Arts Catch-Up: News through 11/7/16
It’s National Opera Week! Have you entertained enough deep thoughts about opera this week? Do you feel that you’ve pondered your art form sufficiently? Anybody know a good joke or two? Here are a few stories to help get the conversation started:
Arts in the Media
“The Wall Street Journal to Combine Sections to Cope With Ad Decline” — Wall Street Journal, 11/2/16
Print paper restructuring will mean less space for coverage of arts, local news; business coverage to remain largely the same.
“Demonstrators protest L.A. Opera over casting of white singer as an Egyptian pharaoh” — LA Times, 11/7/16
More ethnic casting debate… but this time, aimed at an opera that demands a choice from a very small casting pool. (Note to protestors: Do your homework before you shame a production like this.)
State of Classical
“Classical music needs saving from its saviours” — On An Overgrown Path, 11/4/16
Ignore the clickbait. Are superstars and their agents, so often dubbed of-the-moment saviors in the international press, actually the real problem in the classical world?
“Reclaiming the missing middle” — NewMusicBox, 11/4/16
An argument for a middle-ground aesthetic in classical music.
“Just Why Does New Music Need Champions?” — New York Times, 11/6/16
“…how did classical music become a field where large swaths of the audience are fixated on the old and wary of the new?”
Arts People
“Tribune Literary Prize winner Philip Glass reflects on his life, music” — Chicago Tribune, 11/3/16
Look out, writers — another musician has won a literary prize.
“Steve Reich at 80: a Cambridge chat” — Slipped Disc, 11/4/16
In a pre-concert interview, Reich proves he’s learned one thing: how to politely and diplomatically answer sticky questions.
“WATCH: Juilliard Students ‘Rickroll’ Hateful Protesters From Westboro Baptist Church” — Patch, 11/4/16
Notorious hatemongering protesters target the arts, and students do what they do… with style and a sense of humor.
“Joyce DiDonato On Why Art Matters In The Midst Of Chaos” — NPR, 11/4/16
With a new album coming out, the diva has a few things to say about what we do.
Artists’ Brains
“Seven out of 10 musicians report mental health problems – survey” — The Stage, 11/3/16
More than 70% of musicians have experienced anxiety and panic attacks, the largest ever survey into mental health issues in the profession suggests…
“May Sarton on Anger as Creativity in Reverse and a Safety Valve Against Madness“ — Brain Pickings, 11/4/16
…but can doing what we do help?
Classical reaching out
“The Philharmonic to Stream Young People’s Concerts” — New York Times, 11/4/16
The NY Phil has announced a plan to put Leonard Bernstein’s iconic and influential programs online, in an effort toward arts education.
“Classical Music Could Help Your Horse De-stress” — Horse Channel, 11/7/16
Yet another market we classical types need to tap…
“In the key of zzz: the concerts intended to send you to sleep” — The Guardian, 11/4/16
An increasing number of concerts are being performed in the dark, with the aim of encouraging audiences to listen to music in a new way … or drift off.
About “Arts Catch-up”
This is a new, approximately weekly feature, designed to keep our readers informed and knowledgable about the arts sector, sometimes including a few of our best newsy tweets. Sections are arbitrarily and sometimes whimsically titled, and appear in no particular order. If you have an article to submit, please Contact us with the link.
