“Among players, the tantalizing rumor is circulating that the candidate pool has been winnowed down to one: God. With such Talent not on the roster at CAMI or any of the other classical-talent agencies, the orchestra might think back a mere five years for a reality check to the conductor before last. Wolfgang Sawallisch was good enough. And then some.”
Tag: 08.26.08
Are Cheap Tickets Enough To Lure Young People Into The Theatre?
“There are other social and cultural factors that play a role in keeping young people away from the theatre that also need to be addressed, things that run deeper than price alone, like the perception of the medium, by some, as elitist, worthy, and maybe, just a tad dull, a form of entertainment that is for people ‘other than us’.”
Edinburgh Fringe Ticket Sales See Big Dip
“Ticket sales at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe were down by almost 10% – the first fall in eight years. Bad weather, the poor global economy, competition from the Olympics and problems at the Fringe box office were all cited as factors in the downturn.”
When The Olympics Awarded Medals In The Arts
“Although nearly forgotten, the Olympics held from 1912 through 1948 included arts competitions, with the winners receiving the same gold, silver and bronze medals as the athletes. The arts competition debuted at the 1912 Games in Stockholm where an American, Walter Winans, won the gold for sculpture. But he didn’t stop there.”
What The Asian Art World Needs: Art Fairs
“In the past year, two new contemporary art fairs have gained considerable attention because of their sheer size – ShContemporary in September in Shanghai and Art HK in May in Hong Kong – but they are still far from being seen as equal to their Western counterparts. Now, a new entrant, Singapore Showcase, is also hoping to be noticed.”
Borders Records Smaller Loss Than Last Year
“The Ann Arbor, Mich.-based company said it lost $9.2 million, or 15 cents a share, for the quarter ending Aug. 2. That compares with a loss of $25.1 million, or 43 cents a share for the same quarter of last year.”
Little Enthusiasm For New Fall TV Season
“Alas, it’s hard to make an argument that viewers are breathlessly awaiting ABC’s fall season – or any other network’s. Audience buzz remains at a hush. With the networks still reeling from the disruption of last winter’s strike by screenwriters, only 17 new series have been slotted for fall – about half the usual number. And most of them have been unavailable for preview.”
Calatrava’s New Bridge For Venice Suffers Another Indignity
“The final insult was yesterday heaped on the bridge Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava has built over the Grand Canal in Venice when its official opening was cancelled. Their decision will avert a demonstration planned by opponents of the project, and remove the opportunity for another round of media comment on the cost overruns and repeated delays that have marked the bridge’s construction.”
Gerard Mortier Wants To Run Both NYC Opera And Bayreuth
Mortier said he submitted a joint application to run the Wagner festival at Bayreuth with Nike Wagner, one of the composer’s great granddaughters, because “part of the Wagner family insisted.” A joint bid by two other great granddaughters, Katharina Wagner and Eva Wagner-Pasquier, is regarded as the favorite heading into Monday’s meeting of the festival board.
Meet The Music Video 2.0
“Following the demise of the televised music video, Mathieu Saura’s videos show a new marriage of music and film that replaces the artifice of big budget music videos with the raw simplicity of performance. He’s clearly struck a chord. The videos may not be playing on MTV, but they’re all over the Web, where sites like the Black Cab Sessions and Pitchfork TV have joined in with a similar minimalist style. Meet the Music Video 2.0.”