He liked to say that composition was the search for “the right wrong notes.” What Foss really wanted was to make the unexpected seem inevitable.
Tag: 02.07.09
At Last – A Real Top Classical Music Chart
The Official Charts Company has finally created a hit parade of “purely classical” music. I know, I know, it’s a wishy-washy definition – when has classical music ever been “purely” anything? But at least it’s better than the sham that is the current chart, which is coyly called “combined classical”, for which any album can qualify so long as it contains 60% classical music in its makeup.
An Inconvenient Horse
A campaign has been “mounted” to get rid of a giant sculpture of a mustang at the entrance to Denver’s airport. “But uprooting public art turns out to be quite tricky. Especially a piece as emotionally freighted — and as critically acclaimed — as Mustang.”
Is It Time To Reinvent The Newspaper Review?
“Criticism has been the backbone of newspaper arts writing since critics started appearing in large numbers on the payroll as staff writers, which didn’t come about really until the 1960s. Is it time to move past the review and embrace something more journalistic…?
Los Angeles Gets (Some) More Classical Music Radio
“Classical music is returning to the AM radio dial, right where K-Mozart used to be. Starting Feb. 15, KGIL-AM (1260) will devote a four-hour block every Sunday to the New York Philharmonic and the Chicago Symphony… And beginning Feb. 16, there will also be a classical music interlude from 8 to 9 on weeknights: Exploring Music With Bill McGlaughlin.
Why People Cheat (But Only Up To A Point)
Behavioral economist Dan Ariely: “[P]eople have two goals: We have a goal to look at ourselves in the mirror and feel good about ourselves, and we have a goal to cheat and benefit from cheating. And we find that there’s a balance between these two goals. That is, we cheat up to the level that we would find it comfortable [to still feel good about ourselves].”
James Whitmore, 87
While he had a long and very successful acting career in plays, films and television, “Whitmore was best known for his three one-man shows: as Truman in Give ‘Em Hell, Harry!, as [Theodore] Roosevelt in Bully and as Rogers in Will Rogers’ U.S.A.“
Salt Lake’s Ballet West Imposes One-Week Unpaid Leave
“[The] furlough for administrative staff during the week of April 13 through 17 was announced the same time as the company’s 2009-10 season, which includes a full-length… Swan Lake, newly conceived by artistic director Adam Sklute… Ballet West has no plans to scale back its current season, or upcoming productions.”
Atlanta Ballet And OSHA Settle Case – Maybe
The company’s executive director says that the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration “has withdrawn punitive action” over a teenage dancer who fell into the orchestra pit during a 2007 Nutcracker and injured her spine. An OSHA spokesperson, however, says that the case is still open.
Bucking The Trend, Oregon Symphony Offers Bigger Season In ’09-10
“Buoyed by record-breaking ticket sales in the past two seasons, the Oregon Symphony is barreling into its 114th season with violins blazing… with more of everything: more stars, more concerts, more matinees.”