In Brief: Potomac Primary Edition
Here is your regular Sunday selection of links to good things in Blogville and Beyond.
- Tyler Green floats the idea that art-folks should put their heads together and try to get the presidential candidates to commit to some stands on arts-related issues, like public funding for the arts. How about creating a Department of Culture? Where did I put that Ionarts Proposal? [Modern Art Notes]
- Blogs keep multiplying, even from musicologists, and Tim Rutherford-Johnson has some links to the new kids on the block. [The Rambler]
- Tim Nelson has reprinted an article by Steve Wigler (published in The Urbanite) about the state of American orchestras, using Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony as an example. [Yugen]
- Some inspiring words from James Baldwin. [Laila Lalami]
- Tim Rutherford-Johnson also points out, mirabile dictu, the advent of a marvelous resource, the Concert Programmes Project Online Database, consisting of records from "5,500 collections of music-related performance ephemera held by 53 institutions" around Great Britain. [The Rambler]
- As much as I hate getting scooped, you are advised to read the beautiful review by Andrew Lindemann Malone of Japanese pianist Aki Takahashi at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. Couldn't they let the poor woman play in a place suitable for listening rather than out in the corridor? [Washington Post]
4 comments:
"How about creating a Department of Culture?"
Be careful what you wish for. They'll never just be content giving money for "great things"... they'll want a say, too. It would be the greatest mess. Except, of course, the surprisingly successful program that will be the "No Soprano Left Behind Act of 2014"
"Couldn't they let the poor woman play in a place suitable for listening rather than out in the corridor?"
I agree, Charles. I also recall the disaster when, on December 18, 1999, Margaret Leng Tan tried to honor the 70th birthday of American classical composer George Crumb ["Crumb at Christmas" -- sic] by performing Crumbs' "A Little Suite for Christmas", and "Makrokosmos, Volume I, Twelve Fantasy Pieces after the Zodiac" in the KC Lobby.
I notice that the Kennedy Center has moved the upcoming Conservatory Project concerts to both the Family Theater and the Theater Lab (earlier the projects had used the Terrace Theater). I hope that the KC will consider using available upstairs venues for other classical Millennium recitals, as well.
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As for the Classical WETA Critic-at-Large Jens Laurson's comment above, a Department of Culture probably couldn't cause much of a greater mess than culture in America is already in today under his Republican 'free-market' (with taxpayer deduction backing) ideals. I hope that a Barack Obama presidency will indeed consider reorganized and increased national cultural funding -- including reorganized and public classical radio.
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And thanks, Charles, for cheering on the Lieberson's Neruda Songs album, in your post above.
Thanks for the kind words.
I know, I know, I don't know why I think the government would do any better with the arts than it does with anything else!
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