Portland architect Brad Cloepfil has his hands around several high profile arts projects, including the new Seattle Art Museum. “I think as my work is evolving; there are moments of sensing the actual space as a thing. We have few opportunities in buildings to actually do that. That’s not a critique of any particular building or architecture, but those moments are rare when you say, God, this is really euphoric. It’s emotional.We all have those moments in our lives: That’s the place that feels like that.”
Tag: 04.27.07
Librarians – Too NiceTo Be Real?
“Why is it that ‘flatlined’ may be the best term to describe the state of discourse in librarianship? In the traditional library literature one rarely sees an article that takes issue with the research or perspectives of a particular author. There may be a dissenting letter to the editor every so often, but one would be hard pressed to identify a juicy back-and-forth between two camps engaged in academic discourse about a controversial issue. Maybe we’re just too nice to take an intellectual sledgehammer to a colleague’s work, even if it was well deserved.”
“Young Frankenstein”, The Musical
Mel Brooks is taking another of his movies and making a musical. The principle creators of “Young Frankenstein” hope to repeat their huge success with the earlier Brooks musical, “The Producers.” As he did for “The Producers,” Brooks will pen the score for “Young Frankenstein,” and co-author the book (based on his screenplay) with Thomas Meehan.
A Colorado Arts Funding Scenario
When it comes to arts funding in Colorado, not all cities are created equal. Denver has its act together with some stable funding and a way to invest in the arts. Colorado Springs, on the other hand, is a city of 500,000+ but doesn’t have nearly the ability to support culture.
Philly Crowd Demands 10 Encores From Kissen
“Ten encores. Some swore they heard 11 at Evgeny Kissin’s Kimmel Center recital on Wednesday. Audiences could have left after the substantial printed program of Beethoven, Brahms and Chopin and not have felt shortchanged. But Kissin obligingly returned to the stage again and again, playing for another hour. Were that many encores healthy?”
Scottish Opera Recruits Top Novelists
“High-profile authors including Alexander McCall Smith, Ian Rankin and William Boyd have been signed up by Scottish Opera to create new work for the company’s 2007/8 season. The writers will team up with composers including Craig Armstrong, Patrick Doyle and Ben Twist to make five specially commissioned, 15-minute operas.”
CBC Gets A New Chairman
“Montreal-born Timothy Casgrain, 58, who is currently chairman of the aviation company Skyservice Investment, was named the CBC’s new chairman Friday. He fills the position left by author-producer Guy Fournier, who resigned in September after a controversy surrounding a column he wrote joking about sexual behaviour in Lebanon. The CBC’s president and chief executive officer Robert Rabinovitch had been filling in as acting chairman.”
David Finckel Remembers Rostropovich
“My actual lessons with him, which lasted roughly nine years, were sporadic, but my focus on learning from him was constant ever since I first was captivated by his recordings at the age of 11. One did not have to have a lesson to learn from Rostropovich; one had only to be near him in almost any situation. His life and lifestyle were like great music itself: always just beyond the imaginable. Conversely, his way of thinking about music was like life: he taught mostly by metaphor, always creating real-life scenarios that corresponded exactly to a moment in music that needed improvement.”
Conveyor-Belt Art
“Crowds in museums are nothing new. They’ve been a fixture of temporary ‘blockbuster’ exhibitions for years. For a long time, the rest of the museum–the permanent collection–remained considerably less populated. Lately, though, the permanent galleries, too, have become more and more crowded. The new crush of bodies is partly the result of a surge of tourism, funneling out-of-town visitors into local venues, and partly the culmination of a long and steady increase in the public’s interest in art.”
Appreciating Mstislav Rostropovich
“Even had he never picked up a baton, Rostropovich would still be remembered as one of the great musicians of the 20th century — a noble and impassioned cellist whose stated intention was to combine the qualities he most admired in his famous predecessors: “sound from [Gregor] Piatigorsky, ideas and personality from [Pablo] Casals, feeling and beauty from [Pierre] Fournier.” He was an unabashed Romantic who played with a full, burnished tone, effusive emotionalism and a virtuosic command of the instrument.”