On the 50th anniversary of the founding of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, eight luminaries (including Judith Jamison, Garth Fagan and Wynton Marsalis) offer reminiscences of the path-breaking African-American choreographer.
Tag: 11.30.08
Scottish Ballet Getting A Home Of Their Own
After years of rehearsing in a rundown old army drill hall, Scottish Ballet is getting ready to move into a purpose-built £11m headquarters in Glasgow. “[E]veryone I ask about the move says what they’re looking forward to most is not the huge, hi-tech studios, the education suite, or health and fitness centre, but being in a building that doesn’t leak.”
Durham, NC Opens New Performing Arts Center
“The 2,800-seat, $44-million DPAC is expected to add from $7 million to $11 million annually to Durham’s economy. Its Broadway touring shows and top-tier entertainers are expected to attract ticket-buyers from a 100-mile radius that includes not just our Triangle neighbors in Raleigh, Cary and Chapel Hill, but much of the North Carolina’s bustling Piedmont.”
Clarinetist Mitchell Lurie, 86
The man whom Pablo Casals called “the ideal clarinetist,” Mitchell Lurie, died in Los Angeles at age 86. He was principal clarinet with the Pittsburgh and Chicago Symphony Orchestras in his 20s, then moved to California and became a much-sought-after soloist, chamber player and film musician. He also developed reeds, mouthpieces and ligatures that are now used worldwide.
What The Heck Is “Bel Canto,” Anyway?
“Quite a bit about the concept of bel canto has long been open to interpretation, including the meaning of this loose term itself, which literally translates as beautiful singing… Opera buffs today use the term bel canto all the time. Yet we each seem to bring a different set of assumptions to the concept.”
Thinking Big
What are the big ideas that will carry the arts into the future? What impact has the internet had on live performance, and how will audiences used to interacting with every type of entertainment evolve with performers used to passive crowds? A UK newspaper asks a collection of prominent artists and performers the big questions…
The Turner Prize? Never Heard Of It.
“Despite a shortlist featuring a film about broken crockery, a mannequin sitting on a lavatory, a photo collage and an installation featuring, among other things, Felix the Cat, this year’s [Turner Prize,] the winner of which will be announced tomorrow, has raised barely a murmur… The standard of work showcased is so bad that some claim the future of the Turner Prize itself, regarded as one of the world’s most prestigious contemporary art awards, is in question.”
Why Doesn’t The BSO Trust Its Audience?
Much has been made of Gennady Rozhdestvensky’s refusal to conduct the Boston Symphony last week after discovering that his name was in small print on a poster. But Jeremy Eichler says that the BSO has “a deeper problem of… condescending to a potential audience. If the BSO had the artistic vision to bring Rozhdestvensky to its stage, it should have had the marketing courage to stand behind its reasons for doing so.”
Giving The Music A Verbal Assist
Classical music organizations are frequently happy to let the music speak for itself, providing little or no contextual information for audiences. Andrew Adler says that approach is a mistake. “Consider how much more could have been accomplished… All it takes is a little planning and, yes, imagination.”