“Going big took on a whole new meaning at the National Arts Centre Tuesday, where the Ottawa centre’s 57-member chamber orchestra revealed that it will perform two mammoth Mahler symphonies next season, including the so-called “Symphony of a Thousand.” Mahler’s first (“Titan”) and eighth symphonies are both on the bill for the first time next year, along with another large Germanic piece, Richard Strauss’s tone poem Don Juan.”
Tag: 03.03.09
Pinchas Zukerman On Music And Money Troubles
This season the veteran violinist and conductor “has been marking his 60th birthday with 100 concerts in 17 countries. Yet he says that his own income is more or less back where it was 15 years ago. Zukerman sees these same stark facts everywhere in classical music – from the recording industry to non-profit arts groups… [He] even wonders whether there’s enough of an audience to support classical music 52 weeks a year.”
Why Reading The Entire Bible Is Good For You (Yes, Really)
“I’ve read the word shibboleth a hundred times, written it a few, and probably even said it myself, but I had never understood it until then [reading the story in the book of Judges]. It was a tiny but thrilling moment when my world came alive, when a word that had just been a word suddenly meant something to me. And something like that happened to me five, 10, 50 times a day when I was Bible-reading.”
Piano Maker Deals With Recession By Switching To Kitchen Tables
“The global economic crisis has forced world-renowned Czech piano maker Petrof to hit the soft pedal and switch production from grands to lacquered kitchen furniture.”
Juliette Binoche Says She’ll Never Do Another Dance Project
The Oscar-winning actress (The English Patient) “says touring for her dance collaboration with Britain choreographer Akram Khan was so exhausting she’s unlikely to take part in a similar project again. […] ‘I’m really enjoying it,’ Binoche said, but adding, ‘I’m suffering.'”
But She’s Grateful For the Bad Reviews This One Got
“Oscar-winning French actor Juliette Binoche said Tuesday she welcomed the critical mauling her new dance performance received when it opened in London, as it sparked improvements in the show […] and the effort had resulted in glowing reviews in Paris, Montreal and Sydney when it toured.” The piece, titled In-I, runs this month in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul.
Review Of The Facts Finds Baseball Memoir Can’t Be True
“Matt McCarthy, a graduate of Yale and of Harvard Medical School now working as an intern in the residency program at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia hospital in New York, has gained national attention in recent weeks for ‘Odd Man Out,’ his salacious memoir of his summer as an obscure minor league pitcher. … But statistics from that season, transaction listings and interviews with his former teammates indicate that many portions of the book are incorrect, embellished or impossible.”
Russians, Germans Ask Govt. Support To Track War Booty
“Art historians from Russia and Germany urged their governments to help track down treasures looted by Soviet and Nazi troops during World War II. About 120 museum representatives and art historians from both countries met in Moscow to agree on steps to improve access to archives so that they can better document what was lost in the war-time trophy-hunting spree.”
Art Keeps Deepening Tacoma’s Appeal
“Tacoma is the town that art built. [Dale] Chihuly, a native son, is key. But he had help. Before art moved in and took over, the place was minor league with a major inferiority complex. Its reputation for organized crime, pollution and cheesy weirdness undermined efforts to lift the gray fog of its depression.” Things are different now.
Odd News: A Season Lineup That Shows No Sign Of Pain
“The San Francisco Symphony’s 2009-10 season will include six commissioned world premieres and inaugurate Project San Francisco, a new initiative featuring two-week residencies by cellist Yo-Yo Ma and composer George Benjamin.” While the symphony “has seen its endowment income drop 25 percent and trimmed its administrative costs last year,” it says ticket sales and fund-raising are steady, and it “has no plans to scale back programming.” Also, it has a new four-year contract with its musicians.