Geoff Dyer’s book about WWI memorials, recently printed for the first time in the U.S., can inform how we think about 9/11. “Those who speak about a war in terms of horror and waste during and immediately after the event often find themselves in conflict with those who feel that any criticism is an insult to those who served and died.”
Tag: 09.06.11
China’s Top Opera Star Brings Western Colleagues To Beijing To Sing In Chinese
Bass-baritone Hao Jiang Tian gathered “20 emerging American and European singers … [to spend] a month learning to sing in contemporary Chinese operas as part of [his] I Sing Beijing program.”
A New Building And A New Era At Curtis Institute
“The 105,000-square-foot building, in the 1600 block of Locust Street, bridges a facilities gap between Curtis and other schools, giving it dormitories for half its 160 or so students, a cafeteria, additional chamber music rehearsal rooms, teaching studios, and a climate-controlled vault for rare instruments.”
Montreal Symphony Musicians Get New Contract Along With New Hall
“A cloud has cleared for the opening on Wednesday of the new concert hall: The MSO and their musicians, who have been playing without a contract for a year, have reached an agreement. The musicians will get a 10.5-percent increase, a notch more than the 10 per cent they originally asked for, but over four years rather than two.”
Glut Of Church Furnishings Hit US Market
“An unprecedented number of church interiors, liturgical artefacts and period furnishings are for sale in the US while similar material is disappearing in Europe. Many of the objects come from churches that are closing due to declining memberships, an aging population and a shortage of new priests.”
Badly Needed: Reinventing Chicago Jazz Fest
“This anachronistic fest – which is dwarfed by state-of-the-art soirees in San Francisco and Montreal – long has needed an overhaul.”
Arts Education, A Study Survey
What’s the current research on the benefits of arts education in schools?
Iran Blocks Yet Another Of Its Leading Filmmakers From Traveling Abroad
“Iranian authorities have banned documentary filmmaker Mojtaba Mirtahmasb – who co-helmed underground movie This Is Not a Film with Jafar Panahi – from traveling outside the country, according to the film’s international distributor.”
Georgia’s Culture Minister Defends Firing Of National Theater’s Director
Minister Nikoloz Rurua, on the dismissal of the revered Robert Sturua from the Rustaveli Theater following several xenophobic remarks: “It is correct that nothing in Mr Sturua’s work suggests xenophobia, but … [in] multicultural Georgia the remarks are provocative and dangerous … [A] message had to be sent out that xenophobic comments, from a state employee, are unacceptable.”
Where Shakespeare Meets Puppets And Rock Guitar
“The Isle Is Full of Noises: The Tempest Puppet Music Show is a collaboration between German puppeteer Philipp Pleßmann and his friend Nick McCarthy – guitarist with Franz Ferdinand. The pair met two decades ago in Bavaria, where McCarthy grew up” – which gives them what they see as a healthy lack of respect for Shakespeare.