“After two years of barely concealed glee among the musicians of the Sydney Symphony, they welcome the world-famous pianist and conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy as their leader on January 1.” Ashkenazy, 71, seems as eager to get started as the musicians.
Author: sbergman
MIA Returns Nazi-Looted Art To France
“After 10 years of detective work, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts has concluded that a $2.8 million painting it has owned for decades was stolen by the Nazis. The museum has returned the 1911 painting, Fernand Leger’s ‘Smoke Over Rooftops,’ to the French heirs of a Jewish art collector who died in 1948.”
Will “Multiplatform” Books Transform KidLit?
One publisher thinks it has found the next Harry Potter. “It’s not the book that’s especially unusual but the bells and whistles that go with it – what Scholastic calls the ‘multiplatform’ package. Along with the book comes an Internet game, an elaborate system of card collecting, and cash prizes up to $10,000.”
Forbidden Broadway A Flop In Chicago
The Chicago edition of the popular satirical revue, Forbidden Broadway, is closing after only three weeks, apparently because of economic pressures. “An earlier edition of the show ran for nearly six months in 2006 at the Royal George Theatre. This time around at the George, the producers say, the well-known revue spoofing Broadway musicals couldn’t sell a ticket to save its life.”
Less Politics, More Literature
“The Association of Literary Scholars and Critics (ALSC), a national organization that began with a reputation for being ‘conservative,’ ‘old-fashioned,’ and even ‘right-wing,’ seems to be shedding much of that image. But “the ALSC’s shift away from a ‘culture war’ mentality has caused internal dissension.”
Canadian Satire Mag Folds
“Frank magazine, the satirical scandal sheet that for nearly two decades savaged the reputations of some of Canada’s most powerful politicians, business leaders, celebrities and media figures… announced yesterday that it is ceasing publication of both its newsstand and online editions.”
NEA To Fund New Plays
“The National Endowment for the Arts has announced the selection of seven plays to be funded as part of its New Play Development Program. The pilot project… is designed not only to underwrite new works already in progress but also to spot successful collaborations among artists, theaters, communities and other entities that might be used as models.”
Smithsonian To Get Some $$ Back From Director
“W. Richard West Jr., who retired last year as founding director of the National Museum of the American Indian, has agreed to reimburse the Smithsonian $9,700 for payments that he should not have received.” At the same time, an internal investigation has concluded that West’s takings, while imprudent, were technically allowable under Smithsonian rules.
D.C. Fundraisers Starting To Show Signs Of Strain
With the American economy in the tank, even Washington socialites are having to cut back on extravagances, and that could spell bad news for the charities and arts groups that count on a regular procession of black-tie fundraisers.
Restoring New Orleans’ Cultural Luster
Prospect.1 New Orleans, a new and eclectic art biennial in the Crescent City, opens this weekend. “Billed as the largest exhibition of contemporary art ever held on American soil, the biennial is intended to help restore the cultural vibrancy of a city that remains on its knees three years after Hurricane Katrina. “