Glasgow is winding up a three year, £13 million renovation of one of its two main concert halls, and the results should be a great relief to concertgoers. “When the complex opens its new doors in January… Glasgow will, to all intents and purposes, have a brand new, state-of-the-art, multi-purpose arts facility. The impact on the visitor will be instantaneous. What was previously a bland, functionless vestibule at the Candleriggs public entrance has been opened up to feed into a fashionable café. To the side, in a prominent and spacious shop-window position, and next to the new box office area, will be the plush new public face of the Scottish Music Centre, a potentially influential organisation currently hidden away in an anonymous Glasgow West End terrace.”
Tag: 07.25.05
Alsop Draws Support
The Baltimore appointment may mark the first time Marin Alsop will have full control of a major American orchestra, but she’s no stranger to the prestigious podiums of the world, and musicians from some of the world’s best ensembles are going out of their way to support her in the wake of the Baltimore controversy. This past weekend, a violinist in the London Symphony stood at the end of a rehearsal to praise her and wish her well in her new job, prompting hearty applause from the entire LSO. Everywhere, the hope seems to be that Alsop’s famous charisma will win over the Baltimore musicians who tried to stop her appointment as a protest over what they viewed as an aborted music director search process.
The 49th Parallel Blues
The U.S.-Canada border is the longest undefended national border in the world, and the two countries have always prided themselves on the friendliest of relationships and the ease of crossing between them. But since 9/11, security measures have resulted in an ever-growing mountain of paperwork for any artist or musician looking to cross the border for a performance. The hassles are now so extensive that many venues near the border will no longer book acts from the other side, for fear that the performers won’t be able to get official permission in time for the show.