No one ever accused the Edmonton Symphony’s music director of being a low-key conductor, but the orchestra and many of its fans were taken aback when a letter appeared in the local paper calling a Bill Eddins performance “not classy” and “rude.” (The letter’s author apparently objected to a few booty shakes during a jazzy piece.) In the weeks since the letter ran, music fans in Edmonton have been lining up to defend Eddins and slam the prudish objector.
Tag: 04.29.07
The Man Who Created An Orchestra For Vegas
The Las Vegas Philharmonic’s founding director Hal Weller is stepping down. He started the orchestra nine years ago and built it from nothing to a million-dllar ensemble “that feeds Las Vegas audiences a steady diet of classics – Mahler, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Rachmaninoff, Brahms, Wagner, Prokofiev. And he created dependable seasons that put the orchestra on firm financial footing.”
Disappearing Book Reviews – The Logic Please?
“Whereas 10 years ago, there were 10 to 12 stand-alone book sections in the country, today there are only five: The Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, The San Diego Union-Tribune and The New York Times. Other large papers, such as the Los Angeles Times, have folded book pages into other sections of the paper. People who read newspapers are also likely book readers. So why do newspaper editors and publishers think that killing one of the few features that readers might — big word here — READ is a smart move in an era of newspaper decline?”
Newspaper Book Sections Are Dropping Like Flies
“The truth is that the book and newspaper businesses share the same dreadful fear: that people will stop reading. And the fear may be well-founded. Across the country, newspaper circulations are down — and this is clearly part of the reason for the cuts to book sections. At the same time, the book business increasingly relies on an aging customer base that may not be refueling itself with enough new readers.”
Seattle Art Museum Opens Expansion
“Within a decade, in a whirlwind of fundraising and construction, SAM has raised more than $200 million to fuel an intensive growth spurt that culminates with the dedication of its airy new downtown venue. The expanded building dramatically increases the museum’s space for exhibitions, education and community gathering.”
MCA: On Making An Uncomfortable Building Work
Robert Fitzpatrick is ending a decade leading Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art. When he began, the MCA had just moved into a new building. His thoughts on the building? “It’s housebroken. It’s like a shoe that was unbelievably rigid and made you stand perfectly straight but, oh, God, were you uncomfortable. We’ve learned to be comfortable in the building. We’ve made it more flexible. We’ve not been afraid to break down some walls to make the place a little bit more supple.”
A Prescription For Colorado Ballet
Colorado Ballet is a solid company. But it faces some big challenges in the next few years. And if it is going to move up a step or two to the next level, some even bigger changes will have to take place. So what’s the plan?
Being Michael Kaiser
“Kaiser, 53, clearly savors the business of heading the Kennedy Center, where fundraising has doubled from $35 million annually to $70 million since his tenure began in 2001 ($3 million will be raised tonight alone, at the annual gala). But Kaiser seems to get as big a charge out of helping others in the performing arts business, and his Washington post makes it easier to spread his gospel.”
Crossing The Lines Between Thinking And Feeling
“Ever since Plato, scholars have drawn a clear distinction between thinking and feeling. Cognitive psychology tended to reinforce this divide: emotions were seen as interfering with cognition; they were the antagonists of reason. Now, building on more than a decade of mounting work, researchers have discovered that it is impossible to understand how we think without understanding how we feel.”
Conductor Sues Orchestra Over Firing
“Sidney Rothstein, former conductor and music director of the Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra, claims he suffered disability-related discrimination, breach of contract and intentional infliction of emotional distress. At the root of the dispute is whether Rothstein’s stroke, and subsequent problems with strength and dexterity in his right arm, made it difficult for musicians to follow his direction.”