A free Hollywood Bowl concert called “Bienvenido Gustavo” will open Maestro Dudamel’s inaugural season as the Philharmonic’s music director. There will also be a televised gala concert with a John Adams premiere, festivals devoted to California and Latin America, and a May tour across the U.S.
Tag: 01.22.09
More L.A. Phil News: John Adams Named Artistic Adviser
“Adams… will be composing new works for the Los Angeles orchestra in addition to contributing innovative ideas. He will also serve as director of the orchestra’s ‘West Coast: Left Coast’ festival, a three-week multi-genre exploration of the music of California beginning in late November.”
Sacramento Ballet Calls Off Its Main-Stage Season
“The Sacramento Ballet will cancel its remaining three productions for the 2008-09 season in an attempt to get back on its feet financially.” But the company is not closing, and its dancers will perform this spring in the studio, the schools “and such nontraditional venues as art galleries.”
Milwaukee Symphony Reports What, In This Climate, Counts As Good News
Ticket sales and contributions are actually growing at the MSO, but not as quickly as had been budgeted. To make up for a projected $500,000 shortfall, the orchestra’s management has instituted a hiring freeze and cancelled four of five free summer concerts.
Rediscovered Mozart Piece Has Modern Premiere
That brief piece of violin music by Mozart that was found last year in a Nantes archive has had its first performance in that city.
Immigration Protesters Interrupt SF Ballet Gala
“Singing, chanting and calling on local and national officials for more compassionate immigration policies, more than 200 immigrants and their allies marched Wednesday through San Francisco’s City Hall, startling the tuxedo- and ball gown-clad guests arriving for the opening night gala of the San Francisco Ballet.”
BBC National Orchestra Of Wales Moves Into New Home
“The first concerts are being staged to mark the opening of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales’ new Cardiff Bay home. BBC Hoddinott Hall at Wales Millennium Centre, named after the late composer Alun Hoddinott, seats some 350 people… [The orchestra] will continue to perform major concerts at St David’s Hall in Cardiff and Swansea’s Brangwyn Hall.”
Cheap, Imported Pictures Threaten Paris Street Painters
“Street painters are part of the romantic lure of Montmartre. … Today, some 300 officially licensed artists work here. Almost all of their customers are tourists. They may not produce great art but they are skilled painters. And now they say their livelihoods are at risk because many of the souvenir shops in the area are selling cheap, mass-produced paintings from China and Eastern Europe.”
Portrait Of Firth As Mr. Darcy Fetches £12,000 At Auction
“A portrait of actor Colin Firth as Mr Darcy has fetched £12,000 at Bonhams in London, double its estimated price. The oil painting, a prop from the 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, received a number of advance bids. The painting was accompanied by a signed letter from Firth, in which the 48-year-old star claimed Mr Darcy ‘has weathered better than most of us’.”
Benjamin Button Gets 13 Oscar Nominations
“‘Button’ nosed out its rivals Thursday morning by scoring 13 nominations for the 81st Academy Awards. Paramount-Warner Bros.’ ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ got the most noms, including best pic. Other best pic contenders are Universal’s ‘Frost/Nixon,’ Focus Features’ ‘Milk,’ the Weinstein Co.’s ‘The Reader,’ and Fox Searchlight’s ‘Slumdog Millionaire.'”