Carlos Kleiber was a singular conductor. “There was, in fact, only one guiding force in his life — music — and he gave himself to it with almost supernal passion and intensity. Every concert and opera performance he conducted was a genuine event, and not simply because he conducted so seldom. His painstaking preparation, his abhorrence of routine, his fanatical musical idealism made it so. ‘Difficult’ was the word most commonly used to describe the Berlin-born Austrian conductor, who was the son of another famous conducting Kleiber, Erich.”
Tag: 07.27.04
Two Jailed In Van Gogh Theft
Two men have been jailed for stealing two Van Gogh paintings. “The thieves were arrested separately in 2003, in Spain and in Amsterdam. The Van Gogh Museum has put in a claim for 1.8 million euros for the two uninsured paintings, which were stolen in 2002 and have never been recovered.” (a judge has rejected that claim…)
Beaverbrook Dispute To Arbitrator
“England’s wealthy Beaverbrook family and a Fredericton, Canada-based art gallery have agreed to let a Canadian arbitrator decide who owns tens of millions of dollars worth of paintings that the two sides have been feuding over for months.”
Maxwell Davies: Scotland’s Ignorant Arts Policy
Composer Peter Maxwell Davies has lashed out at the Scottish Executive’s arts strategy, labelling it a jackboot in the face of Scottish culture. Sir Peter accuses the First Minister and the Cabinet of ‘absolute ignorance’ of cultural affairs, citing the recent £7 million restructuring of Scottish Opera as a prime example of the their ‘vicious’ attitude towards the arts.”
How Blockbuster Hopes To Stave Off Extinction
Many have predicted the death of the video rental business. But Blockbuster, America’s largest video rental chain, is fighting back. “Blockbuster is expanding programs that let customers trade both videos and video games. The strategy is to transform Blockbuster from a place you go to rent a movie to a place you go to rent, buy or trade movies and games: new or used, in store or online.”
Remaking Barcelona Through The Arts
“Barcelona is host to a 141-day-long cultural fiesta comprising art exhibitions, pop and classical concerts, dance and theater performances and assorted other happenings. Costing $400 million, the festival, called Forum 2004, which began in May, hopes to draw five million visitors through Sept. 26. By then, the organizers say, the whole city should have benefitted.”
Met Opera Raises New Objections To Lincoln Center Plan
Only three months before construction on a $325 million redevelopment plan for Lincoln Center was supposed to begin, the Metropolitan Opera has raised objections. “The Met had agreed to the 65th Street plans in April, along with 11 other participating groups. But the opera now says a recent traffic study it commissioned indicates that plans to move a garage entrance would cause delays at curtain time, inconveniencing patrons.”
Study – Learning A Little About Dance
The British government improbably conducted a study into the state of dance. Predictable? Funny? Ok, but the researchers actually took the time to learn something. “They heard about the funding ceiling encountered by mature choreographers, the difficulty in moving up from small to larger-scale productions that British and foreign theatres want to see. They concluded that the Arts Council’s woolly and obscure processes were at fault, that the Council should focus on excellence and leave social agendas to Government departments.”
Music Dimminished By Copyright
As the recent case involving copyright and the recording label Hyperion shows, copyright of music is an issue fraught with peril. The question is: who is helped by the current law? It would appear that everyone loses all around…
Damien Hirst’s New Relationship With Death
“For an artist said to be preoccupied with death – pickled sharks, pinned butterflies, decomposing cows’ heads – the reality of it didn’t hit Damien Hirst until 18 months ago. Shortly before Christmas 2003, his great friend Joe Strummer, former lead singer with The Clash, sat down in a chair in the kitchen of his Somerset home, near Bridgwater, and had a fatal heart attack.”