The classical music world is often criticized for ignoring contemporary music in favor of the tried-and-true warhorses, and music schools frequently view new music as a curiosity rather than something to be taught seriously. But at Ohio’s Oberlin Conservatory, the Contemporary Music Ensemble is the group that the top students clamor to join, and several highly successful professional new music ensembles have emerged from its ranks over the past decade.
Author: sbergman
Theatre of the Ancients
“An ancient Greek theater accidentally discovered by construction workers in Athens is one of the classical world’s most famous lost stages. Builders stumbled last week across the 2,500-year-old amphitheatre of Acharnes, known from ancient writings to be an important arena for tragedies, comedies and musical contests.”
New World’s New Concert Hall Gets A Civic Boost
The city of Miami Beach has approved a $15 million request by the New World Symphony, which trains young musicians for professional jobs. The money will make up 10% of the cost of the orchestra’s planned new concert hall, to be designed by Frank Gehry. $105 million has already been raised, and the NWS hopes to get another $30 million from the county government.
A Vienna Legend Prepares To Exit The Stage
“Ioan Holender, the powerful and sometimes controversial Intendant (chief executive) of the Vienna State Opera, announced today that he will step down from his position when his current contract expires in August 2010… The 71-year-old Holender has been chief executive at the Vienna State Opera since 1988.”
Suing For Dollars
Despite opposition from other Missouri arts groups, the Kansas City Symphony is proceeding with a lawsuit intended to force the state to release tens of millions of dollars in funding that was originally intended for the arts, but was later diverted to other purposes by legislators. The state attorney general claims that the KCS has no legal standing in the case, but lawyers for the symphony are asking for a summary judgment upholding their complaint.
L.A.’s Growing Opera Obsession
“Thanks to Placido Domingo, the superstar tenor who has been at the helm of L.A. Opera since 1999, opera has become a hot ticket in a sprawling metropolis where celebrity obsession is a way of life and movie mania reigns 365 days a year. Opera is still not a way of life here the way it is in New York, but L.A. is well on its way to being caught up in opera fever.”
Because College Students Have No Money. Duh.
Illegal music and video piracy may be down overall, but it continues to flourish on college campuses, where in-house networks designed to share information are a virtual clearinghouse for freely traded material. “Under federal law, universities that receive complaints about students illegally distributing copyrighted songs generally must act to stop repeat offenders or else the schools can be sued… Some schools aggressively warn students after they receive complaints. Others don’t.”
Settlement Gives Stranded Indie Publishers Hope
“After a shake-up involving the sudden bankruptcy of book distributor Publishers Group West — and worries that their own finances and stock would be tangled for months to come — independent publishers are guardedly optimistic about a new distribution arrangement worked out last week in a Delaware courtroom.”
The Ever-Evolving World Of Indie Film
As Hollywood gears up for the Oscars, a smaller but ever more visible segment of the film industry is preparing for the Spirit Awards, which will honor the best in independent film the night before the Academy hands out its statuettes. But in a business which seems increasingly to be blurring the lines between indie and studio films, does the phrase “independent film” mean anything anymore?
Reminder: Movies Actually Do Have Authors
“If a screenwriter turns out a brilliant screenplay and there’s no publicist to flog it, does it still make a sound at awards time? Of course, we’d like to think that artistic excellence always rises to the top but it certainly doesn’t hurt to have someone reminding people that, as the writer, you actually contributed something of note to the film.”