Author Gunther Grass has admitted to a German newspaper that he served in Hitler’s Waffen SS during World War II. “Grass, 78, is regarded as the literary spokesman for the generation of Germans that grew up in the Nazi era and survived the war… He was long been active in left-wing politics as a sometimes-critical supporter of the Social Democratic Party and is regarded by many as an important moral voice who has opposed xenophobia and war.” He says that a deep sense of shame has consumed him for years regarding his service in the Third Reich’s much-feared paramilitary force.
Tag: 08.13.06
An Unusually Dull Fringe
This year’s Minnesota Fringe Festival- the largest such fest in the U.S. – wasn’t bad, exactly, says Dominic Papatola. But it sure wasn’t very exciting. “Most of the political theater I saw had a rote, unimaginative quality about it, as if artists couldn’t think of anything new to be mad at President Bush about but still felt compelled to be angry. The comedy shows I took in were amusing but not fall-down funny. Clever ideas seldom resulted in equally clever execution. And as for the usually plentiful nudity at the Fringe? I saw a grand total of one bare backside the whole of the festival.”
St. Luke’s Cancels UK Tour Over Flight Restrictions
The New York-based Orchestra of St. Luke’s has been forced to cancel its upcoming concerts at festivals in London and Edinburgh as a result of the UK ban on carry-on baggage on all flights. Many of the orchestra’s instruments cannot be stowed in airline cargo holds, and despite efforts to reach an accomodation, it was determined that there simply wasn’t time for the orchestra to make alternate plans. So far, it is believed that the other American orchestras set to perform at the BBC Proms in London and the Edinburgh Festival, most of which transport their instruments in heavy-duty trunks, will be able to keep to their schedules.
Mostly Mozart Comes All The Way Back
It wasn’t too terribly long ago that New York’s Mostly Mozart Festival was considered a relic, a musty and moribund example of what happens when classical music takes its audience for granted. But today, as the festival cruises through its 40th season, audiences are swelling, critics are cheering, and the whole enterprise feels like a winner again. So what changed? Over the last few years, “Mostly Mozart has become a haven for diverse, conflicting, even fringe-y viewpoints on Mozart and his near-contemporaries and descendants.”
Getty Gets Gritty
The Getty Museum in Los Angeles has unveiled a series of intentionally provocative billboards designed to reposition the institution as an edgy, sensational “place where art lives” — not some oppressively quiet, stodgy museum space.” And before anyone gets snarky, no, none of the billboards make mention of crooked executives or indicted curators.
Levine Makes Tanglewood His Own
It’s far too early, of course, to say what James Levine’s ultimate legacy as music director of the Boston Symphony will be. But already, it is clear that Levine is having a rejuvenating effect on the BSO’s famed Tanglewood Music Center, which brings many of the country’s top young musicians together for several weeks of summer instruction and orchestral training. “For years, the presence of Tanglewood icon Leonard Bernstein made the TMC the place to be, despite the competition. And that phenomenon is happening again because Levine is in the Berkshires.”
Rebuilding China From The Ground Up
“Over the last five years [Ben Wood] has transformed himself from a successful Boston architect into a Shanghai powerbroker whose designs translate into billions of dollars in development. The profession’s big players are flocking to China to compete for commissions. Even the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas has raved about the opportunities to be had. But Mr. Wood is one of the very few allowed to build whole neighborhoods without a local associate or a government institute to sign the construction documents.”
The Most Popular Photographer In Cyberspace
Rebekka Guoleifsdottir’s route from aspiring photographer to rookie success story is yet another lesson (as if one more was needed) in the power of the interconnected world to break down traditional barriers to professional and artistic success. “Just over a year ago the single mother was still teaching herself how to use a camera… She had already put some of her drawings on Flickr, a community website where users post their pictures for others to view, and decided to add some of her early photos.” Twelve months later, she was Flickr’s most viewed member, and “is set to make a fortune by selling her work online.”
Welcome Back To That Same Old Place That You Laughed About
When the Louisville Orchestra announced that Jorge Mester would be its next music director, many in the industry wondered what the ensemble’s leaders were thinking of. Mester, 71, served as Louisville’s music director for 12 years in the 1960s and ’70s, and is hardly considered a rising star in the conducting world. Furthermore, Louisville was rumored to have several top young conductors on its shortlist. So what happened? Andrew Adler says that, on reflection, Mester’s second act could turn out to be exactly what the financially strapped and frequently chaotic orchestra needs.
Mark Morris At Home In His Success
The Mark Morris Dance Group turns 25 this year, and the company is humming along on all cylinders, its schedule crammed full and its continued artistic relevance continually extolled. “There is also a settled-in sense of comfort — dare one say domesticity? — for this once shaggy-maned provocateur who seemed to cultivate a personal image of outrageousness, even as his early dances resonated with an earthy honesty that suggested a kinship with an earlier, more forthright era of modern dance.”