Tag: 11.02.00

ART FOR THE PEOPLE

A dealer is setting up a website to sell high quality digital print reproductions. “Among them will be paintings, watercolors, prints and photographs by artists ranging from Winslow Homer, Maurice Prendergast and Georges Seurat to Andy Warhol, Alex Katz and Jean-Michel Basquiat. The images are being licensed from museums, private collections, artists and the estates of Warhol, Man Ray and others. The point is to make high-quality works of art available at prices that beginning art buyers can afford – from $150 to $700.” – Washington Post

THE ART OF DIPLOMACY

American art from the official residence of Richard C. Holbrooke, the United States representative at the U.N., is currently on public display. “It was made possible by Art in Embassies, a little-known and much beloved State Department program. Started in 1964, the program is based on a simple idea: artists, collectors and museums lend artworks, old and new, to United States embassies and residences as a way of introducing foreign guests to American culture.” – New York Times

THE VALUE OF A GOOD APPRAISER

The estate of an Arizona woman sold a collection of her paintings for $60, unaware that they were worth much more – $1 million. “The estate sought to overturn the sale, arguing that it was based upon a mutual mistake regarding the paintings’ value.” The judge says no. – CNN

TAYLOR ON TOP

Paul Taylor’s influence is felt throughout the dance world, and, at age 70, he’s still working strong. “Ultimately Taylor’s achievement is being 70 and still practising his art. While other dance groups fall victim to poverty and changes in fashion, the Paul Taylor Company has prospered since it was formed in 1955. Some of the dance world’s starriest names owe a debt to his extrovert style.” – The Guardian (London)

FREE TO BE ME?

Is the free dissemination of music on the Web ultimately helpful or harmful to the economics of new music? Four prominent composers – Richard Danielpour, Amy Knoles, Jeff Harrington, Amy Scurria – and intellectual properties attorney Mark A. Fischer discuss the future for serious music. – NewMusicBox

IS CLASSICAL MUSIC IN TROUBLE?

  • Composer John Corigliano worries. “There’s so much to take its place now. With Internet and 500 TV channels; I can see that those things [we view today as] essential can be left behind. It’s easy to avoid it and still have a full life without it. And it’s changing hourly. I don’t know if it’s a good thing. [But] there will always be people who love what we do.” – Sonicnet.com

MUSICIANS PROTEST BERLIN

Forty of the world’s most prominent musicians published an open letter in several Berlin newspapers protesting the Berlin government’s proposal to merge the operations of the Staatsoper in east Berlin, which dates back more than 250 years, with those of the modern Deutsche Oper. “The signatories included the tenor Placido Domingo and the conductors Zubin Mehta, Pierre Boulez and Bernard Haitink. ‘As artists who know the Staatsoper, we appeal to you not to destroy the traditions that have been developed’.” – The Guardian

A NY PHIL AUDITION

Pittsburghers love Pittsburgh Symphony music director Mariss Jansons so much they’ve been on a letter-writing campaign to try to convince him to stay, after his name popped up as a candidate to be the New York Philharmonic’s next music director. This week Jansons conducted the New York Phil, and everyone was there to check him out. – New York Times

OPERA HOUSE SAYS NO TO POPULIST

London’s Royal Opera House has turned down impressario Raymond Gubbay’s application to run the company after Michael Kaiser resigned in July. Gubbay, a flamboyant and highly successful producer of opera, has been one of the ROH’s most persistent critics. “The application included plans to limit the number of seats given to ‘friends’, which account for 80% of tickets before they reach the box office, and to reduce prices and increase the number of shows.” – The Guardian