“It seems clear today that when Georg Solti and his fellow podium titans Herbert von Karajan and Leonard Bernstein departed the scene, something in the classical music culture vanished along with them.” Ten years ater he died, Solti’s presence is still missed at te Chicago Symphony. “Solti was not only the last superstar conductor. He added his own Dionysian intensity to the Apollonian foundation set down by his predecessors Fritz Reiner and Jean Martinon. The result, mellowed and refined by Daniel Barenboim in the years subsequent to Solti, is the superbly flexible ensemble of virtuoso musicians we know today.”
Tag: 09.02.07
Who Owns The Great Literature?
“An unseemly row over some of the most illustrious names in world literature, including Samuel Beckett and Eugene Ionesco, has broken out over who owns the rights to their work.”
The Paintings That Might Be Pollocks Go On Display
A dozen disputed paintings that their owner claims are by Jackson Pollock go on display. Ken Johnson’s verdict? “If they are not by the master, they are expert imitations in miniature of the great abstract expressionist’s late-1940s drip and dribble style works.”
Has Burning Man Become Too Corporate?
“The theme this year of the eight-day Burning Man bacchanalia is the environment, or Green Man. Yet while Green Man has inspired a lot of environmentally conscious talk and art projects – there’s a fellow driving around in a car powered by magnetic coils – it also has raised concerns about corporate contracts at this traditionally anti-corporate event.”
Did Beethoven’s Doctor Kill Him?
A forensic expert in Vienna says he believes Beethoven was inadvertently killed by his own physician, who overdosed the musician and composer with lead.
The Soprano Who Will Save Music?
Is soprano Anna Netrebko, still only 35, as the last hope of the expiring classical-music industry?
Movie Ubiquitous Movie Festival
“Last year, Variety’s annual roundup listed 467 festivals. Will the total break 500 this year? What began as an effort to make the gondolas run on time – or at least more profitably – has become a cultural juggernaut that’s as indispensable a part of the movie industry as DVD revenues and awards shows. (Cannes has a worldwide profile that must rival that of the Oscars.)”
George Orwell In The Internet Age (A Blogger Perhaps?)
“In 1946, Orwell said English was ‘in a bad way’. In 2007, quite a lot of people would probably concede a dismay at the overall crassness of contemporary ‘cyberprose’. But such is the general nervousness and incomprehension about the internet revolution that no one is willing to articulate this.”
The Mighty Music Business Unravels
“The mighty music business is in free fall — it has lost control of radio; retail outlets like Tower Records have shut down; MTV rarely broadcasts music videos; and the once lucrative album market has been overshadowed by downloaded singles, which mainly benefits Apple. “The music business, as a whole, has lost its faith in content. Only 10 years ago, companies wanted to make records, presumably good records, and see if they sold. But panic has set in, and now it’s no longer about making music, it’s all about how to sell music. And there’s no clear answer about how to fix that problem.”
The Joyce Theatre At 25
The New York dance presenter is a one-of-a-kind institution. “In an economically shaky art form, the Joyce is a bastion of growth and stability. Outside New York it has the Good Housekeeping seal.”