Investigators have discovered that auction houses Sotheby’s and Christie’s swapped confidential lists of super-rich clients. “The shared and overlapping lists of about 50 names which include some of the world’s wealthiest families were described as a crucial tool for auction houses to use in enforcing a form of price control in which certain customers were charged lower commissions, down to zero, that both houses honored.” – New York Times
Tag: 03.17.00
PLAYING FOR ALL THE MARBLES
One by one, Britain’s excuses for keeping the Elgin Marbles are melting away. Now a poll shows that a majority of members of the British Parliament would vote to return the marbles to Greece. – The Economist
REINTERPRETING THE 20TH CENTURY (PART II)
The Museum of Modern Art continues with its look back at the history of 20th Century art. “There has been a concerted effort to level the playing field, to take modernism out of the hands of the anointed few and show it to be an effort of hundreds of people working alone or together in a range of styles and mediums.” – New York Times
CHARGES OF MISMANAGEMENT —
— of the Hermitage Museum come into play in Russian election. – The Art Newspaper
DO IT HERE, TOO
Managers at London’s Royal Ballet are impressed with Ross Stretton’s redo of the Australian Ballet and his ability to bring in younger audiences. They’re hoping he’ll bring those skills with him as he takes over the largest ballet company in the world. – Sydney Morning Herald
SO WHO NEEDS ANOTHER PLANET?
Gustav Holst had four years to add a Pluto movement to his suite “The Planets” before he died. He didn’t do it, of course, and the suite has never suffered in popularity for it. Now the Halle Orchestra will premiere a “Pluto” movement, newly composed by Collin Matthews, and some are asking if it’s just a publicity stunt. In fact, a bit of a mini-trend is brewing in finishing dead composers’ works. – The Scotsman
- Composer dedicates “Pluto” to Holst’s daughter: “I suspect she would have been both amused and dismayed by this venture,” says Matthews. – BBC 03/17/00
SILENT VOICES
The “most famous record store in the world” is closing. HMV’s Oxford Street store, for almost 80 years at the center of the retail recording business, is calling it quits – and with it a lot of history fades away. – London Times
THE TYRANNY OF THE AVANT-GARDE
Composer Frederick Stocken is no fan of Pierre Boulez. Stocken acknowledges that Boulez was a revolutionary in his younger days, fighting to throw off the repression of tonality. But as the 20th Century progressed, “it was the old story of the revolutionaries becoming as repressive as the masters they had sought to overthrow. In the musical world, the Young Turks became a powerful, “anti-establishment” establishment in which all that was subversive was acceptable and anything deemed traditional was banned. Far from fulfilling its emancipatory promise, atonality became just another dogma, an “official” art. If the parallels between communism and modernism have any truth, how is it that the Marx-influenced aesthetic of Boulez did not collapse with the downfall of communism?” – New Statesman
I REGRET TO INFORM YOU …
I’m sorry, but your recent rejections of my work have not been up to our standards. “We will not consider previously sent rejections. We want fresh, original work. Be creative. Have fun. Multiple rejections make us mad. Very mad.” We are writers, after all. – Salon
LITERARY E-VASION
“Authors and readers in censored countries are discovering ways around the Internet filters installed by their governments. They now can obtain information on topics that would never be available in their local bookstores, including religion, government and sexual topics considered taboo. And they can distribute their information to the masses through electronic publishing.” – Intellectual Capital