Tag: 11.01.00

“Music, you would think, is manufactured in the Old Economy, and the distributed free of charge as common property by the New. Yet in that case, is the New Economy an economy at all any longer? Who would go on providing music if buyers want to purchase at one price only, namely that of zero, getting it for free? The Net’s great promise – that every ware should preferably be shareware – does it not overlook that this ‘everything’ has to be produced before it can be distributed?” – Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

Now that the dust has settled, a detailed explanation of how protesters in Berlin managed to save the city’s three opera houses from the government’s proposed consolidation. “Berlin had been a vital stronghold in the war between low-culture politicians and high-brow institutions. To have lost Berlin would have meant that no city in Europe could consider itself entitled to more than one opera house.” – The Telegraph (UK)

A $9 million mega-production of “Madam Butterfly” in Australia scheduled for next season has been canceled. Poor ticket sales and the falling value of the Australian dollar is to blame. “One makes allowances for things like a falling dollar – but you don’t allow it to go down to 52¢,” Coad said. “We’re bitterly disappointed that we’ve now had to unravel it but the acute financial situation means this is the only sensible decision to be made.” – Sydney Morning Herald

People generally like the way Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall looks. But acoustically… it has frustrated musicians for years. Now, “Toronto’s “premier concert hall – which cost $39 million to build in 1982 – will undergo a sweeping $18 million makeover to be completed in time for its 20th anniversary celebrations in the fall of 2002.” – Toronto Star