Why do orchestras constantly make a point of programming season-long strings of works by the same composer? What is it about, say, a Beethoven cycle, that is so irresistable to programmers, and is the idea really backed up by sound artistic and financial reasoning? “The investments go beyond time. Orchestras hold preconcert lectures and discussions with audiences to help put a series into context, and many work with theater companies and museums to create stage productions and visual-arts exhibitions connected to the series theme.”
Tag: 05.18.03
The Chicken/Egg Conundrum of Modern Architecture
Has modern photography changed the face of architecture? Increasingly, it seems as if every new building that goes up in a big city is designed to make a great poster when photographed from that perfect angle. With the rise of photography as an art, the scale and substance of architecture changed forever, but the jury is still out on which form was more influential on the other.
The Art Of Internet Porn
Thomas Ruff’s nudes are not what one generally expects from a serious artist. He starts with the crass, hardcore images of internet porn, then molds and blurrs colors and shapes, creating works which retain the raw sexuality of the ‘net, but with little of its horrifying starkness. It’s a dicey art form, Ruff admits, but his work is starting to win admirers all over the world, and inherent in his success is the question of where the lines between art and reality lie these days.
The Culture-Mall of America?
It’s not a great time to be the head of an American arts organization, but Kathy Halbreich is thriving at the helm of Minneapolis’s Walker Art Center. The Walker, already one of the Twin Cities’ most popular cultural destinations, is embarking on a massive expansion at a time when other museums are having to scale back, and Halbreich is determined to prove that contemporary art can be a cultural centerpiece even in the dumbed-down world of 21st-century America. “I believe that if the Mall of America is about the consumption of things, a cultural institution like the Walker — if it is properly designed and programmed and inviting enough — can be about the consumption of ideas.”
A Chance For New Experiences
“Many of today’s first visitors to Dia: Beacon — even the skeptics among them — ought to come away speechless and with a profound understanding of the art, without the help of tidy explanations. For devotees of the kind of work Dia owns, it is as evidently and immediately great and touching as anything by Leonardo or Monet. Maybe easy-on-the-eyes Old Masters only seem so much less difficult than more current work because most art lovers have been raised on them. Dia: Beacon gives us the chance to feast on art we may not have been fed as kids.”
Cautiously Pessimistic in Charleston
The Spoleto USA chamber music festival is one of the nation’s best-loved summer institutions. But even a festival which continues to set records for attendance and ticket revenue is not immune from the ravages of the current American economic climate. Corporate sponsorships for Spoleto are down sharply this year, and while no one is talking about any major cuts just yet, the prospect of a return to massive debt and layoffs for the festival is certainly the proverbial elephant in the boardroom at the moment.
Florida Phil Fans Enraged By Shutdown
Long-time subscribers of the Florida Philharmonic, which filed for bankruptcy last week after several weeks of pie-in-the-sky fundraising attempts, are reportedly furious with the way the orchestra urged and cajoled them to renew expensive subscriptions for a season which the orchestra knew might not be played. Now, the orchestra says it hasn’t decided whether to issue refunds to subscribers. “The Philharmonic has managed to alienate its bedrock supporters. It’s given the appearance of courting donors capable of seven-figure gifts while putting the squeeze on ordinary people who faithfully bought tickets.”
Dangerous Times, Dangerous Talk
“The executive producer of this week’s CBS miniseries, ‘Hitler: The Rise of Evil,’ was fired for publicly likening the climate in America in advance of the invasion of Iraq to the climate in pre-war Germany that allowed the rise of the Third Reich. Ed Gernon lost his job for drawing an analogy. Imagine being axed for expressing an opinion about a period in history when it was unsafe to express an opinion. If it weren’t so nasty, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was all a publicity stunt.” But it’s no stunt, and the continuing backlash against anyone daring to badmouth the current administration has many in Hollywood drawing another analogy, to the old McCarthy blacklist.
Conlon To Head Ravinia
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has tapped James Conlon to head its summer festival at Ravinia, beginning in 2005. Conlon, an American who has made his name as one of the world’s top conductors while working mainly in Europe, will succeed Christoph Eschenbach. Competition for the much-coveted Ravinia job was stiff, with such rising stars as Marin Alsop, Robert Spano, and Leonard Slatkin in the mix. One musicologist’s description of Conlon would seem to fit well with the style of the CSO’s summer festival: “His highly serious approach to music is offset by an almost childlike delight in performing it.”
Big-Time Theatre For Small Fry
The Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis recently won a Tony award for regional theatre companies, the first time that a company focusing on kids had won such an award. The CTC is obviously a deeply imbedded part of the Twin Cities’ theatrical community, and it can legitimately lay claim to conditioning thousands of young minds to enjoy serious theatre, an accomplishment which benefits every other company in the region. So why don’t more cities have such a company? Cities like, say, Chicago? The simple answer may be that no one’s ever really tried to start one.