A new oratorio to be premiered this week by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra commemorates the two seminal events of Lyndon Johnson’s presidency: the campaign for the passage of the Voting Rights Act, and the initial bombing of North Vietnam based on fraudulent reports from the Gulf of Tonkin.
Tag: 09.18.07
Tenure Scrap In Philly
Last season, the Philadelphia Orchestra’s new principal cellist, Hai-Ye Ni, was told that she was not being granted tenure by the orchestra, and would not be brought back for the 2007-08 season. It was a major blow for a cellist who has enjoyed a successful solo career and who had quit a section job with the New York Philharmonic to come to Philadelphia. “But a grievance was filed with the union, lawyers were called, conversations were had, and now she’s back. Music director Christoph Eschenbach has agreed to extend her stay, giving her another year of probation.”
The West End’s (Wrongheaded) American Addiction
“Broadway seems to get whole hosts of British theatre talents, whether they are well known or not. Why, then, isn’t the London theatre seeing more American actors of this ilk – the ones who have paid their dues without necessarily becoming a household name via TV or film?”
A Shakespeare Boom?
“A look at Shakespeare fests around the nation, reveals some of them experiencing slow but steady growth — in the number of offerings per season and, more important, in the number of actors they’re hiring, both Equity and non-Equity — while others are doing the opposite.”
Art Critic Quits Boston Globe For New York
Ken Johnson became the Globe’s art critic last September. He says: “I hope no one will interpret my departure as a critique of Boston, the Boston art world, or the Boston Globe. I’m moving back to New York, and I’m returning to writing art criticism for the New York Times as one of its principal freelance critics.”
Might Blogging Be The Savior Of Theatre Criticism?
“The rise of the internet and the blogosphere – still in its infancy and often stumbling as it takes its first tentative steps – makes me think that theatre criticism may get a whole new lease of life. … I welcome blogging. I don’t think it will supplant newspaper criticism, but I do think these new voices will keep us on our toes. Suddenly theatre criticism has got a whole lot more interesting.”
Oligarch’s Mega-Purchase Stops Rostropovich Auction
“A spectacular sale of Russian art was cancelled last night, on the eve of the London auction, when a Russian billionaire stepped in to buy the entire collection of the late musician Mstislav Rostropovich, promising to return it to Russia. Alisher Usmanov, the 18th richest man in Russia, is believed to have paid more than £25m, well above the highest estimate of £20m, to stop the sale. Sotheby’s, which initially refused to identify Mr Usmanov, later confirmed his name when the Russian news agency Interfax identified him.”
Elvis’s Choreographer Has Left The Building
“Alex Romero, a dancer and choreographer who directed Elvis Presley’s dancing for the movie ‘Jailhouse Rock’ and also worked with Presley on three other films, has died. He was 94.”
Philly Museum’s Expansion A Boon To Its Restoration
The newly expanded Philadelphia Museum of Art “now offers something grand that the public will see only indirectly – through the benefits conferred on thousands of works of art” in its “vastly enlarged conservation facilities for paintings, works on paper, photographs, and costumes and textiles. For the museum’s paper and textile conservators, who have previously labored in quarters that charitably could be called cramped, the opening means they will finally have space to work on quilts and screens, large drawings and gowns, throws and scrolls.”
A Psychic Makes Himself Disappear From YouTube
Psychic Uri Geller, who found television fame in the ’70s, more recently has been on YouTube and other sites in old TV clips that discredit him. That’s where the Digital Millennium Copyright Act come in handy for him, even when he doesn’t own the posted content. “Using the DMCA, aggressive litigants like Geller and such copyright-hoarding companies as Viacom and Disney can simply make your work disappear if they do not like what you have to say, something that was much more difficult in the pre-digital world.”