Arts Council England announced today that it has taken extraordinary measures to avoid a 17% funding cut from 2015/16. By dipping into National Lottery revenues, which it manages, the ACE will restrict the cuts to two percent.
The bad news/good news ploy was used to disguise a flagrant raid on Lottery money, which has been been firewalled until now for new buildings and projects under a principle known as ‘additionality’. By blurring those lines, the ACE has opened the door to a dangerous precedent – the prospect that, under a future Government, the state might withdraw altogether from funding the arts and leave their maintenance to the vagaries of Lottery income.
First report here. The Guardian follows up, uncritical as ever of its ACE sacred cow.
We don’t know where or when. We don’t eve know the guy’s name. Anyone recognise him?
The video was posted in France last month. Start playing after warm-ups at about 1:00. Be amazed.
h/t Mary Finnigan
Press release: Bach’s
B Minor Mass takes on a Hebrew accent in this version created by New York psychiatrist Eric Weitzner, adapting Jewish prayers and theological ideas to Bach’s transcendent music. Bach’s universality truly comes to the fore in this community Sing-in.
Selected movements of Bach’s Prayer in B Minor will be prepared in advance and sung by members of The Dessoff Choirs, and other movements will be sung by everyone in attendance. But there’s no obligation to sing – all are invited to experience the great affinity between the Christian and Jewish faiths, and the universality of Bach’s sublime music.
Both Dr. Weitzner and Dessoff’s Music Director Christopher Shepard will offer spoken commentary. Scores will be provided.
Come. Sing. Or listen. And learn about the Second Life of one of the pinnacles of the choral repertoire.
Tickets are only $15 ($10 Seniors/students).
Order online to avoid long lines at the door and to make sure we have a score for you.
Sunday, January 12, 2 pm
Congregation Habonim
44 W. 66th Street, New York City
It was lucky Valentina Lisitsa was in Paris today. Boris Berezovsky called in sick for tomorrow’s Liszt concerto. Val, who’s just released a Liszt disc, was happy to oblige. No change of programme. Press announcement follows.
Pour nos prochains concerts des 8 et 9 janvier, je dois vous communiquer un changement de dernière heure concernant le pianiste Boris Berezovsky.
MERCREDI 8 ET JEUDI 9 JANVIER
Paavo Järvi, direction
Valentina Lisitsa, piano
ERIC TANGUY
Affettuoso, « In memoriam Henri Dutilleux »
Commande de l’Orchestre de Paris – création mondiale
FRANZ LISZT
Concerto pour piano et orchestre n° 1
Danse macabre pour piano et orchestre « Totentanz »
PIOTR ILYITCH TCHAÏKOVSKI
Symphonie n° 4
Metallica. Just announced.
End of civilisation.
GRAMMY® NOMINEES LORDE
AND KATY PERRY TO PERFORM
ON THE 56TH ANNUAL
GRAMMY AWARDS®
METALLICA AND LANG LANG
TOGETHER
IN A SPECIAL PERFORMANCE
NILE RODGERS,
NOMINEE PHARRELL WILLIAMS,
AND STEVIE WONDER TO JOIN DAFT PUNK
AND NOMINEE ROBIN THICKE
AND CHICAGO TO PERFORM TOGETHER
Music’s Biggest Night® Airs Live on CBS Sunday, Jan. 26, 2014, 8 P.M. ET
We have been informed of the death of Clifford Hughes, a popular and adventurous artist who as once described as ‘Scotland’s foremost lyric tenor’.
After singing with the Choir of King’s College Cambridge, he worked in both opera and oratorio until a long battle with cancer forced him to consider other options. He became a teacher, and a preacher – Minister of St Mary’s Parish Church, Haddington, from 1993. After surgery to remove his larynx in 2001, he retrained his voice with a valve implant and took to singing bass.
He lived a full life, against formidable odds.
Profile here.
A WQXR report on the closure of NYC’s last classical record outlet has brought out the white handkerchiefs for many loyal customers, among them conductor David Bernard:
A trip to NYC for me as a classical music obsessed music-geek child consisted of browsing scores at Patelsons and LPs at J&R Classical Record Store (it was called the J&R Classical Outlet back then). J&R was staffed with knowledgeable sales people (you know, people who could actually discuss the pros and cons of various releases of a Beethoven Symphony) and I would come home with a pile of LPs and scores, but more importantly the experience and knowledge that comes from browsing a full stock of classical items.
Back then, in the pre-Tower Records/HMV days, we would scoff at the meager stock of the typical record stores, and even Barnes and Noble & Sam Goody, which were more like “The Classical Music Bin” rather than the encyclopedic stock of the J&R Classical Outlet.
After a long hiatus, I stopped by the Classical section of J&R a few years ago and observed that the stock was a fraction of what it was, and you could see that it was on a downward spiral.
So now J&R is following Patelsons, Tower and HMV into oblivion. I guess we could all see it coming, but I can’t help feeling a bit sad about this.
It has been 40 years since the Los Angeles Philharmonic last performed Arnold Schoenberg’s violin concerto and Hollywood was all a-quiver to hear its challenging 12-note rows (well, all of my Angeleno friends, at least). The work was down to be played this weekend, its first hearing in Disney Hall.
Only waddayaknow? First the soloist, Christian Tetzlaff, calls in sick. Then the conductor Christoph Eschenbach sends a doctor’s note.
The new soloist is Augustin Hadelich. New conductor is Edo de Waart. Only change: no Schoenberg.
They’re playing the Beethoven concerto, saddos.
A study for the Medical Journal of Australia finds dangerously self-destructive tendencies in the art of opera. Four researchers examined a canon of 337 operas, written over four centuries. Their findings:
In 112 (33%), there was completed suicide alone, non-fatal suicidal acts or suicidal thoughts alone, or both. There was at least one suicide in 74 operas (22%); female characters accounted for 56% of these. Non-fatal suicidal acts or suicidal thoughts were found in 48 operas (14%); male characters accounted for 57% of these. Suicide, non-fatal acts and suicidal thoughts always followed an undesirable event or situation. Cutting or stabbing was the most common method of suicide (26 cases). Other methods included poisoning (15 cases), drowning (10 cases), hanging (four cases), asphyxiation (four cases), “supernatural” methods (four cases), immolation (three cases), jumping from a height (two cases), shooting (one) and blunt trauma (one). Mass suicide occurred on two occasions…
In conclusion, the representation of suicide in opera is too prominent to be ignored. While many opera buffs may focus on the musical elements rather than the action and libretti of this art form, the depiction of suicide in operatic works adds to our understanding of the cultural dimensions of suicide over time, and thus to our overall understanding of this tragic outcome.
Read the full report here.
Members of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra yesterday played water glasses – at least that’s what they said was in them – on behalf of the charity WaterAid. This New Year’s resolution is of limited duration.
