“A door has not exactly been slammed shut. But the Barenboim years in the Windy City were not marked by a mutual affection that might have left both sides with a more enduring relationship. Barenboim’s departure, made public two years ago, came by mutual consent: he, frustrated at having to combine musical stewardship with the glad-handing of potential donors; they unsure of his commitment to audience-building at a time of falling subscriptions.”
Tag: 06.20.06
Dating Old Books By Biology
“A Penn State biology professor with a passion for old prints and maps says he has found a new way to date centuries-old books by using a technique similar to what scientists use to study mutations.”
Can Movie Biz Pull Out Of Slump?
“Reinvigorating the moviegoing experience, realigning exhibition windows, proactively responding to new consumer behaviors and demands and making creativity a top priority are things the film industry has within its reach to capitalize on a digital interactive marketplace. Although recent consumer surveys and research underscore the need for such measures, industry players have made little progress making necessary and sometimes radical changes to mine the new realities of movie patronage. And the longer they wait, the more they stand to lose.”
Canadian Senate Recommends Ad-Free CBC
A Canadian Senate committe report recommends removing all commercials for national broadcaster CBC and increasing the network’s funding. “It will recommend boosting CBC’s annual $1-billion budget to make it possible to get rid of ads, the wire service said. The report also examined private-sector newspaper, radio and television concentration.”
UK Chancellor Speaks Up For Arts
UK Chancellor Gordon Brown says the arts sector is “not a sideshow but right at the centre” of the economy.”
Getty Offers To Return Art To Italy
The Getty has offered to return 21 antiquities to Italy. “Getty trustees authorized the offer last week after a presentation by museum director Michael Brand, the sources said. It includes a marble statue of two mythical griffins, a statue of Apollo and a 2,600-year-old cup made by the Greek artist Euphronios, all prominently displayed at the newly renovated Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades.”
Needed: A Standard For E-Books
“At present, there is no common standard used by producers and manufacturers. As a result, customers can’t read a Palm e-book on a Microsoft Reader, noted Nick Bogaty, executive director of the IDPF. If companies adopt the new standards, not only will customers be able to read e-books on different devices, but e-books will be cheaper and easier to produce, which should lead to more titles being available.”
Driving Daniel Barenboim
“Barenboim may have taken his leave of America’s finest orchestra – and what a farewell it was, the towering ninth symphonies of Mahler, Bruckner and Beethoven on successive evenings – but the future offers endless possibilities. An important chapter in his life has now closed, and yet, at 64, no great age for a conductor, one senses that his race has some way to run.”
Damien Hirst – The YBA (Young British Artist) Grows Up
“It is 18 years since he attracted attention as the Goldsmith’s student who curated Freeze – a show of work by his mates that demonstrated the entrepreneurial spirit of a bunch of artists who refused to hang around waiting to be discovered. These days he employs 65 people, including a full-time business manager, Frank Dunphy, who has become famous in his own right. When Hirst speaks, in his curlicued, erratic, scuttling sentences, he nearly always says ‘we’, not ‘I’.”
How Ron Lauder Decided To Buy A $135 Million Painting
“When did you become fascinated by Klimt? Lauder: I took a trip to Vienna as a teenager and saw Klimt’s ‘The Kiss’ and ‘Bloch-Bauer.’ I found them absolutely stunning. Whenever I went back to Vienna, I visited them. How long did it take you to decide to buy the Klimt? Lauder: Thirty seconds.”