto stands out as that rarest of things: the genuinely individual talent.” Kuusisto plays the classics as if he had just made them up, with a sound and style that most violinists would never even consider attempting. No surprise that he’s also “in [his] comfort zone improvising with an electronic jazz group or taking the stage with a Norwegian noise duo.”
Changes Coming To Sydney Symphony Leadership
The Sydney Symphony’s controversial general manager is reportedly leaving the organization next year. Sources say that a number of important behind-the-scenes figures have left the orchestra during GM Libby Christie’s tenure, having chafed at her micromanaging style.