Why did the English national Opera’s director of marketing boo his company’s departing music director at the end of a performance this week? Ian McKay said he had been angered by a newspaper article in which Mr Daniel had spoken about the ENO’s future.”I believed [the interview] damaged the company’s reputation,” he said.
Tag: 06.09.05
Poetry Is Hot Again
Poetry has not been truly hip since the late 1960s, when the Beats ruled and coffeehouses served up readings alongside the java. But all of a sudden, a new generation of young people seems to be embracing poetry in all its forms. “Poetry readings, poetry slams, and spoken-word performances attract sellout crowds in clubs and auditoriums locally and across the country. Poetry anthologies and audio collections are selling briskly. And the weekly HBO program Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry is entering its fifth season.” And this week, at the nation’s largest poetry festival, two new awards dedicated to promoting emerging poets were announced.
GOP Heavy Set To Take Over CPB
The controversial chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is pushing for a former co-chair of the Republican National Committee to be named president of CPB. Patricia de Stacy Harrison, who currently works in the State Department, has made statements concerning public broadcasting that are in line with CPB chairman Kenneth Tomlinson’s desire to bring more conservative voices to public television and radio. CPB’s 8-member board is “dominated by Republicans” at the moment, and Tomlinson has sparked a war of words in recent months with his appointment of an ombudsman tasked with tracking supposed liberal bias in PBS news programs.
Key Porter Loses Copyright Case To Native Artist
An Ontario judge has ruled in favor of a Mohawk artist in her copyright infringement case against Canadian publisher Key Porter. Tonya Maracle had agreed to allow some of her dreamcatchers to be photographed and used by Key Porter in a children’s book, if proper credit were given to the artist and her company. But when the book came out, it wasn’t for children (a significant point, since Maracle had only agreed to donate her work because the book would be aimed at kids,) and she was not credited. The judge called the publisher’s conduct “disgraceful,” and awarded Maracle $40,000 plus legal costs. Key Porter plans to appeal.
Listeners Over 35 Need Not Apply
As America’s corporate-dominated radio industry scrambles desperately to find and unveil the Next Big Thing (by which, of course, we mean the next highly profitable and easily compartmentalized format,) a not-so-subtle shift is occurring on-air. With stations and their advertisers eager to attract and hold the iPod generation, retro is in, but the classic format known as “oldies” is apparently being ridden out of town on a rail. “Many existing oldies stations are barely holding on, the victims of declining ratings and radio-industry apathy. ‘Golden oldies’ stations, home to artists like Frank Sinatra and Glenn Miller, are in even worse trouble. Ultimately, observers say, the radio industry simply doesn’t have much interest in baby boomers.”
Is There Such A Thing As Too Much Shakespeare?
Washington, D.C.’s new six-month Shakespeare festival is quite the undertaking, featuring 22 different arts organizations (including one that specializes in tiny plastic ninjas,) and promising to more or less claim the nation’s capital in the name of the Bard. “What would the Bard himself think of all this? He lived in a time when his plays were performed in ill-lighted theaters where the bulk of the audience stood rather than sat in a big pit quite near the stage. Some of these patrons came bearing spirits, with which to endure some of the longer, duller speeches, and even rotten fruits, eggs and vegetables, with which to provide constructive criticism for the actors.”
Illinois Non-Profits Teeming With Workers
One out of every thirteen working people in the state of Illinois is employed by a non-profit organization, according to a new study. ” In 2003, the report says, 441,814 people worked for hospitals, schools, cultural institutions, social-service agencies and other Illinois groups organized under section 501(c)(3) of the federal tax code. That was more, for example, than the 406,300 workers in metal and machinery manufacturing or the 312,900 in finance and insurance.”
Karp Quits Random House
Jonathan Karp has unexpectedly resigned as editor-in-chief of Random House. He apparently left of his own accord, and sources at the publisher have speculated that he wants to start a new business, possibly a publishing company of his own. Karp’s duties at Random House will be assumed by the company’s existing executive editor-in-chief.
PBT Touts Balanced Budget
The beleaguered Pittsburgh Ballet Theater has announced that it will balance its budget next season, and plans to nearly eliminate an accumulated $1 million deficit by next year as well. But the numbers aren’t set in stone just yet – the company’s pit orchestra is up for a new contract after having taking two hefty pay cuts in recent years.
A Conductor And His Public
It takes more than a good match between orchestra and conductor to make a truly successful long-term partnership – the audience has to buy into the pairing as well. And nowhere has that symbiotic relationship between musicians, maestro, and the public been more in evidence than Detroit, where music director Neeme Järvi is preparing to conduct the final concerts of his tenure.