“The popularity and ubiquity of African Sanctus – with more than 1,000 performances round the world – mask how far ahead of its time it was. It used backing tracks ‘live’, which was uncommon even in the pop world; it in effect introduced sampling; it brought world music to the fore; it fused genres; and it scored pop, ethnic and classical instruments and vocal styles together.”
Tag: 07.18.10
Will Prestige Architecture Fall Victim To UK Cost-Cutting?
“The man behind the design of the new Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon has predicted a long period of stagnation for architecture that will scar both the British landscape and the national economy. After the boom in the early years of the millennium, an era of paralysis lies ahead, according to Rab Bennetts.”
Dance Theatre Of Harlem Poised For A Comeback
“Last month, Dance Theatre of Harlem’s ensemble performed to strong reviews at the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in Massachusetts, the troupe’s first full season at the prestigious annual festival in more than 20 years. … After shutting down more than five years ago following years of mismanagement that resulted in a $2.3 million deficit, a shrinking of its board to three people, and declining enrollment at its school, the storied institution is staging an encore.”
There’s Hope For Asheville’s Long-Stalled Arts Center
The project to build an $85 million performing arts venue in the North Carolina mountain town ground to a halt in 2007 and has remained suspended through the recession. This month, both public review of the architects’ plans and fundraising efforts are starting up again.
El Sistema USA’s First Class Of Teachers Gets Down To Work
Last year, New England Conservatory of Music launched an institute to train teachers for an American version of Venezuela’s celebrated music education program. The first class of graduates has now left the institute, and two of them are beginning their work in Boston-area schools.
The Restless Mind Of Nitin Sawhney
“Despite my best mental efforts, I just can’t keep pace with his verbal sprint through several millennia of philosophies this early in the day. The [celebrated Indian-English] musician has skipped from the Hindu Vedas to Einstein via Kepler and Heisenberg, and all before his first sip of coffee. So I’m surprised when he claims not to understand why people call him ‘intense’.”
The Mystique – No, The Mystery – Of Serge Gainsbourg
Both his voice and his looks (“like a drowsy turtle”) were unprepossessing; he played piano and guitar, though not very well; he could be difficult and boorish and he drank way too much. Yet Serge Gainsbourg became one of France’s biggest stars – and biggest Lotharios.
Why Does It Seem To Be More Difficult To Discover Big New Things?
“Until recently, no one actually tried to measure the increasing difficulty of discovery. It certainly seems to be getting harder, but how much harder? How fast does it change?”
West End Hen Parties: Girls’ Night Out At A London Musical
“We have read chick lit and watched chick flicks; now women are queuing up for a stream of female-friendly dramas on the stage. Theatre is awash with shows appealing particularly to women, many based on popular novels and films, and more are in the pipeline. Women are responding in their droves, often on a girls’ night out.”
Rare 18th-Century Book Reveals Earliest Known Version Of ‘Sweet Molly Malone’
“Unlike the famous verses bawled at sporting fixtures and stag nights, and in Irish-themed bars across the world named in her honour, this has no cockles, no mussels, no death of a fever, and no barra wheeled through streets broad and narra. But the singer clearly does know sweet Molly very well indeed.”