“JK Rowling is the world’s highest-earning author, making more than £5 every second over the past year… Her income was six times more than literature’s next-biggest earner, James Patterson.”
Tag: 10.05.08
Bollywood Strike Over
“A strike that brought Bollywood film production to a halt has been called off, unions and employers say. Union leader Dinesh Chaturvedi told the BBC News website that managers had agreed to their demands.”
Framing The Graying Audience Debate
“Is the audience for live performance really aging, dying and disappearing, never to be replaced?” Well, the numbers say that audiences are, in fact, older than they used to be. But orchestra attendance is up across the US, and the country as a whole is older than it used to be, too, thanks to aging baby boomers. So how concerned should arts groups actually be?
Steeling For The Worst
With all the talk of economic calamity and the very real potential for an extended recession in the US, arts groups are bracing for impact. “To prepare, they’ve been making lists of potential cuts, enacting hiring freezes, and shifting reserve funds so they’re better protected and easier to get at.”
Kosman: Rosenberg Demotion “Disgraceful”
Joshua Kosman weighs in on the controversy surrounding the reassignment of Cleveland music critic Don Rosenberg. “It’s understandable that some feelings have been bruised. But pulling Rosenberg off the beat isn’t the solution. [The paper’s] decision would be indefensible even if Rosenberg’s were a lone voice in the wilderness. It’s not.”
Tough Times In Central Florida
“Uncertain economic times have shaken Central Florida’s arts and cultural community. State funding for the area’s cultural groups was cut 52 percent from 2007 to 2008, and nine of the 15 largest organizations funded by United Arts of Central Florida wound up last year in the red.”
Maybe They Could Retire Don Cherry, Too?
The CBC is looking for a new theme song for its iconic Hockey Night in Canada broadcast, after being outbid by rival CTV for the rights to the decades-old theme that every Canadian knows as well as the national anthem. After putting out a call for new themes, the CBC has selected five finalists, orchestrated them, and invited the public to vote on the winner.
Toronto’s All-Night Art Crawl
“Nuit Blanche is a free city-wide exploration of living art that takes place from dusk Saturday night to dawn Sunday morning. The 2007 version drew more than 750,000 people, congesting Toronto streets and leading to long lines for some events.”
Did Bach’s Wife Compose His Best Stuff?
An Australian researcher is claiming that he has convincing evidence that several of J.S. Bach’s better-known works were, in fact, composed by his wife, Anna Magdalena. “Dr Jarvis has used forensic analysis to examine various Bach scores, bar by bar, focusing on the musical structure and language, handwriting and the musical calligraphy.”
NEC Looks To Compete With The Big Boys
New England Conservatory of Music may not be quite as high-profile as Juilliard or Curtis, but it stands as one of America’s top music schools. Still, it’s always a struggle for a school with a $100m endowment to compete for the best young musicians with a school like Juilliard, which boasts a nearly $800m endowment and abundant scholarship funds. NEC’s new president is looking to close that gap.