Opinion
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Dialogue With Clarence Fanto One
Former Managing Editor of the Berkshire Eagle
By: - Oct 05th, 2013In 1987 Clarence Fanto moved full time to the Berkshires joining the Berkshire Eagle as editor of its then new Sunday edition. He left the paper as its managing editor and several years ago rejoined as a reporter and has now slowed down as a freelancer and columnist. For the past several years he has compiled an annual summary of budgets, attendance and box office revenues of the major Berkshire arts organizations. We got together for lunch to connect the dots. There is no dispute over the accuracy of the data he compiles but we differ on its interpretation. Our occasional meetings and e mails are always lively and this is a chance to listen in.
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When the Throne Becomes Unhinged
Up a Creek Without a Paddle
By: - Oct 01st, 2013Yet again there was an equipment failure with a toilet seat. On our behalf the installer, Roman, e mailed the manufacturer. No shit. The response was incredible. "Each unit is carefully crafted by master toilet seat carpenters in the mountain region of Kakaastan." But wait, it gets better.
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Debate on Global Warming
Greenhouse and Political Gas Emissions
By: - Sep 30th, 2013Heading into the fall season the atmosphere cools while political rhetoric heats up. There are pundits and conservatives who argue against global warming or state that it won't be bad. Our science correspondent argues with the assertions in M. D. Harmon’s piece “New Climate Change Report Rains on Computer Model.â€
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Tanglewood Drops the Ball by 9%
Time to Rethink Mix of Classical and Popular Programming
By: - Sep 04th, 2013For its gala 2012, 75th anniversary Tanglewood logged its third best attendance at 375,776. This year, despite generally favorable weather, attendance declined by 9%. Non classical programming was off by 14% largely attributed to the absence of James Taylor whose three concerts last season sold 54, 385 tickets (minus comps). Even with deep pockets and a broad base of support it has been a year of red ink for Mark Volpe and the BSO. There is no need for panic but it's time to bring in consultants to book non classical programming.
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U.S. House Slashes NEA Budget by Half
Proposes Cut of $71 Million to 1974 Level
By: - Jul 24th, 2013Today, the U.S House of Representatives Interior Appropriations Subcommittee approved its initial FY 2014 funding legislation, which includes a proposed cut of $71 million to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). This would bring funding of the NEA down to $75 million, a level not seen since 1974! That's a national arts funding level for a Third World nation.
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National Arts Club Settles with The James Group
Former Director Aldon James and Associates Ousted
By: - Jul 10th, 2013Several years ago, after decades of abuse of authority for the personal gain of its former director O. Aldon James his twin brother and associates, the National Arts Club in New York's Gramercy Park has enjoyed its day in court. James and his associates occupied considerable residential and storage space, filled with trash and flea market items, at below market rates. They have been ordered to pay back $900,000 and vacate their apartments by July 31.
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MoCA Director Joe Thompson on Wilco
Debriefing the Third Solid Sound Festival
By: - Jun 29th, 2013On Saturday of the recent, third Wilco Solid Sound Festival at about 7,800 Mass MoCA set a single day attendance record. While it would be possible to sell a few hundred more tickets Mass MoCA director Joe Thompson insists that for the comfort and quality of the event that's just about capacity. With the sale of some 7,200 tickets, about 10% to Berkshire county residents, the event took in but also spent a lot of money. Given ongoing infrastructure development and expenses Thompson said that the museum will be close to breaking even or making a little after the final tally. But it's a ton of work.
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Opera Thrives in Budapest with Parsifal
The Palace of Arts an Acoustical Masterpiece
By: - Jun 23rd, 2013What pleasure is to be had in Budapest, even as it groans under poverty. From an afternoon at the thermal baths in City Park, just in back of Heroes Square, where water rushes you around in circles in an inner circles, and surprise jets massage your feet, shoulders and back, to a beautfiul performance of Parsifal at the 10-year-old old Palace of the Arts, Budapest is a treat.
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Cold War and Islamic Terrorism
What To Do About It
By: - Jun 16th, 2013Yuri Tuvim is a now retired engineer who emigrated as an adult from the former USSR. He contributes the occasional opinion and travel piece. The views he expresses are not those of the publisher and editors of Berkshire Fine Arts. As a dissident in Moscow he was a close friend of Andrei Sakharov and his wife Yelena Bonner, a former resident of Newton, who danced at Tuvim's wedding.
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Brandeis 50th Reunion
Recalling the Radical Class of 1963
By: - Jun 11th, 2013When we arrived on campus in the fall of 1959 Brandeis University was just eleven years old. As a result of the Holocaust and the black listing of McCarthyism the young university recruited the most radical faculty in America. It graduated renowned activists and revolutionaries in many fields. Then on a par with the best and brightest just what is its academic rank today? I asked President Frederick Lawrence if Brandeis has abandoned its radical legacy devolving to the equivalent of a Jewish Tufts University?. He provided a less than satisfactory response.
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Garbage Time
Trash Talk in the Berkshires
By: - Jun 10th, 2013Each season Gerald Elias returns to the Berkshires from Utah to play violin with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He reports with dismay, however, the daunting task of cleaning up all the trash dumped on his property by passing cars. Can you believe it? This year four 33-gallon heavy-duty lawn and garden bags. It gives new dimension to the checkout question at the super market, paper or plastic?
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Labor of Love
A Primer on Orchestral Musician/ Management Relations
By: - Jun 10th, 2013It was quite an eye-opener when I saw my first organizational chart of the BSO. Scratching my head, I asked, “Hey, where are the musicians on this chart?†as for the life of me I couldn’t find us...Today, musicians are trying desperately to fend off 40 percent salary cuts, plus concomitant reductions in orchestra size, length of season, pension and health care.
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Miserable Memorial Day Weekend
Snow Capped Mt. Greylock
By: - May 27th, 2013The wind howled and it rained cats and dogs during a cold, blustery Memorial Day Weekend. The annual launch of the summer season was a total wipeout. We woke up to a record setting view of snow capping Mt. Greylock which closed the road to the summit. We hunkered down, turned on the heat, and sipped herbal tea. Resorts and high end hotels opening up for the season took a beating. It gave a new spin to the term staycation.
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Matuschka Reacts to Angelina Jolie
Renowned Breast Cancer Survivor Discusses Options
By: - May 19th, 2013Because her mother and grandmother succumbed to breast cancer the artist/ activist, Matuschka, got tested often. At precisely the age of Angelina Jolie she underwent a radical mastectomy to remove a tumor. Her self portrait on the cover of the New York Times Magazine proved to be iconic. Which is why this week Inside Edition woke her up to comment on the breaking news about Jolie. That prompted her to write this compelling article.
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MASS MoCA Launches 14th Season
Wide Range of Programming Begins Memorial Day
By: - May 02nd, 2013MASS MoCA's summer will include music from seasoned performers like Bettye LaVette and rising stars like Gabriel Kahane with Rob Moose, the annual Bang on a Can Festival of Contemporary Music, Wilco's Solid Sound Festival, and "circus punk marching band" Mucca Pazza.
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The New York City Opera Returns to City Center
Rossini and Offenbach Fresh and Full of Life
By: - Apr 24th, 2013This spring the New York City Opera has returned to its roots at City Center in New York. Rossini’s Moses in Egypt was first up, and beautifully done. One of the grand themes of human history, the Exodus, was presented with appropriate grandeur.
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Indianapolis Critic Melissa Hall
Covering Theatre in the Heartland
By: - Apr 23rd, 2013During the American Theatre Critic Association's meeting in Indianapolis we met the critic Melissa Hall. She has agreed to allow us to repost reviews from her lively blog Stage Write. We engaged her in a dialogue about the challenges and incentives of covering theatre in middle America.
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Post Marathon Healing Through the Arts
Boston University College of Fine Arts
By: - Apr 23rd, 2013Among those killed in the Boston Marathon bombings was LU Lingzi (GRS ’14), a Boston University graduate student. Though pursuing a statistics degree, LU also studied piano at CFA, because music brought her joy. In response to the tragic violence students at Boston University College of Fine Arts(CFA) are joining together to help the injured, but also to help one another in this emotionally traumatic time.
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MFA's Malcolm Rogers on the Marathon Tragedy
Museum of Fine Arts Director Addresses Members
By: - Apr 22nd, 2013Museum of Fine Arts director, Malcolm Rogers, sent a special message to the membership. He addresses the aftermath of the tragic events during the annual Boston Marathon staged on Patriot"s Day.
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State Rep Gail Cariddi Meets with Arts Community
April 13 in Adams
By: - Apr 07th, 2013Members of the Berkshire arts community will meet with State Rep Gail Cariddi to urge her to encourage the Massachusetts House and Senate to increase the state’s allocation to the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) by $3 million to a total of $12.5 million. The event will occur on April 13th 6 PM at 47 Park St. (The Old Firehouse) in Adams MA.
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Why ATCA Indianapolis
Best of the Midwest with Boys and Girls on the Bus
By: - Apr 01st, 2013We return from an intensive visit of the American Theatre Critics Association in Indianapolis with more questions than answers. Mostly about the state of the arts in America's heartland. A busman's holiday evokes taking the pulse.
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Peter Gelb Elevated to Artistic Director of the Met
Gelb Makes Announcment in NY TImes
By: - Mar 31st, 2013Peter Gelb, recently elevated to artistic director of the Metropolitan Opera, has orchestrated an 9000-word piece in the magazine section of the New York Times defending against wide spread criticism of his regime. With no formal education or qualifications to make aesthetic decisions Gelb told the Times that music is in his genes.
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An Indy Insider's View of ATCA Visit
Celebrating the Arts in Indianapolis
By: - Mar 28th, 2013During the American Theatre Critics Association meeting in Indianapolis we met with Melissa Hall who posts to the blog StageWrite Indy. With this take on a visit from out of towners we welcome her as a contributor to Berkshire Fine Arts. We will look forward to her coverage.
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Barrington Stage to Present Clybourne Park
Rehashing Regional Theatre
By: - Mar 27th, 2013Claybourne Park, winner of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize and 2012 Tony Award for Best Play is coming soon to a theatre near you. Here in the Berkshires from September 26 through October 13 at Barrington Stage in co production with Vermont's Dorset Theatre Festival where it will run from August 15-31. It begs questions about regional theatre companies focused on a short list of recycled Broadway and Off Broadway plays.
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Fast Eddy Reports from Indianapolis
On the Road with Our Peripatetic Critic
By: - Mar 19th, 2013Having returned from Paris, in a blur, our correspondent Edward Rubin is reporting from Indianapolis this week. This was a typically witty, gonzo, e mail note he dashed off to friends and colleagues. It captures the wit and flavor of life on the road. And why he is known as Fast Eddy to his pals.
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