Tag: 07.11.00

BEYOND BOSSA NOVA

When people think of Brazilian music, bossa nova, samba, and the strains of Carnival come to mind, while Brazil’s classical composers (namely Heitor Villa-Lobos, Lorenzo Fernandez, Camargo Guarnieri) are often overlooked. “Why has it taken so long for them to gain any recognition abroad? Brazil, now officially 500 years old, is a relatively young nation and came late to classical music. – The Herald (Scotland)

CROSSOVER JAZZ

The classical music world has found countless ways to commemorate this year’s 250th anniversary of J.S. Bach’s death. “But musicians from the other side of the musical tracks, including Dave Brubeck and Jacques Loussier, have been gate-crashing the party as well. A sign of our enlightened times, or another case of dumbing down?” – The Times (UK)

SURPRISING MOVE

Recently knighted conductor Andrew Davis – chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra for the past 11 years and musical director of Glyndebourne Festival Opera for the last 12 – will step down from both posts in September to move to the Chicago Lyric Opera. It’s certainly a plum job, but so were the two he’s walking away from and his English following is far from pleased with his decision. “Rarely can one musician’s career have been woven so deeply into this country’s musical life.” – The Telegraph (UK)

GOING PUBLIC

The musicians’ coalition Artists Against Piracy kicked off its national campaign against copyright infringement with full-page ads in five major U.S. newspapers. “If A Song Means A Lot To You, Imagine What It Means To Us” read the headline, above a list of 68 musicians in favor of protecting their music through stricter copyright-law enforcement. – Billboard

BEING POLITICAL BY BEING APOLITICAL

“Two years ago, Bill T. Jones was approached by Arena de le Sol in Bologna, Italy, to make a dance depicting the influence of Latin culture in the New World. Though confronted with issues of colonization and what Jones describes as cultural ‘collision,’ he decided to make a poetic rather than a political response to the unjust historical truths surrounding these native communities. ‘Ultimately, I’m trying to enter this on the level of culture and art,’ he says. ‘I’m trying to tell the story as I see it, and what that looked like in terms of music.’ ” – Village Voice

POPCORN WITH YOUR PROPAGANDA?

In January it was revealed that TV networks have received millions in exchange for working anti-drug messages into their programming. Now federal drug policy-makers are taking their campaign to Hollywood, urging studios, writers, and directors to promote (and profit from) films with similar messages. – CNN (AP) 07/11/00

OR SHOULD WE CALL IT ENTERTAINMENT ART?

Performance art got a lot of attention in the ’90s. What’s it up to now? “People seem more interested in packaging it than in actually doing it. Let’s just say that if performance grew out of a wish to make art more present, more visceral in the ’60s and ’70s, that trend has decidedly reversed itself. Over the past decade, this art form definitely shifted toward entertainment—or, at least, the proscenium.” – Village Voice

IN FROM THE FRINGE?

Glasgow’s Citizens’ Theatre “revolutionised Scottish theatre in the 1970s with highly-charged, visually-striking productions, and scandalised the good councillors of the city with blood, nudity, and cross-dressing.” Artistic Director Giles Havergal reflects on how the Citz has reinterpreted itself in recent years.  – The Herald (Scotland)