Should artists speak out on political issues? Harry Belafonte has always been an activist. “It’s a peculiarly modern idea that artists shouldn’t express a point of view on issues. But often the cultural and intellectual communities are the first to be attacked, because we’re first to protest the social order.”
Tag: 05.04.03
Pittsburgh Symphony – The Big Search
The Pittsburgh Symphony is searching for a new music director to replace Mariss Jansosn. What is the orchestra looking for? “Whereas maestros Andre Previn, Lorin Maazel and Jansons were picked because they could be marketed, the next music director will have to do the marketing. At least, that’s the case in mid-sized markets such as Pittsburgh. A large part of the perception of the orchestra and its marketing ability flow through the podium. Previously, the maestro’s reputation leaked into marketing in an indirect way; now, he or she will be on the front lines of fund raising and ticket selling.”
Pittsburgh – Buy American
What should Pittsburgh be looking for in a new music director? “An established star would garner respect and bring the orchestra to Europe, but he’d be expensive and unlikely to show up at chicken dinners to raise money. An energetic young American would come with a smaller price tag and the understanding of what it takes to market an orchestra, but he’d lack connections to soloists and venues as well as the name value to sit comfortably with the likes of Reiner, Steinberg, Previn, Maazel and Jansons.”
A Pittsburgh Wishlist
Andrew Druckenbrod runs down a dream list of candidates for the next director of the Pittsburgh Symphony. Dohnanyi? Slatkin? Dutoit? Tilson Thomas?…
The Barnes – Saving It Might Also Kill It
Edward Sozanski considers the Barnes Collection’s desire to move to downtown Philadelphia. The move might improve the art collection’s financial condition, but the Barnes unique character would be destroyed. “The collection might survive the eight-mile trip from Merion to the Parkway intact, but the ineffable spirit of the Barnes, the quality that makes it a special place, will not. That would be a tragedy, pure and simple.”
New Jersey Symphony – A Job Too Big For One?
The New Jersey Symphony hs been looking for a new music director since 2000. Now the orchestra “is considering whether the job of music director has grown larger than one person. ‘Life has changed; we need to get more people involved in artistic programming, and we also need to come to the realization that no one person can fulfill all the things needed of artistic leadership. We have evolved.”
My Day As Saddam
Stephen Moss answers the audition call for Saddam lookalikes for a new play. You think an audition is difficult? Try walking through London dressed like an Iraqi dictator… “When I first try on the beret, it feels more Frank Spencer than Saddam Hussein, and several members of my immediate family remark on the campness of my appearance. Naturally, I have them butchered. I am also aware of the greyness of my hair. Saddam was not, it seems, prepared to die, but he was always willing to dye.”
Is It By Rossini Or Anon?
A debut performance of an elaborate wedding cantata billed as being composed by Rossini 171 years ago has angered some Rossini experts who dispute its authenticity. “The performance will take place in his name despite calls from some Rossini experts – who doubt the work’s authenticity – for the piece to be billed as by Anon, writing in the style of the composer best known for The Barber of Seville.”
Was Shakespeare A Pothead?
“Several 17th-century clay pipes found at the site of William Shakespeare’s home were used to smoke marijuana, a South African anthropologist says. Although he has no proof that the Bard was the guy who smoked the pipes, he surmises that some of Shakespeare’s sonnets and plays also lend credence to the possibility that the writer smoked marijuana for inspiration.”
Library Burning: War On Words In Iraq
The burning of Iraq’s National Library destroyed records of much of the country’s intellectual life. “Even if alert curators and librarians succeeded in moving significant numbers of books to safety, Baghdad’s most recent bibliographic losses are enormous. The National Library was the country’s copyright depository, like our own Library of Congress; as such it contained copies of all books published in modern Iraq. Although Cairo and Beirut are the traditional centers of Arabic publishing, Iraqis have long been recognized as great readers-and in the 20th century, particularly before Saddam Hussein took power, the country’s book trade flourished. But the library’s holdings reached back to long before the rise of the Ba’ath Party.”