Does England have only one “world-class” orchestra? So says the departing chief executive of the London Symphony, and guess what – he believes the LSO is the only orchestra that counts. And guess what – managers of two of London’s other orchestras take issue with the claim. And critics are now pouncing on the LSO for some of its decisions in recent years.
Tag: 04.11.05
Met Broadcasts With Commercials?
For all those years that Texaco sponsored weekly broadcasts of the Metropolitan Opera, the broadcasts were run free of interrupting commercials. But the Met can no longer afford to compensate commercial stations for the commercial time. “With the reduction of fees to commercial stations, the cost of the broadcasts will be $5.6 million instead of the usual $7 million. To help the stations make up the lost subsidies, the Met will create 7 to 10 places for advertisements during intermissions , depending on the length of the opera.”
In Art: 100 Naked Women And Some Scuffling To Get Close
An Vanessa Beecroft art happening at a museum in Berlin featuring 100 naked women caused a commotion at its opening. “Scuffles broke out late last Friday as people tried to jump over the barriers to get closer to the women, aged between 18 and 65, wearing see-through stockings and greased with baby oil, who arranged themselves according to the instructions of US artist Vanessa Beecroft.”
Beecroft And The Case For Nude Women
Vanessa Beecroft’s performance in Berlin with 100 naked women is her biggest show ever. Certainly, there is plenty about Beecroft’s work that is voyeuristic. The most interesting aspect of the new work is “its almost calculating cruelty: this evening’s public performance lasts for three hours. Apart from the odd stretch and yawn, the women are instructed to remain as still and silent as possible. Towards the end they can lie down. Yesterday, at the preview, attended by dozens of journalists and TV crews, several of the “girls” as Beecroft calls them sat down exhausted. Most looked distinctly bored.”
The Problem With Martha Graham
“She is, indisputably, one of the key choreographers in the history of Western dance. However, more often than not, the work of the last third of Graham’s long career was inflated and vague, almost to the point of self-parody, and thus hardly worth conserving in the active repertory. So the viable Graham canon is limited and, though the power of the company rests with the great old works, neither the troupe’s audiences nor its dancers will accept having their experience confined solely to these pieces.”
The Advertising Jingle Is Dead (Long Live The “Audio Logo”)
“Advertisers have become more sophisticated in their choice of music to convey mood and appeal to consumers. Tunes are still being used to sell soap and establish brand identity, but they are far subtler than the voices we used to hear (cue Barry Manilow) singing, ‘You deserve a break today, so get up and get away to McDonaaaaald’s!’ The jingle as we know it – an often inane, repetitive melody that drills itself into your head – has been declared almost dead.”
The Bellow Legacy
“In a recent essay, one of our finer critics, Lee Siegel, asks what is it with Bellow and a number of non-American writers. Martin Amis had an almost father-son relationship with him (and it can’t be said that this was for lack of a literary parent). James Wood co-taught a class with him at Harvard. Ian McEwan’s Saturday pays homage to a Bellovian inspiration. What other American novelist has had such a direct and startling influence on non-Americans young enough to be his children?”