“What’s going on in [London] theatres this Christmas? Discerning theatregoers have long had access to alternative shows at the festive season as innovative companies eschew the commercial instincts of the panto industry. But this year, it seems, some theatres have abandoned the glitz entirely, taking audiences to a far darker world where macabre is all the rage.”
Tag: 12.19.05
Reacting To Disaster With Art
“Ever since the Dec. 26, 2004, Indian Ocean tsunami that left at least 216,000 people dead or missing, artists from around the world have tried to capture the epic scale of the horrific event… The Thai Culture Ministry organized an exhibit in October in the popular tourist resort of Phuket, where many people lost their lives in the waves, to help make tsunami art more accessible to the public. About 30 artists showed their sculptures, installations and paintings.”
Six Indicted In Scream Theft
Six indictments have been handed down by Norwegian prosecutors in the August 2004 theft of Edvard Munch’s masterpieces, The Scream and Madonna, from an Oslo museum. “Three of those indicted are already in police custody. Five of the suspects are charged with aggravated robbery tied to organized crime, which could result in prison terms of up to 17 years. The sixth is charged with fencing, because he allegedly helped store the stolen paintings. Neither has been recovered.”
Iranian Leader Bans Western Music
Iran’s new hardline president, who has made waves in recent weeks with his comments questioning the scale of the Holocaust and calling for the destruction of Israel, has banned all Western music from state-owned radio and TV stations. The ban includes everything from American pop to European classical music, and is “an eerie reminder of the 1979 Islamic revolution when popular music was outlawed as ‘un-Islamic’ under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.” The move comes weeks after the conductor of the Tehran Symphony quit his post and left the country in protest of the government’s ill treatment of his musicians.
Well, There Are Only So Many Ways To Describe Bloodstains
Crime writers have long been relegated to an unfashionable corner of the literary sphere, somewhere between political satirists and romance novelists. But why should great writing go unrecognized and unrewarded just because it happens to concern cops and robbers? At least one prominent author is speaking out.
Architect of Faith
Whether for better or for worse, religion is becoming an important global issue once again, and more often than not, matters of faith seem to be fodder for bloody conflict and bad feeling between nations. So a prominent architect who specializes in designing houses of worship can be counted not only as a progressive development, but a profoundly unusual one. But Mario Botta’s driving inspiration goes beyond simple religious faith, and crosses over into a complex and deeply felt belief in “ethical” design.
Paris’s Rodin Reinvents
“Big changes are afoot at the Rodin Museum in Paris. There is a new and more spacious entrance on the Rue de Varenne, and a new and more generously stocked bookshop. Orientating oneself through the gardens and into the main body of the museum in the Hotel Biron feels less bemusing than in the past. What is more, a new director, Dominic Vieville, has just been appointed, and the museum’s 19th-century chapel, closed for restoration for almost a decade, has reopened as a space for twice-yearly temporary exhibitions.”
Making Their Own Way
A new Boston-based children’s magazine may be the ultimate in niche marketing, and it represents a fascinating crossover between the world of traditional publishing and the do-it-yourself ethos of the online world. “On several counts, Kahani is unusual. The founders knew nothing about magazine publishing when they started in 2004 but found their way with study, practice, and expert advice. They have no advertising; they’ve funded the project themselves, so far. Most unusual is the publication itself: the first children’s literary magazine for South Asian kids in the United States.”
…And Reborn
Alexei Sultanov might have given up on life, let alone music. After his strokes left him a broken man, he couldn’t even bear the sound of the music which had once been his whole world. But a determined physical therapist refused to accept her patient’s defeat, and demanded that he relearn not only the basic skills of human movement, but the intricate art that had made him famous. Sultanov resisted at first, fighting against the humiliation of struggling to bang out a single melody line on a keyboard he could no longer recognize. But then, that Christmas…
Pittsburgh To Record Danielpour Opera?
Sony Classical has offered to record Richard Danielpour’s latest opera, Margaret Garner, which drew positive reviews when it premiered in Michigan and Philadelphia last season with Denyce Graves in the title role. Operatic recordings are becoming increasingly rare, especially in the U.S., due largely to the cost of retaining an orchestra for the project. In this case, Sony has made a proposal to the Pittsburgh Symphony for the project, and press reports say that the musicians of the PSO are considering the offer. That the musicians would need to approve such a project at all suggests that Sony’s offer may require them to accept a pay rate below the national standard enforced by the union, but several orchestras have begun to skirt such requirements in recent years.