Heritage preservationists and music lovers are pitted against one another over the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s proposal to replace the famous Hollywood Bowl’s outdoor orchestra shell. The 71-year-old shell has notoriously poor acoustics and is so small sometimes one-third of the musicians have to sit outside. – CBC
Tag: 08.29.00
WHERE MONEY TALKS
“Everything boils down to money in Dallas,” at least in the eyes of conductor Andrew Litton who became music director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in 1994 and has been fighting to bolster the DSO’s reputation ever since through an ambitious touring and recording schedule. – The Times (UK)
E-CONSOLIDATION
- Big players in the e-publishing business are beginning to align to compete with one another and pirates. “The publishing industry must establish an honest market for electronic content before pirates find alternative markets.” – Wired
BOLSHOI SHAKEUP
Fed up with perceived mismanagement and stalled rebuilding plans for the critically dilapidated theater, Russian president Vladimir Putin on Monday summarily fired the Bolshoi Ballet’s top management staff, including its controversial general director Vladimir Vasilyev. – The Guardian (London)
“PERFORMANCE” ART?
Austria’s annual digital arts festival, Ars Electronica, this year includes what might be the world’s most bizarre arts festival activity – “sperm racing.” “The idea of Ars Electronica is always to deal with areas where new technologies are starting to have an impact on culture and society.” – Wired 08/29/00
LIEBERMAN TO TESTIFY
US vice-presidential candidate Joe Lieberman will testify as early as Sept. 13 about a Federal Trade Commission report that reportedly claims “that film, record and video game producers are pushing their wares on children while pretending not to.” The Gore campaign is unfazed: “I think he’s brought to the ticket some real credibility on this issue. And it’s an issue that’s real important to people, especially to families. And where you find this level of concern is with working families – families where both parents are working, and the kids have a lot of time on their own where they’re unsupervised.” – Salon 08/29/00
GETTING WHAT YOU WANT WITHOUT SAYING WHAT YOU MEAN
Tactics used by Britain’s culture secretary Chris Smith to secure a record amount of funding for the arts this year have been revealed in confidential minutes from a meeting between Smith and his Irish counterpart. “The aim appeared to be to get the cash without mentioning the dreaded word ‘arts’ to Treasury mandarins.” Instead, Smith stressed the economic returns of “educational funding” and “niche tourism” (read: museums). – The Guardian 08/29/00
FLICKERING FORTUNES
Cineplex Odeon, Canada’s biggest movie theatre chain, may be forced to shut down many screens as its U.S. parent negotiates with lenders. Parent company Lowes, the movie-theatre company, is in debt for some $635 million, and said that it plans to close up to 250 money-losing screens in North America in fiscal 2000. – The Globe and Mail (Canada)
ELVISH SPOKEN HERE
Tolkein fans can breathe a sigh of relief if their “elvish” isn’t up to snuff: the hotly anticipated “Lord of the Rings” trilogy will have subtitles when the elves speak in their own language – according to Ian McKellan (who plays the wizard Gandalf ). He divulged a few secrets on his website. – The Age (Melbourne) (NZPA)
THE MET LOOKS EAST
Once a bastion of exclusively Western art, New York’s Metropolitan Museum now has more than 50 permanent galleries devoted to the largest and most comprehensive collection of Asian art under one roof. Wen C. Fong, who headed the museum’s Asian art department from 1970 until his retirement this summer, is largely responsible for the transformation. – New York Times