“In an ever-tougher business environment for independent booksellers, the town of St. Johnsbury, Mass., population 7,571 as of 2000, is offering startup money and a break on rent to a qualified person willing to open a bookstore downtown. The word is out in the book trade, and St. Johnsbury officials say calls are coming in.”
Tag: 06.01.04
Vienna’s Museum Wars
Museum competition in Vienna has grown fierce in the past year. “Over the last year, the Albertina has emerged as the surprising victor, attracting an audience of one million in its first 12 months. It is now the country’s most successful gallery, pushing the Kunsthistorisches Museum into second place.” But some are questioning the Albertina’s aggressive tactics in growing…
The Ring Tone Charts
A new music chart will track the popularity of phone ring tones. An estimated £70m of ringtones were sold in 2003 – up from £40m in 2002. The fortnightly chart will count down the 20 most popular tones downloaded onto mobile phones and will be published in Music Week magazine. Most current pop hits are available to buy as mobile phone rings for between £1.50 and £3.50.”
Did Michelangelo Suffer From Asperger’s?
Two experts in Asperger’s Syndrome say that Michelangelo might have suffered from the condiction. They describe him as “strange, without affect, and isolated,” adding that he was “preoccupied with his own private reality. His single-minded work routine, unusual lifestyle, limited interests, poor social and communication skills and various issues of life control appear to be features of high-functioning autism or Asperger’s Syndrome.”
“The Columnist Broadway Loves To Hate”
The New York Post’s “Michael Riedel has become the columnist Broadway loves to hate. An attack dog in a world of lapdogs, this magna cum laude Columbia graduate, who reads Dante and Suetonius for fun, is an unlikely tabloid bad boy. But his twice-a-week, mean, often funny, always dishy, ruthlessly vitriolic behind-the-scenes gossip column has made him the scourge and the talk of the theater world.”
Figuring Out The Dance Theatre Of Harlem Puzzle
So Dance Theatre of Harlem’s financial woes are being blamed on inept management. “Inept management?” asks Tobi Tobias. “Mitchell, the NYCB’s first African-American principal dancer, conceived DTH to correct the virulent concept that blacks can’t do classical dancing, curtailed his own performing career to bring the company (and the school necessary to it) into being, and miraculously held these enterprises together for three and a half decades, leading the troupe to successive moments of glory and repeatedly getting it to rebound from near-death situations endemic to arts institutions. You call that inept management? I call it heroic achievement, and I think it should be acknowledged with admiration and gratitude—at the same time as the current grievous problems are being addressed.”
Pulitzer Music Category Expanding
The Pulitzer Prizes are expanding in the music category, broadening the award in music that would “open the door to musical theater scores, film scores and works containing large elements of improvisation, in theory even an improvised jam session with a jazz ensemble. The move is sure to win plaudits in some circles, especially in Hollywood, on Broadway and within organizations like Jazz at Lincoln Center, while provoking criticism among more traditional composers at many of America’s universities.”
AGO Remakes Gehry Design
“The Art Gallery of Ontario has released details of architect Frank Gehry’s modifications and refinements in his design for the gallery’s $195 million makeover.”
Australia’s Problem Orchestras
So Australia is conducting a review of the state of its orchestras. “The reality is that orchestras in Australia are in the same position as many overseas – they are living on borrowed time. Lacklustre management, poor commercial focus and lack of ground-breaking ideas are all found in varying degrees.”