“The director of Russia’s Pushkin museum said yesterday she would not lend any pictures to Britain for a forthcoming Royal Academy exhibition unless she received ‘absolute guarantees’ that they would not be the subject of legal action in the UK… Much of the show, including Matisse’s stunning Dance (II), comprises paintings once owned by Sergei Shchukin, one of tsarist Russia’s most prominent collectors. His grandson, Andre-Marc Delocque-Fourcaud, has in the past lodged unsuccessful legal claims to the works.”
Tag: 10.25.07
Will Waters’s Hit Translate Across The Pond?
“It’s a huge success on Broadway and has been turned back into a movie, but how will British audiences respond to Hairspray the musical? …Hairspray arrives in London burdened with hype, which can break as much as make a show, and facing a fight for attention.”
California Fires Impacting Arts Groups
“San Diego’s cultural institutions operate on a very thin margin and a natural disaster can have devastating long-term effects. So far this week, San Diego County’s wildfires have forced many theaters, concert venues and museums to close their doors and cancel performances, but the real pinch will come later this week if evacuations, road closures and a heavy smoke layer continue to keep county residents holed up in their homes.”
Parents In The Practice Room
Parents of athletes are well known as long-suffering figures who must be as dedicated as their children for success to be achieved. But for parents of musicians, the job may be even tougher: not only are you expected to ferry your budding virtuoso to endless lessons, rehearsals, and concerts, you also have to help them (or should that be make them?) practice. “So why not leave it up to them? Because we know they would give up.”
Giving Young Musicians A Complete Education
England’s Royal Northern College of Music is trying to change the traditional conservatory model, under which students are drilled in the technical and musical demands of the profession, but left largely unprepared for a music world in which the supply of quality musicians far outstrips the demand. “Each and every student learns about the business end of music as part of the standard BMus degree programme. The course includes a strand known as supporting professional studies, which aims to impart business knowledge, communication skills, and a spirit of entrepreneurialism: all the aspects demanded of 21st-century professional musicians.”