A Turkish court has thrown out charges of “insulting Turkey” brought by a nationalist attorney against novelist Elif Shafak, citing a lack of evidence. Shafak became the latest in a string of writers charged with the dubious crime earlier in the week, with the prosecution claiming that a chapter of her latest book which deals with the Armenian genocide of 1915 was an illegal defamation of her home country.
Tag: 09.21.06
The Barbican Finally Earns Some Respect
London’s Barbican Centre has been famously unpopular with critics and concertgoers ever since it opened, thanks to a monolithic concrete structure and legendarily bad acoustics. But in the last decade, the hall’s managing director has made the absolute best of a bad situation, says Norman Lebrecht. “Today, on the eve of the Barbican’s quarter-century and his own final year, [John] Tusa has completed a £34 million pound refit that has remedied the acoustic, simplified the geography and create physical and intellectual cohesion.”
The Evolution Of Orchestra Funding
It has long been an article of faith amongst American orchestra musicians that the European orchestra model, under which orchestras are funded primarily by the state, is preferable to the American model, under which most of the money comes from private donors who must be wooed and kept happy. But these days, Europe’s model is in trouble, and it is innovative orchestras with enterprising music directors and creative programming ideas that are raking in the cash.
A Titan Gets With The Times
“The sleek, unmistakable Philadelphia Orchestra logo makes its debut on tiny iPod screens today as the orchestra attempts to expand its audience by transmitting itself in miniature. Starting today, the orchestra will offer recordings of live performances unavailable anywhere else. Downloads… will be a third of the cost of a typical compact disc.”
Chicago Lyric Back On The Air?
Lyric Opera of Chicago has a new contract with its orchestra musicians, and like several other ensembles around the country, the new deal takes advantage of new union rules to cut labor costs for recording and online distribution. Lyric officials also hope that the new contract will mean a return to weekly radio broadcasts for the company, which has been off the air since 2002.