“It seems as if every commercial these days has a rock band in it. What was once the mark of utter uncoolness, a veritable byword of selling out, has become the norm. More than a decade ago we became inured to the most unlikely parings.”
Tag: 10.14.07
Rebuilding The Classical music Tradition
“Innovative groups such as Cleveland’s Red (an orchestra) and New York’s Wordless Music– which pairs rock and classical performers together onstage — are using flexible ensembles and uninhibited approaches to both music and performance. They’re throwing out staid conventions and dated repertoire — even the term “classical” itself — and reinventing the classical concert from the ground up.”
Applause For A New Harvard Theatre
Harvard has created a new theatre in the Hasty Pudding builing, built in 1887. “The problem was to figure out a way to tuck a state-of-the-art undergraduate theater, to be known as the New College Theatre, into the back end of a dignified Victorian clubhouse.”
Did Katrina Create Better Schools In New Orleans?
“The destruction of the New Orleans public schools was part of the larger human tragedy that befell the Crescent City, but it is not a loss that many residents are mourning. Before the flood, New Orleans had become a poster child for what is wrong with urban education in America. What has happened since the disaster, however, is redefining urban public education.”
Has Dumbed-Down Local TV News Missed The Mark?
“The past two decades have seen a marked shift in local television news across the country, away from in-depth coverage and toward speed and spectacle. Broadcast news, envisioned in the early years of television as a means of enriching civic life, has – according to politicians, media watchdog groups, and many TV journalists themselves – degenerated into lowest-common-denominator entertainment. But a study published earlier this year – the most exhaustive ever conducted of local television news – suggests that the industry has severely underestimated its audience.”
From Autistic To Artistic
“The Oily Cart is a widely acclaimed, London-based theater company that specializes in theater for the very young and for kids with special needs. Its three, middle-age founders — Max Reinhardt, Tim Webb and Amanda Webb — have been invited… by the Chicago Children’s Theatre to do something radical. They are developing an original theater piece designed especially for autistic youngsters and their families.”
Is Muti Getting Serious About Chicago?
Riccardo Muti and the Chicago Symphony have been playing footsie for years now, and despite multiple denials from both sides, it’s clear that the CSO would like to at least consider the fiery maestro as a candidate for music director. Now, following a successful European tour together, Muti is sounding less reticent. “There must be a reason that this great orchestra and I have come together at this moment in our histories. And I am really thinking hard about what this should mean.”
Get Muti, And Get Him Fast
John von Rhein says that now is the time for the Chicago Symphony to stop dithering and offer its podium to Riccardo Muti. “The CSO had best move quickly if it hopes to sign Muti, who’s got musical irons in the fire seemingly everywhere. There is no question in my mind, or in the minds of CSO players I spoke with following the tour, that he is the orchestra’s best and brightest hope.”
La Jolla’s New Chief Off To A Fast Start
“Christopher Ashley officially took over as artistic director of [San Diego’s] La Jolla Playhouse Oct. 2. And he’s hit the ground running,” announcing three shows that will play in his first season and beginning the process of charting a new direction for the theater.
Ballet’s Elder Statesman
Choreographer Frederic Franklin is 93. Not that you’d know it from watching him work. “He’s as spry as he is sharp-witted, threatening to take off in leaps himself while coaching the Joffrey dancers in the studio. Watching Franklin work these days is a little like seeing a venerable conductor in charge of an orchestra or a basketball coach at top speed in the gym.”