Features
theartsdesk in Yasnaya Polyana: The Lost Centenary of Tolstoy's DeathSunday, 14 November 2010
Russia marks the centenary of the death of Leo Tolstoy on 20 November – but the level of local tribute to one of the country’s greatest writers seems markedly muted for a figure two of whose novels, Anna Karenina and War and Peace, are regularly... Read more... |
theartsdesk in Brooklyn: The CMJ FestivalSaturday, 06 November 2010
Nobody really knows what CMJ stands for, but then few of New York’s residents know of the five-day music festival’s existence either. Involving more than 1200 bands and 75 cross-borough venues, CMJ is for the real music fans - dare I say, geeks even... Read more... |
The Seckerson Tapes: Composer Dario MarianelliSaturday, 06 November 2010
Dario Marianelli won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his score for the movie Atonement, and his return to the theatre after a long absence as composer for the Young Vic's new production of Tennessee Williams's first big Broadway success, The Glass... Read more... |
Interview: Violinist Nicola Benedetti goes RomanticFriday, 05 November 2010
It’s not often that a serious musician goes into the recording studio to play requests. But as the closest that classical music strays to The X Factor (unless you count Paul Potts), Nicola Benedetti has a different kind of relationship with... Read more... |
The Seckerson Tapes: Director Rufus NorrisThursday, 04 November 2010
In 2001 Rufus Norris cleaned up on the awards front with his stunning production of Festen, the David Eldridge adaptation of Thomas Vinterberg's disturbing film which started life at the Almeida Theatre. But it was his grimly ironic staging of... Read more... |
Éthiopiques: Mulatu Astatke and the Story of Ethiopian JazzTuesday, 02 November 2010
As the London Jazz Festival approaches, it's an unlikely fact worth noting that some of the bestselling instrumental jazz records of the last few years have been from Ethiopia. Ethiopian jazz composer Mulatu Astatke, now 66, is the best-known... Read more... |
theartsdesk at the 2010 London Film FestivalSunday, 31 October 2010
Danny Boyle closed 2010’s London Film Festival, as he did 2008’s, and picked up a British Film Institute Fellowship to boot. His 127 Hours had at least one person I know covering her head with her coat during its already infamous auto-amputation-by-... Read more... |
theartsdesk in Belfast: Scenes from the 48th Belfast FestivalSunday, 31 October 2010
In National Anthem, the debut play by bestselling novelist Colin Bateman, a composer lies prostrate on the floor. Half hungover, half waiting for inspiration, he has been commissioned to co-write an anthem for Northern Ireland with a poet and has... Read more... |
The Seckerson Tapes: Conductor John WilsonSaturday, 30 October 2010
John Wilson and the orchestra which bears his name created an absolute sensation at the 2009 Proms with their celebration of 75 years of MGM musicals. A total of 3.5 million people watched the broadcast live; countless more all over the world will... Read more... |
theartsdesk in Tampere, Finland: At the Lost in Music Festival 2010Sunday, 24 October 2010
The music of Sibelius might speak of Finland, its unpopulated spaces, vast inland lakes, semi-Arctic climate and long, dark nights, but the annual Lost in Music festival brings together a bewildering array of Finnish bands and singers that range... Read more... |
Interview: Eric Whitacre, Virtual ChoirmasterTuesday, 19 October 2010
McDonald's (the hamburger people) are rarely acknowledged for their contributions to the arts, but without them we may never have witnessed the meteoric rise of composer Eric Whitacre. When he was 14, he heard a casting call on the radio for a... Read more... |
theartsdesk in Dublin: UNESCO City of Literature and Treasury of ArtSunday, 17 October 2010
The Celtic Tiger ran rampant through Ireland during the boom years of 1995-2007 when national institutions expanded their collections, galleries popped up and collectors, buyers and artists had a rare time. With literature, the new young Chick Lit... Read more... |
