GROVE’s–ONLINE
Tired of going to the library to look up a composer or opera in Grove’s? Always wanted your own copy? The online version of The New Grove Dictionary of Opera is now available, on a subscription basis only. Visit their website at www.groveopera.com for the cost and new features of the online version.
WHOLE LOTTA SHAKIN’ GOIN’ ON
It’s a time of changes in the music world, and these aren’t minor changes, either. Several major orchestras and opera houses have slated new music directors in the coming seasons. Zürich Intendant Franz Welser-Möst has been named music director of the Cleveland Orchestra. The five-year contract will begin in 2002, after the retirement of current musical director Christopher von Dohnanyi. That same year Sir Simon Rattle will take the reins at the Berlin Philharmonic, and Boston’s Seiji Ozawa will step up to the plate at the Vienna Staatsoper. Kurt Masur’s contract with the New York Philharmonic runs out in 2002, and Philadelphia, Atlanta, Houston, Indianapolis, and Cincinnati are all reputed to be looking as well.
IN WITH THE OLD
On June 2, Columbia Artists Management, Inc. announced its sale of Community Concerts to Trawick Artists, for an undisclosed amount of money. Community Concerts has been responsible for many tours of classical artists, including Marian Anderson, Leontyne Price, Samuel Ramey, and Beverly Sills. Although increasing pressure by the television industry has changed the organization’s business significantly, it still serves 350 audience associations throughout North America. It became a separate subdivision of Columbia Artists in 1996.
JUST GIVE ARTS A CHANCE…
The National Endowment for the Arts has requested a major hike in funding, up $50 million from this year’s $98 million. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee heard the petition, which states that the additional funds will be used to underwrite a three-year program called “Challenge America,” specifically intended to target under-served communities. NEA Chairman Bill Ivey, already on record as stating his support for individual artists, was quoted as saying, “Numerous recent studies conclude that children actively engaged in music, theater, dance and the visual arts demonstrate improved learning ability…in other subject areas, including math and science.”
WELL, AT LEAST IT LOOKS COOL
The Sydney Symphony may boycott performances in the Sydney Opera House, tired of the poor acoustics. Managing director Mary Vallentine was quoted in the New York Times as saying, “Everyone has an emotional attachment to the Opera House, but in the end, it has to be a good concert hall…It’s a wonderful piece of architecture, a tourist icon, but it has to work.”
MAYBE WE’LL JUST DRIVE
Several singers have reported problems with flights on American Airlines, including cancellations and significant delays on the runway. The New York Times reported in mid-June that the Federal Aviation Administration will be launching an investigation into the string of accidents that has plagued American in recent years. The second-largest airline carrier in the U.S., American has had six accidents since 1993, most recently in Little Rock, where 10 passengers and the pilot were killed. The recent pilots’ strike called into question, among other things, the airline’s failure to comply with FAA regulations requiring eight hours of rest in 24 while on flight duty.
WHAT’S PLAYING IN CLEVELAND?
PRNewswire: The Arts Network announced in May that it has launched a co-branded site with CultureFinder.com, named www.ovationtv.com, which allows web users immediate access to arts listings and ticketing for cities across the country. OVATION is a television network that caters to 10 million households. The “OVATION Presents CultureFinder” site features listings for 300,000 events in more than 1,000 locations across the globe.
ONELIST AND THE CS COMMUNITY!
Classical Singer now has an automated mailing list! This new list, called “CSCommunity,” is hosted by ONElist.com, and is free of charge to anyone who would like to subscribe. To subscribe to this announcement-only list, click on the ONElist link from our homepage at classicalsinger.com, or go to ONElist.com and sign on there! It’s easy, it’s free, and it’s information YOU need!
