Frederic Rzewski is, writes Mark Swed, “the greatest pianist-composer of our time and something of a legend in modern music. Less a Beethoven, perhaps, than a latter-day leftist Liszt, Rzewski is also our anti-Liszt. He refuses to play the celebrity or music industry game. He operates as a hit-and-run artist, usually gone before you know what hit you.”
Tag: 11.08.06
What Les Miz Meant To Musical Theatre
“The cultural impact of ‘Les Misérables,’ a product of its time, arriving at the end of the Cold War when politics went global and superpower alignments began to thaw, was revolutionary, and not only because it depicted the aftermath of the French Revolution.”
Aggregating The National Theatre Audience To Make Money
“Seven major regional theaters around the country — from Seattle, Wash., to Providence, R.I. — have put video monitors in their lobbies to carry information and advertising. Movie theaters and some nonprofit theaters have long had TV monitors in their lobbies, but the new effort is part of a move to develop a national video network for advertisers.”
Big Night At The Auction House
Sotheby’s makes a strong showing with Impressionists and Modern. “Throughout the evening, paintings by masters like Cézanne, Modigliani and Matisse that had been up at auction in recent years not only sold but also brought solid prices. Although there were few fireworks and only an occasional bidding war, the evening totaled $238.6 million, Sotheby’s highest auction total since spring 1990 and right in the middle of its estimate, $219 million to $299 million.”
Sotheby’s Reimburses Collector For Fakes
Sotheby’s has been forced to reimburse the fashion designer Jasper Conran £78,000 after a pair of portraits sold as 16th-century originals were revealed as 18th-century fakes.
Picasso – First It’s For Sale, Then It’s Not, Then It Is, Then…
“A 1903 Picasso painting, which was to have been auctioned by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, has been withdrawn at the last minute due to its Nazi-era history.”
Quebec – Next Stop In The Louvre’s Global Strategy
“The Louvre will loan 276 works from its collection of artifacts, stretching from Egyptian times to the turn of the 20th century, to the Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Quebec.”
Signs Of Intelligent Classical Life On The Net
“Make no mistake: there is intelligent life in classical blogworld and it is getting smarter. It is also getting read. Classical blogs come in two streams, pro and am. One the pro side are newspaper critics who blog on their employers’ website; on the am, there are buffs and fans and wannabes.”