“Running a daring, high-quality theater in this town is nearly impossible. Whether you head the tiny Vineyard Theatre on East 15th Street (120 seats and an annual budget of $2 million) or the elephantine Roundabout Theatre Company (two Broadway spaces, an Off Broadway house, an Off-Off studio, 44,000 subscribers and $43 million to burn), you’ve got divided loyalties. Are the artists happy? Are the funders happy? Is the board happy?” So who can save the city’s stages?
Tag: 04.02.08
Visionary Eclectic Or Crossover Disaster?
In North America, the composer Osvaldo Golijov is frequently hailed as the greatest composer of his era, and his eclectic style is seen as representing the future of classical music. But in Europe, Golijov is far less celebrated, and many critics have attacked that same eclecticism. The composer himself doesn’t seem to mind the strangely divergent reactions to his work.
Congrats, You’re A Board Member! Now, Are You Gay?
Under new requirements put in place by Britain’s Arts Council, organizations applying for grants will be “asked to state how many board members are bisexual, homosexual, heterosexual, lesbian or whose inclinations are “not known”.” The council says it’s trying to broaden its definition of diversity.
Synchronized Shakespeare
“More than 35 simultaneous performances of plays by Shakespeare are to take place around the world on April 23 to mark his 444th birthday. The shows – which include a Russian production of Much Ado About Nothing, featuring a mail-order bride, and a Serbian version of Romeo and Juliet – will all be performed by youth groups at 7pm, starting in New Zealand and ending in Hawaii.”
Life After Harry
Bloomsbury, the independent UK publisher that stumbled on the Harry Potter series and catapulted itself to international status on the back of the boy wizard, is hoping that the end of the series won’t mean a return to obscurity. “As well as discovering new authors – including, it hopes, the next Rowling – Bloomsbury seeks to make more of its archive.”
€100,000 Impac Shortlist Released
“The shortlist for the world’s largest literary award, the International Impac Dublin prize, was announced today with a selection of eight novels that further reinforce the prize’s already strong international credentials… The selection extends to books from Spain, Sri Lanka, Israel, Russia and Algeria.”
PBS, APM Score Peabodies For Arts Programs
The Peabody Awards, honoring excellence in broadcasting, were announced on Wednesday, and among the winners were PBS’s Art: 21 series focusing on living artists, and American Public Media’s The MTT Files, which features conductor Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony.
UBS Vows To Continue Supporting Orchestras
“A day after posting a first-quarter loss of 12 billion Swiss francs ($11.9 billion), UBS AG, Europe’s biggest bank by assets, defended its sponsorship of the London Symphony Orchestra, which runs until 2010… UBS backs nearly two dozen orchestras and festivals across Europe and the U.S.”
The Insane Price Escalation Of The Strad
“In 1945 you would have paid ten grand in dollars for a top Strad; today it can make 30 times as much, depending on pedigree and condition.” So, does a top Italian violin even qualify as a good investment for a musician anymore?
The Changing Face Of Classical Guitar
The next big star in classical guitar is Chinese. And female. “A rare woman on a macho instrument, she speaks no word of Spanish and comes from a culture untouched by the quixotic, unmoved by romantic plaints on nylon strings. Everything she has done from infancy on has been a first.”