Three years ago, exoperts were predicting the death of Canadian symphony orchestras. That has changed dramatically. “After more than a half-century of resolutely resisting change in the name of purism, our symphonies, with nothing to lose, began experimenting, and have largely succeeded in bulking up their audiences and making a start at balancing their books. Insiders remain edgy, worried about the future. They voice concerns about the efficacy of subscriptions (younger people tend not to book in advance) and the increasing scarcity of patrons willing to donate money and time to orchestras. But overall, the mood has become markedly more bullish in the orchestral world.”
Tag: 07.26.05
Do Not Question Harry, Worthless Muggle!
Book critic David Kipen expected to hear from a few disgruntled readers when he gave the latest Harry Potter book a lukewarm review. What he didn’t expect was the death threat. “When somebody e-mails to say, ‘Seriously bitch u need to watch what teh f — you say,’ it certainly commandeers a critic’s attention. Add to that the dozens of correspondents who took the trouble to call me dork, idiot, schmuck or worse, and it’s all occasioned some serious soul-searching here on the literature desk.”
Netflix Doing Fine
Profits at the online movie rental service, Netflix, nearly doubled in the second quarter of 2005. “Emboldened by the second-quarter surprise, Netflix management predicted it will finish this year with a profit of $2.4 million to $11.9 million, a reversal from just three months ago when the company warned it might lose as much as $15 million with Blockbuster hot on its trail… Netflix ended June with 3.2 million subscribers, a 53 percent increase from a year ago. Blockbuster’s online rental service is believed to have between 750,000 and 1 million subscribers.”
PICT Director Departing
“Stephanie Riso, a co-founder and managing director of Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre, will leave the company in January to pursue her career as a performer and composer… Riso co-founded PICT with the company’s artistic director, Andrew Paul, in 1996.”
But It Worked On The Home Shopping Network!
As it turns out, nobody in New York is much interested in the life of Suzanne Somers. The former sitcom star spent $4 million to bring her autobiographical, one-woman show to Broadway, where it received scathing reviews, flopped hard and closed after less than a week. A further planned tour to Toronto has been scrapped as well.
You Mean They’re Human?
“Their rarefied vocations notwithstanding, orchestra players are as normal as most other people. But somehow a stereotype grew up around classical musicians long ago, and it endures to this day.” Namely, that they walk around all the time in tuxes or topcoats, that they listen to nothing but the classics, and travel by streetcar or some such antiquated mode of transport. In other words, they are fictional characters in some turn-of-the-20th-century novel. Anyone wanting a dose of what classical musicians are really like need only get to know the members of the New York Philharmonic…
Van Gogh Killer Gets Life
“A Dutch court has sentenced a 27-year-old radical Islamist to life in prison for the November murder of controversial film-maker Theo van Gogh. Mohammed Bouyeri, who has joint Dutch-Moroccan nationality, had made a courtroom confession and had vowed to do the same again if given the chance. The murder in Amsterdam stunned the Netherlands. The court ruled that it was a terrorist act. The judge said the murder had triggered ‘great fear and insecurity’ in society.”
The Mozart Problem
Next year will be the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth, and yes, the orchestras of the world are well aware, and will shortly be inundating you with more Mozart than you can shake a baton at. But during most seasons, Mozart is rarely heard in the concert halls of major orchestras, and increasingly, his work is restricted to specialized festivals. Part of the problem, of course, is that historically informed performance is now the rule, and most symphony orchestras are loath to have half their musicians sit out for a week just so they can play some Mozart, but there’s a larger issue hanging over the dearth of Wolfgang. “Artur Rubinstein’s comment that Mozart is too simple for children and too difficult for adults is relevant here.”
Oue Makes Bayreuth History
Germany’s prestigious Bayreuth Festival has welcomed its first-ever Asian guest conductor, and the result appears to have been a popular success. Conductor Eiji Oue, music director of Japan’s Osaka Philharmonic and late of the Minnesota Orchestra, took to the Bayreuth podium to open the festival, conducting Wagner’s Tristan & Isolde. Oue, always a firebrand on the podium, reportedly drew cheers for his efforts.
OSM Still MIA
The musicians’ strike at l’Orchestra symphonique de Montreal has been relatively quiet, if you go by press accounts (or lack of them), but the sudden absence from the scene of Canada’s most prestigious orchestra is starting to take a toll on the country’s cultural life. This week, the famous Festival de Lanaudière was to serve as a grand stage for the OSM, with soloists Deborah Voight and Ben Heppner along for the ride. Instead, Voight and Heppner sang with a pick-up orchestra. “Last Wednesday, playing Terry Riley’s In C, OSM players and their families and friends marched from Place des Arts with police escort along downtown Montreal streets to Phillips Square. They collected signatures along the way and got enthusiastic honks from passing motorists.”