“We need to put out of our minds this widely held notion that there is such a thing as “the economy”, a monster outside the door that needs to be fed and propitiated and whose values conflict with things – such as sports, tourism and the arts – that make our lives agreeable and worthwhile.”
Tag: 08.11.10
Classical Music In Danger? Not By A Long Shot!
“It is indisputable that classical-music lovers have never enjoyed such an abundance of great music, performed at levels of consummate artistry. The chronological range of repertoire in the concert hall and on disc has no precedent.”
How Happy Is Atlanta Ballet About Its New HQ?
“Issues with the old place included a main rehearsal studio that was smaller than the stage at Atlanta Ballet’s main performance venue, Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. Thus, dancers frequently crashed into walls in the tight room – that is, when not dodging structural columns.”
(Im-)Mobile Theater: Puppet Shows for a Traffic Jam
“The show, called Superclogger after L.A.’s endlessly clogged freeways,” is performed out of a white truck during rush hours. “Fueled by a determinedly low-tech aesthetic, it stars a cast that suggests a group of funky, grimy, homemade Muppets, acting out short vignettes on themes that might speak to people stuck in traffic.”
To Whom (Or What) Does Britain Owe Its Modern Art Boom?
“If we agree, as apparently everyone does, that Britain’s modern art boom is a national glory, then we have to acknowledge the place of public generosity in making it possible. Above all, the authority of Tate has made it modern art’s Bank of England. And all the Tate galleries are free.”
Is A Shift In Demographics Working Against American Museums?
Elizabeth Merritt, the director of the Center for the Future of Museums, said the shift in demographics “paints a troubling picture of the ‘probable future’–a future in which, if trends continue, museum audiences are radically less diverse than the American public, and museums will serve an ever shrinking fragment of society”.
Chick Lit? Really?
“Let me suggest that Chick Lit is what we used to call the ‘Beach Book.’ And that it is its own genre, like mysteries or sci-fi; interesting to a specific audience primarily because of the nature and form of the genre itself.”
A Plan To Improve Opera Singing (53 Years Later)
“After 53 years, 963 young singers (as well as 110 apprentice coaches and 15 apprentice stage directors–some are invited back for a second term) have made their way through this now 11-week summer boot camp in opera performance.”
Jerry Saltz Reflects On His Time As A TV Celebrity Judge
“For me the deep content of being on Work of Art was to see if art criticism could find new ways to expose itself to the world so that more of the world might expose itself to it.”
Edinburgh Int’l Fest May Have to Cut Programming
“The Edinburgh International Festival is braced for a possible reduction in the size of its programme next year as it faces cuts of 10% or 15% in Government funding.”