“Google co-founder Larry Page attended a Capitol Hill hearing today and called upon the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to “free” the white spaces spectrum so it can be used as an affordable, nationwide, high-speed broadband connectivity network… Page’s personal appearance brings star power to the dispute that pits companies such as Google, Microsoft and Motorola against wireless audio equipment manufacturers and live events producers.”
Tag: 09.25.08
Getting Beyond “Classical Music for Dummies”
The Chicago Symphony has found a successful formula for bringing audiences deeper into the music they hear in the concert hall. It bears a bland title (“Beyond the Score,”) but the series of performances, now available for download and DVD purchase, goes far beyond standard-issue pre-concert lectures to combine the performance with an innovative look at composers and their output.
Deposed Cleveland Critic Speaks
Don Rosenberg, the veteran music critic taken off the Cleveland Orchestra beat last week for being too tough on the orchestra’s music director, says that he was told by his editor that “my reviews were unfair, and I was attacking the orchestra.” He maintains that he has no personal ax to grind with conductor Franz Welser-Möst, but says, “I think this is a case of an extraordinary orchestra with an ordinary conductor.”
Meanwhile, Cleveland’s New Critic Debuts…
Zachary Lewis files his first piece since taking over the Cleveland Orchestra beat from Don Rosenberg, and it’s (surprise!) a profile of music director Franz Welser-Möst. “While some critics question his artistry, by some financial measures Welser-Most has been an asset to the orchestra’s bottom line. Under his direction, demand for the ensemble, both domestically and internationally, has increased.”
Jimmy’s Back In Boston
Conductor James Levine was back on the podium to open the Boston Symphony’s new season last night, following a difficult summer which saw him undergo emergency kidney surgery and miss the bulk of the orchestra’s summer season at Tanglewood. Levine appeared healthy (and relatively slender,) and said before the concert that he’s ready for the grind of the season.
“Violins of Hope” Debut In Israel
A set of violins belonging to Holocaust survivors have been heard in concert in Jerusalem. The instruments, collected from across Europe and restored by an Israeli luthier, include one owned by a survivor who was forced to play it nightly for Nazi guards, and who later used his violin case to smuggle the explosives that destroyed the Nazi base.
Waiting For The Venue
A $475 million performing arts center is on the horizon in Las Vegas, and for the city’s cultural organizations, it can’t break ground soon enough. The center already has commitments for two resident companies, but there’s plenty of room for other groups to cut deals of their own.
Spike Lee on Obama (and His New Film)
“People like [the character] Stamps have so much faith that one day America would deliver on its promise that everyone is created equal. And we are now closer to that than any other time in this country. In 2008, we are on the verge of having a black man as president. I think that that is a sign of the greatness of this country.”
Rothko as Blockbuster – What Could It Mean?
“[T]hat it is Rothko, rather than say Vermeer or Monet, who will be pulling in the crowds from all over the country, seems to indicate an important shift in the cultural landscape. What is more, the men and women who will, from tomorrow, pour into Tate Modern to admire and wonder at Rothko’s work are not part of a suddenly expanded Modernist cognoscenti. Rather they are ordinary people who aspire to see more in his work than enormous, vaporous splurges of paint.”
In Japan, Newspapers Don’t Just Cover Exhibitions, They Present Them
“Media involvement in art exhibitions began in Japan in the 1920s, when the country didn’t really have so many museums… The newspaper companies would send people overseas, where they would liaise with foreign salons and institutions, borrow works and bring them back for shows in venues ranging from department stores to private halls. By the time dedicated public museums appeared here – mostly after World War II – the newspaper companies had a monopoly on the networks and knowhow.”