Tuesday night, Lang Lang soloed with the New York Philharmonic before a massive crowd in Central Park on a bright red Steinway grand. During the performance, Lang announced that the piano would be auctioned off “to raise money for the American Red Cross China Earthquake Relief Fund… Bidding starts at the $165,000 retail price.”
Tag: 07.17.08
Shreveport Symphony Implements Conversion Plan
The Shreveport Symphony says that all of its musicians have officially signed contracts for the 2008-09 season, ending a stalemate over a controversial downsizing plan for the ensemble. “The new contract switches core or full-time musicians to a per-service pay structure, resulting in a 75 percent salary cut, from $12,693 to $3,123.”
Bass Brawlin’
It’s been a bad month for musicians in Cincinnati. First, a bass player in the Cincinnati Symphony was arrested for beating his wife, and now, a featured bass at the Cincinnati Opera is charged with a vicious street assault in the Over-The-Rhine neighborhood.
MIA Gives Concerned Artists A Soapbox
Local artists in Minnesota are being given an opportunity to air their concerns about the future of a regional art program at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. MIA’s exhibition program is unique among large U.S. museums, and the recent resignation of the program’s curator sparked alarm. “The chief worry is that artists would no longer be able to choose and organize shows by their peers.”
Kay Ryan Named US Poet Laureate
“Known for her sly, compact poems that revel in wordplay and internal rhymes, Ms. Ryan has won a carriage full of poetry prizes for her funny and philosophical work, including awards from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and in 1994, the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, worth $100,000.”
Public Art When It’s Lost Its Public
“With thousands of murals and sculptures in public spaces, the question of what to do with such art that its owner no longer wants is likely to come up more and more.”
Of Dance And Sexuality
Even now, in our knowing post-postmodern age, it seems that the issue is still a troubling one.
Auction House Says Art Sales Were Up Sharply In First Half Of 2008
“Christie’s sold 1.8 billion pounds ($3.6 billion) of art and collectibles over the six months, compared with 1.6 billion pounds in the same period a year earlier, according to an e-mailed statement reld today. Auction sales include London-based Christie’s fees.”