“Florida lawmakers agreed Saturday to boost spending on arts and cultural programs by millions of dollars in the coming year — but killed a plan that would guarantee future funding.” The increase cheers arts supporters, but leaves the arts vulnerable in future budgets.
Tag: 04.25.04
Who Should Succeed Barenboim?
John van Rhein has some very definite opinions on the subject whom the Chicago Symphony ought to select for its next music director. “Audience numbers have fallen during the Barenboim years, internal morale has sunk and the orchestra remains an orphan of the airwaves and recording studio. The CSO badly needs a music director who can restore the orchestra’s luster in these and other areas. The eyes of the music world are upon Chicago.” Chief among van Rhein’s criteria: the new guy needs to be an American.
Chicago Waits For The Great Northern ‘Bean’
“In three months, downtown Chicago will get one of the most significant additions to its outdoor gallery of public art in decades, yet while the abstract sculpture by British artist Anish Kapoor has been in the works for five years, few people in town know much about it beyond its lighthearted nickname — ‘The Bean.'”
CSO Needs Substance Over Stardom
Alan Artner would like to see the Chicago Symphony abandon its decades-long fascination with “superstar” conductors in favor of a leader who truly understands the importance of engaging the community. “Absenteeism does nothing to encourage audience identification and involvement with an orchestra,” but the biggest names in conducting invariably spend most of their time somewhere other than Chicago. “Musicianship, inquisitiveness and commitment to the city are what counts — the three together. And if they’re not all present, the CSO should not engage.”
The Airplay Conundrum
Why is it that some musicians who are undeniably popular with the public can’t seem to get any airplay on radio? From Josh Groban to Harry Connick, Jr. to a young Norah Jones, artists are discovering that there is no longer much of a connection between album sales and inclusion on corporate radio playlists. Radio stations claim that most of their listeners don’t buy many albums, but some musicians blame Arbitron’s method of measuring radio ratings for the disconnect.
Forgey: Long-Overdue Memorial Worth Waiting For
The long-awaited World War II memorial being installed on the Mall in Washington, D.C. is nearly complete, and Benjamin Forgey is impressed with its solemn design and “abiding sense of place.” The design may be a bit classically stiff, but it uses the massive space well, and “though the memorial does partially block a pedestrian’s passage on the long walk between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, it is a pause with a big payoff: the memorial itself.”
The Museum Kingmaker
“What do museums do when they lose an old master? If it’s a painting they call the police. If it’s an esteemed leader, they call Malcolm MacKay.” MacKay is an executive headhunter specializing in museums, and has become arguably the most powerful man in the business in recent years. Last year alone, he led five searches for major American museum executives, and he was the first person the Art Institute of Chicago called last year when longtime director James Wood announced his retirement. Not a bad track record for a Harvard lawyer with no academic experience in art.
If You Can’t Beat The Pop Culture, Join It
The TriBeCa Film Festival has gone from new kid on the block to major player on the New York scene in a startlingly short amount of time. The secret to TriBeCa’s success seems to be a willingness to embrace Hollywood glitz and defer to pop culture trends, even as other festivals hold fast to ideals of independence and “artistic integrity.” Also distinguishing the fest is a perceived lack of overall focus, which may actually be “its strongest suit, giving it a popular appeal that more-established institutions lack.”
How To Encounter The Contemporary Composer
Columbia University’s Miller Theatre has found a successful format. “In most classical concerts, if listeners hear any music by contemporary composers, it’s in small doses, which may be for the best. In a mixed program, a composer’s style must quickly declare itself, both on its own terms and in relation to the styles of the other composers on the bill. The problem is that a composer discovered in a mixed program may not turn up again for months or even years. Single-composer concerts allow for a better assessment, but they are risky. A composer can be like a cat with a spool of yarn. Having found an intriguing idea, he or she may explore it from different perspectives through a dozen works or a dozen years. How well a handful of pieces based on the same notion — a rhythmic device, say, or a way of changing harmony — will work depends on the composer’s inventiveness.”
The First Nation of Classical Music?
In Finland, music is practically the national language. Children are frequently taught to read notes before they can read words, and the government pours money into national music and arts education at a rate which would cause U.S. lawmakers to choke on their tax cuts. The result of all this national emphasis on music is clear: Finland, with a population comparable to the state of Minnesota, is dominating the international music scene, and “classical music has little of the elitist aura that tends to be the case in the United States.”