“The library has an enormous impact on the cultural and economic life of the nation. Through our doors pass around half-a-million readers a year: authors, entrepreneurs, scientists and family historians, all enjoying unparalleled access to the world’s largest, most comprehensive research collection. All this is threatened by the prospect of cuts in the current government spending round.”
Tag: 09.23.07
Classical Music Future In A Download
“Though classical music makes a respectable showing in iTunes, executives for compact disc purveyors from ArkivMusic to Brilliant Classics say their consumers are suspicious of downloads, fearing their music will be somehow swallowed up by their computer. Or, given the often-superior sound quality of compact discs, they don’t see the point. Yet given the low-margin, long-view profits that have made classical music almost un-American in its lack of market performance, the digital domain is the best news in years – especially since the demise of CD retailers that once sustained the classical industry, such as Tower Records.”
Philip Glass’ New Opera
It’s called “Appomattox,” and it delves into the final days of the bloody Civil War. “I’ve done this for 50 years, so I can hear a little bit. I can pretty much visualize the sounds. I’ve got a lot of colors in my box that I didn’t have when I was a so-called minimalist. I got them the old-fashioned way – I went out and learned how to do it.”
America’s Oldest Queer Theatre
“Theatre Rhinoceros, San Francisco and the nation’s “longest-running professional queer theater company,” turns 30 this season. It’s had to weather more than the usual share of small arts institutions’ financial challenges and growing pains – including the cooptation of its special niche, as gay, lesbian and transgender themes have found homes in mainstream theater, films and TV.”
Tate – The Secret To My Success
“So what is it about Tate that has captured our hearts and turned us into a nation of gallery goers? The programming, which gives wall space to the greats and new talent alike, most definitely plays to a populist market, in favour of being edgy or groundbreaking. But it’s clearly what people want, which is why the Holbein show was the second-most visited show, ever.”
A New Kind Of Life On The Fringe
Fringe Atlanta is a new kind of classical ensemble. “Fringe’s aim is to present tried-and-true classical music in what might be called MTV-generation attitudes to entertainment. Advised to “Feel free to get your groove on,” the audience of about 200 people attempted this feat while listening to music by Zoltan Kodaly and Franz Schubert. The results were successful beyond all expectation.”
What Does Atlanta Opera’s New Home Mean?
“It means Atlanta can finally start catching up with opera companies in peer cities, like the Houston Grand Opera, Seattle Opera or Opera Theater St. Louis. And start catching up, in budget and prestige, with the Southeast’s dominant performing arts group, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.”
Voting For Dance (Sorta)
“”We dance. You vote. That’s the essence of Ballet Nouveau Colorado’s 21st Century Choreography Competition, a YouTube-driven, ‘American Idol’-style contest that has the potential to make modern dance relevant to vast new audiences.”
Forgetting In An Age Of Memory
“As digital-storage capacities reach seemingly boundless proportions, some thinkers are becoming nervous about the unintended consequences of memory technology. New forms of memory are permanent and accessible from anywhere. As their reach grows, scholars are asking if now – perhaps for the first time in human history – we need to find ways to forget.”
How Prisons Are Changing American Culture
“America’s prisons and jails now house some 2.2 million inmates – roughly seven times the figure of the early 1970s. For years sociologists saw prisons – with their disproportionately poor, black, and uneducated populations – partly as mirrors of the social and economic disparities that cleave American life. Now, however, a new crop of books and articles are looking at the penal system not just as a reflection of society, but a force that shapes it.”