Tag: 10.22.06

And This Is… Bad?

Anthony Tommasini says that the opera world is suffering from a distinct lack of big voices capable of tackling the classic roles in big Italian operas. “Young voices are not being nurtured for this particular repertory as they once were. Instead, fledgling singers have the option of forging a distinctive artistic persona in the much broader repertory that has been embraced by companies everywhere.”

Living The Starbucks Lifestyle

Admit it: you smirked when you first read that Starbucks was going to start cross-promoting movies, music, and books alongside its $6 lattes. That’s okay – they expected the ridicule. “Yet the chain is increasingly positioning itself as a purveyor of premium-blend culture… [and] the more cultural products with which Starbucks affiliates itself, the more clearly a Starbucks aesthetic comes into view: the image the chain is trying to cultivate and the way it thinks it’s reflecting its consumer.

A Necessity, Not A Frill

Is a musical education as important in child development as proper instruction in math and language? “At a superficial level, most teachers would agree that becoming involved with music at school has a markedly good effect on pupils. [But] more significant is the nature of the music itself. Nobody can deny how central a part music plays in the life of most children and adolescents… It is the purpose of education to extend the imagination, to open up new and infinite pleasures. For many children, to learn an instrument is the beginning of this extension.”

The Composer As Intellectual Populist

There may not be a more iconic composer of our era than Osvaldo Golijov, whose works have become some of the most sought after in the classical music world. “As impressive as the level of success Golijov has achieved is how he has done it. The composer, who teaches at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., has managed to create works that are uncompromisingly sophisticated yet speak to listeners with little or no classical background.”

The iPod Revolution: Five Years And Still Going Strong

It was five years ago this weekend that Apple unveiled the iPod, and CEO Steve Jobs made a bold prediction that the sleek white gadget would change the world. It took a year for a million iPods to be sold, but ever since then, the device has been the centerpiece of “a revolution that has helped topple the idea that record labels, studios and broadcasters should set the terms for how and when you entertain yourself.”

The Invisible Hand

Every actor dreams of directing, but most theatregoers are blissfully unaware of exactly what it is that a director brings to a production. “If she’s lucky, theatergoers meeting her will say something vague, such as that they enjoyed the show. If a director is doing her job, her contribution may be undetectable, like the eggs in a cake. The finished product wouldn’t be nearly as delectable if the yolks had been left out, but you’re darned if you can single out their presence.”

Lamenting Tower Records

“Many culprits contributed to the demise of Tower. It got out-chained by the likes of Wal-Mart and other mass retailers who now promote bestselling CDs, probably under cost. It got hit by the big record labels’ indiscriminate releasing of junk in all genres. The downturn in DVD sales hasn’t helped. And the ever-infuriating iTunes came along. Once Apple marketed its cute players as objects of lust, the CDs became prehistoric media. Downloaded music isn’t inherently bad. But in its quest to rule the world, or at least become another Microsoft-ish monopoly, Apple can be.”

What Happened To Maya Lin?

“The Vietnam Memorial used to be the First Great Work of Maya Lin. But that Lin is gone, transformed into Lin the Artist, who, despite having served on the panel that chose a design for the memorial at the World Trade Center site, wants to project an image of disengagement from the huge civic issues she raised. When she speaks as an artist, she’s so determined to be out of the fight that it’s not clear she has any fight left in her.”