“Dykk was one of the last of his breed, a classic old-style Critic, with a capital C. His reviews were impeccably written, incredibly witty, and often utterly withering.”
Tag: 02.08.12
Dancers At English National Opera Protest Their Pay
Dancers working for English National Opera are calling for an overhaul of pay conditions, claiming their rate of less than £10 an hour is “disrespectful and absurd”.
Award For The Most Scathing Review
“Adam Mars-Jones, the novelist and critic, was last night named the winner at a booze-up held in Soho’s Coach and Horses pub, for his wielding of the literary hatchet over By Nightfall by Michael Cunningham. Cunningham, a Pulitzer winner for The Hours, made the error of filling his latest novel, the tale of an art dealer’s midlife crisis, with repeated references to earlier, and possibly greater works in the literary canon.”
Alan Gilbert: ‘I Feel No Duty To Conduct New Music’
“My aim is to bring a personal belief to everything I do, and avoid routine and duty as much as I can. … What I want to avoid is the dutiful rendition of a new piece placed first in the programme so it can be got out of the way quickly. That attitude was all part of a certain corporate feel, which [the New York Philharmonic] has suffered from in the past, and which I’m keen to get away from.”
The Surprise About The Stage Version Of The King’s Speech
A cynic might assume that writer David Seidler wanted to adapt his screenplay for the stage just to cash in on the film’s enormous success. As it happens, Seidler wrote the piece for live theatre.
‘Conservative’ Movies Sell More Tickets Than ‘Liberal’ Movies, Says Conservative Group
“Films that embody ‘conservative’ values such as capitalism and Christian belief are more likely to prove profitable than those which take a more ‘liberal’ standpoint, according to a US group called Movieguide, which promotes the former.”
Dismal Penn Station – Time To Rethink Public Space
“To pass through Grand Central Terminal, one of New York’s exalted public spaces, is an ennobling experience, a gift. To commute via the bowels of Penn Station, just a few blocks away, is a humiliation. What is the value of architecture? It can be measured, culturally, humanely and historically, in the gulf between these two places.”
Self-Published E-Book Tops Best-seller List
“A self-published author has beaten names including Lee Child, James Patterson and Stieg Larsson to become the bestselling ebook author on Amazon.co.uk for the last three months of 2011, the online retailer said on Wednesday.”
Is The Art Market Out Of Control? (At Least It Needs Some Supervision)
“As the art business continues to globalise, its growth depends upon making scholarship reliable and accessible. Because, in the end, the experts are the only candidates who can provide the adult supervision the market desperately craves.”
Hungarian Government Cracks Down On The Arts
“The government, led by Viktor Orban, stands accused of systematically replacing key figures in cultural institutions, staging pro-government exhibitions, rethinking permanent museum displays and replacing historic statues to fit its political agenda.”