New Orleans “has always been known for its eclectic housing styles — Greek Revival, Italianate, Creole. Now emerging is what could be called a posthurricane vernacular, wide-ranging architectural responses to what everyone here refers to simply as the Storm… The result is precisely the hasty, haphazard aesthetic that some planners warned would emerge unless officials seized on Katrina as an opportunity to rethink the Crescent City in a more systematic fashion.”
Tag: 11.06.05
Crescent City’s Arts Scene Slowly Reemerging
There’s no question that New Orleans’ cultural scene has been devastated by Hurricane Katrina. But Harry Shearer sees signs of life from the city’s artists, even if the money needed to rebuild the big institutions isn’t there yet. “There are messages everywhere of resilience and defiance, of bringing the city back. Live Music is Back!, says one poster. Another announces a series of poetry evenings in a Quarter bistro. When all else is stripped away, the capital-unintensive arts endure, as does the place’s irreducible eccentricity.”
Lloyd-Webber Buys Out Theatres
Andrew Lloyd-Webber has decided to buy out his partners in owning several West End theatres. “Lloyd-Webber, 57, who co-owned the West End venues, has agreed to buy out his partners, equity group Bridgepoint, for an undisclosed sum. He immediately announced a £10m refurbishment programme for the buildings over the next five years.”
British Theatre In Sound
The British Library has compiled a specatular trove of recordings of some of England’s most important theatrical performances. “Encompassing stagings by all of the RSC’s artistic directors to date, the track listings read like a roll-call of acting luminaries.”
In Cleveland: A Mayor Who Would Be Better For The Arts?
“Members of Cleveland’s arts community are wondering which candidate would do the best job as mayor over the next four years. But a lot of them are having trouble deciding. Even those with a leaning lack any real passion about it. Part of the problem is their perception that arts just aren’t part of the regular campaign discussion.”
What San Antonio Arts Need
“Annual public and private support of existing institutions’ operating budgets is still several million dollars short of the need, and serious gaps persist in the local menu of professional arts institutions. Moreover, San Antonio can’t attain a level of cultural development appropriate to a city of its size without very substantial new investment in capital projects.”
Amazon, Random Unveil New Pay Scheme
“About one month after reports began to surface that Amazon was developing a pay-per-view program for reading books online, the company unveiled Amazon Pages, a program that will let consumers view parts of a book online for a fee. Amazon provided no details on how it will price the service and no major publishers have yet agreed to be part of the program. In a second initiative, the e-tailer announced Amazon Upgrade, which will allow customers who buy a print book to also buy access to the work online. For its part, Random has put its stake in the ground about how it expects to be compensated for books that are viewed online.”
Scottish Jazz Thriving
Interest in jazz is soaring in Scotland. “What Scotland is doing is developing a very strong scene which has its own identity. A lot of people are fusing or mixing jazz with a Scottish idiom. Colin Steele is taking folk music and overlaying it with a Chet Baker feel but the result is a distinctive sound coming from, influenced and coloured by Scotland. There is very definitely a recognisable Scottish jazz influence now.”
Vienna Phil’s Woman Problem
It’s been eight years since the Vienna Philharmonic let its first woman musician into the ranks. So has the orchestra’s integration proceeded? Not quite…
UK’s Opera Hotbed? Look North
“A new study shows the north of England’s love of the performing arts has surpassed that in the South. Those in the North-west are now three times more likely to attend an opera than those in the South-east, according to the figures. Nearly one in 10 in the North-west named opera as their favourite form of theatrical production, and those in the North-east joined the chorus of approval. Only 3 per cent of those in the South-east spoke of opera as their favoured form of entertainment, despite having two professional houses on their doorstep.”