“On the book pages of North America, nothing matters more than conflict of interest. It makes editors fearful and authors bitter. Nobody complains if reviewers can’t write, know little about their subject, put their readers to sleep or absurdly overrate a book’s quality…”
Tag: 12.05.06
Iran’s Fundamentalist President In Trouble For Watching Dance
“President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, who flaunts his ideological fervour, has been accused of undermining Iran’s Islamic revolution after television footage appeared to show him watching a female song and dance show.”
Cycling Towards Exhaustion, And For What?
Wagner’s Ring cycle is a daunting thing to stage under any circumstances, but to do it in four days with a traveling company that sets up shop in a new city whenever it feels like it? That’s approaching insanity, and yet, it’s what Valery Gergiev and his Mariinsky Theatre have been doing lately. Andrew Clarke is impressed with the dedication and effort of all involved, but says that the end result is less than stellar. “Much of the performance looked poorly rehearsed. Singers didn’t react to each other, preferring to follow a basic sequence of moves… With one or two exceptions, the standard of German was lamentable: why doesn’t Gergiev employ a language coach? As for the singing, there was not much of international standard.”
ICA Looking Good On Boston’s Harborfront
“Costing $41 million and three months late, the Institute of Contemporary Art is Boston’s first new art museum in almost a century,” and James Russell says that it looks like it will live up to the hype. “The 65,000-square-foot building’s generous, light-filled lobby sweeps you around to a handsome glass elevator the size of a panel truck… The interior has architectural presence without getting in art’s way. The outside pugnaciously asserts this old upstart’s new place on the harbor — and in the city.”
America’s New “Big 5” Orchestras (One Man’s List)
Fred Kirshnit embraces the idea of a “Big Five” American orchestras. But his five aren’t the traditional culprits…
Delfs To Depart Milwaukee
Andreas Delfs has announced that he will depart his post as music director of the Milwaukee Symphony when his newly extended contract expires in 2009. Delfs has led the MSO since 1998, and was also music director of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra for several years earlier this decade. His final season in Milwaukee will also be the orchestra’s 50th anniversary year.
Welsh Culture Minister’s Radical Arts Funding Reforms Rejected
“Almost every one of the hotly opposed proposals from Welsh culture minister Alun Pugh to demolish much of the traditional arm’s-length principle over control and funding of the arts have been rejected by the review committee he was forced to set up.”
In Search Of A Little Turner Razzle Dazzle
The Turner Prize has lacked a certain oomph for the last few years, writes a former winner. “Many pundits bemoan the razzmatazz of the Turner and the proliferation of cultural prizes in general, feeling that they are undignified and inappropriately competitive in the arts. I think they are a good way to engage the public in the debate of what makes good art. In a world where a zillion cultural products beg for our attention, prizes strive to champion quality. If, in doing that, they occasionally include the media-friendly option, so be it.”
Thomas Pynchon Steps Up To Defend McEwan From Plagiarism Charges
“In a move described by his British publisher as ‘unknown’, Pynchon, an American who is never seen in public, does not give interviews and whose whereabouts are a closely guarded secret, sent a typed letter to his British agent yesterday to say that McEwan “merits not our scolding but our gratitude” for using details from another author’s book.”
Book Prize Winners To Get Publishing Deals
“A division of Simon & Schuster has agreed to publish the top three winners of the Sobol Award, a new literary contest that offers a $100,000 first prize, but also has been criticized for charging entry fees and requiring that it serve as the winners’ agent.”