“Applications are soaring at music schools across the country, often mirroring the overall rise in college enrollment but in many cases surpassing the interest in other disciplines. Never mind that the chances of landing a paying job in a decent-size symphony orchestra have diminished, with many ensembles going out of business in recent years. Never mind that jazz clubs are becoming an endangered species.”
Tag: 03.08.09
Benjamin Zander, Classical Music’s Crusading Evangelist
“On the podium and in preconcert talks and classroom lectures, he is an indefatigable advocate for the idea that anyone can appreciate classical music, and that appreciation can always be taken to a deeper level. His drive has extended into a busy side career giving leadership talks to corporations as well as a co-authored book, The Art of Possibility.”
It Wasn’t The Economy That Killed Madison Rep
“The Madison Rep’s financial and public relations problems began long before the national economy tanked. Even a beautiful gem of a new performing home in the Overture Center could not save the company from itself. The Rep has provided a template on how not to run a theater company for the surviving state arts groups.”
As Arts Hurt In Recession, Opera Suffers More Operatically
“Many an opera plot is set in motion by a wicked curse that generates terrible heartache and loss. These days, it looks as if the real world of opera has been hit with a curse every bit as pernicious. … Even fundamentally healthy companies are scaling back on the number of productions or performances.”
Black Watch Takes The Olivier Awards
“Last night the judges of the leading awards in British theatre sealed Black Watch’s status as a modern classic when they gave it four Laurence Olivier Awards – the most for any single production.”
Leonard Bernstein’s Studio Goes To Indiana
Leonard Bernstein’s children have donated the carefully preserved contents of his main composing studio to Indiana University, which has promised to recreate the space.
Writer Accuses Alan Ayckbourn Of Stealing His Play
“Alan Ayckbourn is a national treasure. He was helpful to me in putting on two of my plays and he’s a hero of mine. I don’t believe there was anything malicious in what he did, but his play has clearly been based on mine without any acknowledgement.”
Artist Gets A Career In Virtual Second Life
“If the traditional art market is driven by scarcity — with value bestowed upon rare and finite works created by an anointed few — it may be vulnerable to people like Jeffrey Lipsky, who capitalize on technology’s propensity for abundance, even if this means spending inglorious hours walking around virtual nightclubs, typing, “Hi, I’m Filthy Fluno and I’m an artist,” to strangers, and being willing, as Lipsky is, to sell multiple inkjet copies of his work to those customers who will pay $50 as opposed to the $500-$15,000 he charges for originals.”
The Art Of Of Whisperer-ing
If there’s a job title of the decade, “whisperer” has to be a contender. More than a decade after “The Horse Whisperer” appeared on movie screens, and four years after the debuts of “The Dog Whisperer” and “The Ghost Whisperer” on TV, “whispering” is still gaining steam among a huge range of consultants and instructors who promise subtle yet authoritative transformation in pretty much every aspect of life.
Hard Times – Good For Literature?
In difficult times, according to Bloomsbury’s blogging chairman, Richard Charkin, “people turn to quality, reliability and good value. Books represent all those things.” Historically, this fits. Penguin was conceived and reared during the Great Depression and the second world war.