“CBC’s classical music station, Radio Two, is revamping its evening and late-night programming in a bid to attract younger listeners.” The changes will include an increase in jazz and pop music programming, and a marked decrease in classical. The CBC says that fully half of the current Radio Two audience is over 65, and the changes were unavoidable.
Tag: 01.18.07
MIA Campaign Exceeds Goal
“The Minneapolis Institute of Arts ended a multiyear capital campaign Wednesday with $103.2 million in contributions. The money… exceeded the museum’s original $100 million goal, enabling it to pay for a $50 million addition and renovation project that opened in June and to set up 78 endowments to buy art for each department.”
Twisted Sex? In Utah?
After 13 years, it’s difficult for a film festival to maintain its edge and convince the world that it still has something fresh and challenging to say. But Sundance isn’t worried: it’s organizers have obviously figured out that “if you want to get people worked up, you can’t beat the combination of incendiary politics and twisted sex.”
Violins Amid The Bombs
It’s difficult to imagine anything healing the religious, cultural, and political rifts that dominate life in the Middle East, but a Belgian charity is betting that an influx of donated musical instruments can at least make life better for Palestinians who can’t find or afford them at home.
Laughter Is Healthier Than Hatred, Anyway
Hitler comedy has officially arrived in Germany, and no one quite seems to know whether such a thing represents progress or regression in the way Germans relate to the historical horrors of the Third Reich. “Just a few years ago, painting Germany’s biggest villain as comical was almost unthinkable in Germany. [But] few have complained that Jewish director, Dani Levy, went too far by portraying Hitler as a bed-wetter or showing him barking like a dog. Instead, critics have grumbled that he didn’t go far enough.”
Letter: True (And Others) Knew Of Looted Artifacts
“In a move that seemed to gratify prosecutors, lawyers for [former Getty curator Marion True, on trial in Rome for antiquities theft,] asked on Wednesday that the court admit as evidence a letter in which the curator railed against her former employer… The prosecutor leading Italy’s investigation, Paolo Ferri, said the letter presented in Ms. True’s defense worked against her by suggesting that she had knowingly taken part in acquisitions of illicit artifacts.”
Ratings Rules Revamp
Hollywood is considering a package of changes for its much-maligned film ratings system.”The most substantive rule change will let aggrieved filmmakers refer on appeal to other movies — for example, to argue that because another film was permitted to run a similar scene, their film should be permitted to as well… The ratings administration would [also] work on clarifying how its ratings are defined.”
When Will The US Wake Up To HD Radio?
High-definition digital radio is booming in the UK, offering crystal-clear sound and a wider range of listening options. But even though many American stations are now broadcasting in HD, consumers are largely unaware that the format even exists. “While the U.K. government — which controls much of the country’s broadcasting industry — was able to influence a national shift to digital, for-profit U.S. broadcasters were hesitant to embrace the unproven and expensive technology until satellite radio emerged as a competitive threat.”
Kim & The Conductor: The Dust-Up That Wasn’t
The story spread like wildfire across the Pacific Rim this week: North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il had been courting superstar conductor Seiji Ozawa to lead the North Korean national orchestra, and Ozawa had repeatedly rebuffed him, saying that “the political environment in North Korea is not one that would allow me to focus on music.” The only problem with the story is that it apparently isn’t true: Ozawa’s representatives say he has never been contacted by Kim, and that the news reports were the first he’d heard of the situation.