Hollywood has taken an interesting (and wholly predictable) turn in the last couple of years. As political polarization has reached nearly unheard-of levels in Washington and the country at large, the entertainment business has formed a major part of the pop culture backlash against the current political majority. “Overtly political films and TV shows with a strong anti-corporate, anti-Republican, pro-liberal bent are being made in greater numbers, perhaps, than at any time since the 1960s.”
Tag: 01.28.06
Heavenly Savior Wanted: Conducting Skills A Plus
“Finding the right conductor is one of the hardest yet most critical things an orchestra can do. As someone once observed, God himself would not be too impressive a candidate… The problem is analogous to love affairs, when initial attraction and subsequent passion are followed by a discovery of long-term incompatibility. As one veteran Toronto Symphony player has observed, ‘we go out on a date with these guys once or twice and are expected to get married to them.'” Moreover, the list of duties assumed by a conductor once the title of ‘music director’ is bestowed has lengthened considerably in recent decades, meaning that orchestras are no longer looking merely for an outstanding musician. “More than catalysts, they almost need to be Messiahs.”
San Fran Sym Contract Talks Won’t Stop Tour
The San Francisco Symphony and its musicians are deep in negotiations for a new contract, and tensions have recently exploded into press and public. But an agreement struck this weekend insures that next month’s SFS tour of China will go ahead as scheduled, regardless of the status of the larger negotiations.
Rattle’s Phil
Ever since Sir Simon Rattle took up the reins of the Berlin Philharmonic, the critical press has been rife with discussion of his impact on the ensemble that many call the world’s greatest orchestra. Rattle and his band are in New York this month, and David Patrick Stearns says there is no doubt that this is a changed orchestra. “Berlin Philharmonic concerts under [longtime chief conductor Claudio] Abbado were the ultimate deluxe experience. The orchestra’s gold-plated sound seemed like such an end in itself that even minor fissures in the glistening facade – such as missed notes – felt like a betrayal. Now, the Berlin Philharmonic feels like an intense meeting of many well-defined voices, all of them luminescent and intensely colored.”
Getty Villa Reopens Under A Cloud
“Today the Getty Villa in Malibu reopens after a closure of more than eight years. The villa, where the oil tycoon JP Getty lived and which housed his original collection of art and antiquities, has remained the spiritual home of the world’s richest art institution… The grandeur of the villa, refurbished at a cost of $275m (£155m), does not disappoint… But overshadowing the opening is a scandal. Marion True, curator of antiquities for the Getty Trust and coordinator of the villa’s programmes, is on trial in Italy on charges that she conspired with antiquities dealer Robert Hecht to export illegally excavated treasures.”
Digging Into An Ugly Orchestral Underbelly
Orchestra musicians can seem like the ultimate team players, sitting on stage in their matching tuxedos, moving in harmony in the service of the music. But in reality, musicians have a long history of ugly problems – alcoholism, drug abuse, severe workplace bullying, hearing loss, performance anxiety and more. “The problems are so serious that this weekend the Association of British Orchestras launches the Healthy Orchestra Charter, creating a code of practice to help tackle or prevent the afflictions.”
Constable: The Theme Park
“Think of the potency of combining one of Britain’s greatest artists with the twin national obsessions of food and gardening. Rumpelstiltskin couldn’t do it better. Hence the rather eclectic nature of the planning application for ‘Horkesley Park’ – an interactive experience of ‘the life and times of John Constable’, to include a Fine Art ‘outstation’ of the National and other leading galleries, side by side with a Suffolk Punch breeding centre, a Farming Yesteryear exhibition, a Food Experience, gardens dedicated to the great plant collectors and an authentic Chinese garden.”
Indie Film Gets Its Own Caste System
This year’s edition of the Sundance Festival has cast a interesting light of some major changes taking place in the world of indie film. “A new class division appears to be defining the indie market, according to agents, producers and buyers, with the so-called mini-majors — most of them owned by the big studios — now mainly pursuing independent movies with the potential to earn substantial money at the box office, while leaving to smaller ‘micro-distributors’ the many titles that could well turn a profit, but at a much lower price.”
Selling The Sellers So You’ll Buy The Sale
Sotheby’s had a rough time of it this past week when it attempted to auction off an impressive array of still lifes and landscapes from the house’s “old masters” department. “Only half the offerings sold, bringing in a total of $5 million, below the $7 million-to-$10 million presale estimate. This was, however, only a small portion of two days of back-to-back old-master auctions at Sotheby’s, Thursday and yesterday, which brought more than $70 million.” So what makes one auction a success and another a failure? It’s about far more than the quality of the art.
What About Frey’s Enablers?
“In all of the attention focused on James Frey and his book “A Million Little Pieces” in recent weeks, two main characters in the drama — Mr. Frey’s literary agent and the book’s editor — have largely escaped scrutiny. But [this weekend,] a number of people in the publishing business suggested it was time for Kassie Evashevski, Mr. Frey’s agent, and Sean McDonald, who edited both A Million Little Pieces and Mr. Frey’s follow-up, My Friend Leonard, to talk about their roles in selling and shaping the books.”