“The fashion industry, not to be confused with the garment trade, is in the unfortunate position of manufacturing merchandise that many would argue is wholly unnecessary and, when a $10,000 blazer is strutted down a runway by a teenager, is morally offensive… There is a level of cynicism surrounding the fashion industry that has reached unprecedented levels.”
Tag: 10.01.08
Poet/Editor Hayden Carruth, 87
“Hayden Carruth, whose spare, precise, impassioned verse took myriad forms and stamped him as one of the most wide-ranging and intellectually ambitious poets of his generation, died Monday at his home… Although known primarily as a critic, reviewer and editor, Mr. Carruth produced some 30 books of poetry that addressed, in charged, taut language, subjects like madness, loneliness, death and the fragility of the natural world.”
Ostian Ruins Refurbished, Opened To The Public
“The ruins of Ostia, an ancient Roman port, have never captured the public imagination in the same way as those of Pompeii, perhaps because Ostia met with a less cataclysmic fate… [But] officials hope that the decade-long restoration of four dwellings lavishly decorated with frescoes will focus new attention on this once-bustling port about 15 miles west of Rome.”
Reminding The World Of The Value Of Dance
“Clarity of intention aside, the [Lyon Dance Biennial] is one of the most ambitious and important dance festivals in the world, and its largeness of scale and intention is splendid to see at a time of ever-shrinking financing for the arts.”
How To Play To Your Base
This year’s installment of the New York Musical Theater Festival seems to be all about two major themes: “Nobody wants to be in 2008 New York. [And] everybody is gay… Even Bonnie and Clyde: A Folk Tale has a gay subplot, with J. Edgar Hoover singing and dancing and eventually showing his supposed true colors.”
An Orchestra So Good You’ll Faint
Esa-Pekka Salonen recently took the reins of London’s Philharmonia Orchestra, and is taking his new band on the road to some other UK halls. But things could have gone better in the Yorkshire town of Leeds, where “the atmosphere inside Leeds Town Hall was so stiflingly hot” that two audience members passed out during the performance and required medical attention.
The Man Who Gave London A New Concert Hall
“London’s Kings Place opens today — giving the city a new arts venue and fulfilling the dream of its creator Peter Millican.” Millican, an organic farmer and amateur violist, put up the lion’s share of the £100m to build what critics are calling “a superb and elegant space, more beautiful than many of London’s music venues.”
New Boss For Newly Stable Auckland Phil
A month after receiving a financial rescue package from the local city council, New Zealand’s Auckland Philharmonia has named 36-year old German conductor Eckehard Stier as its next music director.
Hey, If Finns Can Tango …
“Salsa fever is raging in China, with more than a dozen Latin dance studios having opened in the capital in the last four years. This week, an estimated 4,000 people from across the country and abroad are expected to attend the third annual China Salsa Congress in Beijing for four days of performances and competition, including for a second year an event on the Great Wall.”