The Montreal Symphony Orchestra opened its season this week without a music director (Charles Dutoit, who departed the post in a huff just shy of his 25th anniversary last year, has yet to be replaced,) and Arthur Kaptainis says that the lack of leadership and direction at the MSO is beginning to be alarming. The concert had the orchestra pushed to the very back of the stage to accomodate one short work in which a pair of dancers were featured, and the entire program had the effect of implying that the musicians were the least important part of the show. “The directors of the MSO (many present for an opening-night bash) should remember that it is possible to accumulate an artistic deficit.”
Tag: 09.12.03
Lawsuits No Deterrent To File-Swapping
The recording industry was hoping that the 261 lawsuits it filed against file-swapping music fans last month might have a chilling effect on the whole online piracy problem. But in fact, the opposite seems to be true: according to one independent research firm, “the number of people using these file sharing services in the first 10 days of September is up more than 20 percent from the August average.” Of course, the industry will be going ahead with the lawsuits, regardless…
And Now For Something Completely The Same
A stage version of the classic British comedy film, Monty Python & the Holy Grail, is set to open on Broadway in the spring of 2005. Tentatively titled Spamalot, the musical will feature several new songs in addition to the classic Python ditties sung in the movie. No word yet on whether the quadruple amputee Black Knight will be granted a solo on the subject of biting kneecaps.
Man In Black Dead at 71
Country music legend Johnny Cash has died at a Nashville hospital from complications from diabetes. Cash’s career spanned six decades, and earned him eight Grammy awards. His music did not follow the mainstream commercial path of so many other country artists, and he embraced both humor and social conscience in his songs. From the ridiculous poignance of “A Boy Named Sue” to the bitter lament of the “Folsom Prison Blues,” Cash made his mark on multiple generations of listeners. “As much an American icon as Mark Twain or Woody Guthrie or John Wayne, Cash created a persona that often seemed to overshadow his genius as a writer and performer. A country music archetype who helped invent rock and roll, he always returned for solace to the gospel music of his youth.”
National Theatre For Scotland
Scotland is finally getting a national theatre. “The Scottish finance minister, Andy Kerr, announced in a budget speech that there was finally funding available to establish the theatre, proposals for which have been around since at least 1949. It will be based in Glasgow and will have an initial funding package of £7.5m, with its first production due at the beginning of 2005.”
The New Carnegie – Expanding Musical Tastes
Carnegie Hall’s new hall allows it to expand its musical tastes. “The first thing is that when we present a series curated by musicians like Caetano Veloso or Emmylou Harris, you are not seeing those artists replacing the traditional recital or orchestral series that we do. We’re not sacrificing one for the other, we’re adding something new. But also, as audiences develop and change, I think you find people who love Emmylou Harris and also go to hear the Berlin Philharmonic.”
More On Carnegie’s New Hall
“Described by the architects as a mining operation as well as a design project, Carnegie Hall’s new performance space sits within a cavity carved out of Manhattan schist. Parts of the bedrock are exposed, actually, in backstage areas and in a public stairwell.”
Sorabji The Recluse
Composer Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji was a difficult artist. “Cut off from the world and supported by a private income, he composed dauntingly huge pieces which were regarded as all but unplayable. He forbade the performance of his music lest inferior musicians ruin it. He remained alone, despising the trivial productions of others, in his artistic castle of ideal, Platonic complexity, a lone voice in the wilderness until his death.”
Laban Center Favored For Stirling Prize
Herzog and de Meuron’s new Laban dance center is the favorite to win this year’s Stirling Prize – British architecture’s top award. “The multicoloured building, as exotic as a hummingbird in the post-industrial wasteland of Deptford Creek, south-east London, was immediately made 2-1 favourite by William Hill bookmakers to take the £20,000 prize.”
Emin/Critic Feud Winding Down
Earlier this summer critic Philip Hensher charged in print that artist Tracey Emin was harrassing him.”The controversy began after Hensher claimed in the Independent that Emin was too stupid to be a good conceptual artist. Emin then complained in an Observer interview that she was being ‘completely slagged off by people whose mortgage I’m paying’ and made particular reference to a writer for the Independent.” Now Hensher has conceded that Emin had “not been sending china Peter Rabbit figurines” to him as he claimed. Huh?