Norman Lebrecht: In pursuit of a mass audience that will never return in a spectrum of multi-channels and web porn on demand, BBC television turned its back on the high arts and dumbed down its language to a point where an averagely intelligent dolphin can now understand the six o’clock news.”
Tag: 01.24.07
Iranian Orchestra Solution: Privatization?
The director of the Teheran Symphony is complaining that the orchestra is not supported. “There are delays in paying the wages of the musicians, who only earn their living by working in the orchestra. In addition, the wages fall short of the expenses of an ordinary life, so they have to think of other jobs. Consequently, they have less time for rehearsals, and they are not motivated for their performances.”
Scottish Stars Crippled By Lack Of Funding
In the past ten years the Edinburgh-based Dunedin Consort and Players has been earning a reputation for terrific playing and exciting programming. It gets great press and has established an international reputation. Yet the group is so underfunded that it almost had to cancel the current tenth anniversary season. Its sustainability for the future is in jeopardy.
Iraq Comes To Utah
The Iraq war is inescapable at this year’s Sundance Festival, writes Geoff Pevere. “Many Sundance films have played out beneath the spreading cloud of the conflict. And people are willingly gathering beneath that cloud.”
Krakowski To Lend Some Star Power To Xanadu
Jane Krakowski is the producers’ choice to play the lead in Xanadu, the hotly anticipated new Broadway musical scheduled to open this spring. “Even with Krakowski’s name above the title, Xanadu, which will cost $5 million to produce, will be one of the riskiest ventures of the spring season.”
What Happened To Dreamgirls?
The talk of Hollywood in the wake of the Oscar nominations announcement is the snub of the critically acclaimed Dreamgirls in the Best Picture category, despite eight other nominations. “Was the Oscar campaign too heavy-handed? Did the musical not appeal to enough men? Or did simply not enough academy voters think it was best picture-worthy?”
A Sellers’ Market At Sundance
Sundance 2007 may have started off slowly, but all of a sudden, a buying frenzy has erupted. “The first five days of the festival have seen more than $30-million worth of deals.”
Radical Arts Reform Proposed In Ontario
“The median income of arts workers in Ontario is $10,000 a year… Several other provinces spend more on protecting and encouraging artists than does the self-appointed centre of the Canadian cultural universe, Ontario.” A new report by the Ministry of Culture “recommends 27 radical reforms, from unemployment benefits to parental leave.”
And A Gang Of Violinists Shall Lead Them
Finding your niche on the web can be tricky for first-timers, but the key to success seems to be to do one thing, and do it exceptionally well. Tom Regan says that after scouring the web for a textbook case of how to do everything right online, he found no better example than the thriving community of obsessive, compulsive, and devoted musicians who hang around Violinist.com.
Perhaps He Has A Cold?
Famed tenor Placido Domingo has announced that he will take on a prominent baritone role in a new production of Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra to be mounted in Berlin, London, and Milan. Domingo last performed as a baritone in 1959, and says that he may retire after his next attempt.