“If you wanted to appreciate just how ductile, agile, expressive, and clear the English language can be on the operatic stage, you could do worse than study the pair of new one-act comedies commissioned and zestfully performed by the New York Festival of Song.”
Tag: 03.17.08
Atlanta Symphony Renews Spano, Runnicles’ Contracts
“Musical director Robert Spano’s contract will be extended through the 2013-14 season and principal guest conductor Donald Runnicles’ contract, at Runnicles’ request, through the 2010-11 season. Runnicles will continue with the orchestra after 2010-11 through guest-conducting appearances.”
US Video Game Sales Soar
“U.S. video game sales – including hardware and software – jumped 34 percent in February to hit $1.33 billion, even with two top-selling consoles in short supply.”
Marian McPartland At 90
McPartland — who’ll celebrate her 90th birthday with a night-before all-star performance-party tomorrow at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, has been known not only as a superb jazz pianist but also as host of ‘Piano Jazz,’ the longest-running national performance program on National Public Radio.
Another Big Art Theft
Armed thieves stole about 30 masterpieces, by Monet and Rodin among others, from an art dealer’s home near Paris, Agence France-Presse reported, citing the police.
Why Does Nationalism Make Some Artists Cringe?
Nationalism hasn’t always produced bad art. In fact, it has created some of the very best.
Has London’s Royal Ballet Gone Stale?
“On Wednesday the Royal Opera House will announce its new ballet and opera seasons – and add a little extra news. The ballet directorship of Monica Mason, due to come to an end in 2010, will be extended a further two years until after the 2012 Olympics, when she will be almost 70.”
Long List for Orange Lit Prize For Women Announced, Derided
“Novelist A. S. Byatt told The Times that the Orange was a sexist prize, saying that she was so critical of what it stands for that she forbids her publishers to submit her novels for consideration. ‘Such a prize was never needed,’ she said, noting that many works of literature were by women.”
1,750 Bands, 12,500 People
“Yet South by Southwest is more than a marathon audition. It’s a chance for social networking in real time and space. The exhilaration of so many performances in such a short time is a morale booster for both business people and fans, and an annual reminder that the fortunes and misfortunes of the recording business don’t stop the music.”
$100 Million Temptation For The NY Public Library
“Bookstores, having successfully imitated libraries, might now be emulated in turn. The Fifth Avenue library’s character could end up transformed by that commercial model. This great free library, in which generations of immigrants and aspirants had schooled themselves and found their ambitions ennobled, would be subject to ‘democratization,’ as one library official put it.”