This year 185 young pianists applied for the 2007 Cleveland International Piano Competition. Thirty-five pianists from 16 countries were chosen to compete. “Long before the first-place winner is handed $50,000 — the largest award in the world for a piano competition — and about 40 concert engagements, the 35 pianists must prove themselves in Baroque, Classical, Romantic and 20th- or 21st-century works of their choice as well as a Chopin etude.”
Tag: 07.22.07
Were Newspapers Wrong To Break “Harry” Embargo?
“All the outrage surrounding this particular book notwithstanding, contemporary publishers impose these blackouts not in the interest of readers but to protect the carefully planned publicity campaigns they create for books on which they have advanced large sums of money. This is the economic imperative that leads publishers to withhold the contents of even nonfiction manuscripts that contain news that the public has a vital interest in knowing. It’s also why newspapers, including this one, routinely break those embargoes without any pang of conscience.”
Last Chance For The Multi-Camera Sitcom?
“For decades, multi-cam comedies have been a prime-time staple as much for their hit-making potential as for the relatively cheap production costs, but the shows, filmed before live studio audiences, have fallen out of fashion. Rising to take the few remaining network comedy spots has been the single-camera style, whose movie-like freedom and ease can be seen in such critically acclaimed programs as “30 Rock,” “The Office” and “Arrested Development.” With a welcome change in pacing and no laugh-track-sweetened live audience, single-camera exudes a sophisticated cool that executives believe appeals to the prized and more tech-savvy 18-to-49 demographic.”
A New Writers’ Generation – It’s All About Me!
“Fifteen years after David Sedaris began baring his soul in magazines and on public radio, a new generation of writers has emerged, galvanized by the Internet. Much of their work is highly revealing, exploring relationships and other emotional material. But if this seems endemic to our voyeuristic culture, the larger question is why so many writers want (or need) to expose themselves.”
Ads And Music/Music And Ads – Where’s The Line?
“Advertisers are harnessing pop’s powerful potential for cross-branded synergy more aggressively and variously than ever. One side effect: Commissions for original music for ads are down, and licensing music from established and emerging artists is through the roof, marketers say. It’s a mixed blessing that can introduce underground artists to a wider fan base. But just as often, ad pop adulterates musical chestnuts and can distort a song’s original intent.” And oh, the fans might object…
Today’s Composers – A Missing Link
Composers are having a harder time than ever getting their work performed. “There have never been enough opportunities, but now more composers are graduating from schools and conservatories than ever. San Francisco’s Kronos Quartet, which is famous for promoting new music, has received more than 1,000 submissions over the last five years for its Under 30 Project, dedicated to commissioning young composers, but it chooses to focus on only one composer a year. So what’s an ambitious composer to do?”
O’Neill Center – Back From The Dead
The O’Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Ct, has had several rough years. But Preston Whiteway, 25, who succeeds Amy Sullivan as executive director, “is inheriting an organization that will be in the black for the first time since 2001. He says the center is going into its summer season in the best shape it has been in years.”
The Successful Leader’s Library
What do CEOs read that gives them an edge? “Serious leaders who are serious readers build personal libraries dedicated to how to think, not how to compete.”
What Draws Atlantans To Opera?
Atlanta Opera commissioned a study. Among the findings: “Famous opera stars from New York’s Metropolitan Opera — singers of the stature of soprano Deborah Voigt — draw almost no recognition. Nor do singers who performed recently with the Atlanta Opera trigger any memories. As the Gallup summary advised: ‘Do not secure specific ‘big name’ performers for the average respondent’s sake: respondents appear to not know them anyway’.”
How A Funder Changed The face Of Chicago Jazz
“The aptly named Chicago Jazz Partnership has funneled approximately $1.5 million in cash (and nearly as much in in-kind contributions, such as production costs and musician airfares) into a music that’s internationally identified with this city. Granted, that may not seem like a lot of money when compared with the funding of institutions such as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. But it’s huge in jazz, a music that somehow has flourished for most of a century on nightclub cover charges and bar tabs, but with scant institutional support.”