“There are 8,000 warriors in the Terracotta Army and yet no two figures are alike, and it is not just a matter of superficial detail. No scarf or moustache is exactly alike, and every pair of shoes is slightly different. But what is far more astonishing is that every warrior is his own man: that every man stands out from the next. Surely the terracotta soldiers are in some sense actual portraits?”
Tag: 09.16.07
Too Early To Dance
Early music is mainstream now. But Early Dance? “Like the field of early music, what might be called early dance is contentious and passionate terrain.”
Is The Traditional TV “Season” An Anachronism?
“With new technologies exploding left and right and new media competing for eyeballs, there is the sense of being on the brink, a precipice, the last little beat before “the tipping point” is reached, but no one knows for sure what we’re going to tip into.”
Digital Radio – Where The Grass Is Greener
“Digital radio — marketed in this country as HD Radio — has been available in the United States for more than two years but has made hardly any impact on the listening public. Yet the same technology is being adopted quickly and happily in Britain.”
Cronenberg Takes Top TIFF Prize
“Eastern Promises, a London-set thriller by director David Cronenberg, won the Cadillac People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, which closed on Saturday after screening 349 films over 10 days. The award came with a $15,000 prize. The top Canadian award went to Guy Maddin’s My Winnipeg.”
Muti Enjoying The Single Life (Musically Speaking)
Riccardo Muti is pleased that you enjoy watching him conduct. He would like you to know that he very much enjoys conducting the orchestras in New York, Chicago, and elsewhere. And he wouldn’t mind terribly if no one ever again asked him whether he wants to become the next music director of those, or any other, orchestras.
Building Up Burns
Ken Burns’s new documentary on World War II begins airing on public television next weekend, and if you haven’t heard about it, you’re probably alone. “The War” is being rolled out with a promotional campaign unlike any PBS has ever mounted before, and for good reason. “The world of broadcasting has changed enormously over the last 17 years. So has the world of documentaries.” What hasn’t changed is the trademark Burns style, and PBS is counting on the combination of quality and familiarity to deliver a ratings bonanza.
Why Does TV Only Love Bad Dancers?
Sure, dance shows are all the rage on TV right now. But should the serious dance world really consider this to be a positive development, when you’re more likely to see a purple elephant than a serious professional ballet dancer on the small screen? “Here’s the irony: The sharp rise in reality-show dance on TV is matched by a dizzying drop in public television broadcasts of the pros. In other words, the washed-up celebrities and adventurous athletes of ‘Dancing With the Stars’ are all that the viewing public knows of dance these days, since ballet and modern dance companies have been virtually voted off the air.”
Drugs, Alcohol Occupational Hazards For Opera Stars
“Stripping away opera’s glamour, singers are increasingly speaking out about a more sordid side of their world – increased drug and alcohol use sparked by relentless pressure to perform often and well… But insiders agree that heightened competition, unyielding sponsor demands and the weight of stardom are leading to excesses that invite comparisons of opera to sports tarnished by doping scandals. Some attempts to stay on top are relatively harmless, like popping a beta blocker to soothe butterflies before stepping onstage. Others are more alarming.”
The Music Of Emotional Honesty
“Today Grieg is generally viewed as a composer of enduring popularity but secondary significance. This perception is not quite right on either count,” and as the music world prepares to mostly ignore the centenary of his death, Anthony Tommasini says that the time is right for Norway’s greatest composer to finally get his due. “If aspiring composers want an example of music that conveys the sound world of a culture and breathes with emotional honesty, they can do no better than Grieg.”