The 8/22/08 edition of the Washington Post published an article by the ever-sharp Philip Kennicott which reports on National Anthem nonsense at the Olympics. The 2004 Summer Olympics in Greece left the world scratching their heads when it came to arrangements for their respective national anthems. In the US, the majority of viewers shared a collective “what was that?” perspective on the Star-Spangled Banner arrangement but it appears that the Chinese Olympic organizers missed out on that fiasco and as a result have allegedly plagiarized a bunch of arrangements that didn’t make much of an impression on most listeners when they premiered four years ago…
Current Events
It Must Be In The Water
Just as I was working on the new platform for several of the Inside The Arts blogs, I get an email from the fine folks over at MusicalAmerica.com informing me they have refreshed the look of their site with a timely makeover. Additionally, there is a new culture blog, of which the content is free (hooray!) but the regular arts news is still subscriber only (aw). There’s also a fee based …
No Lack of Power Had They Lacked Power. Unless You Have No Power…
…or in my case, no reliable internet connection. Given the fact that connection time is sporadic and brief I’m only going to take the time to point out two posts from my Inside The Arts blogging cohorts who have been writing about the Olympics and how it intersects with their arts medium. Joe Patti over at Butts In The Seats posted an intriguing piece entitled No Lack of Power Had They …
Orchestras In The Olympics
No, this isn’t about synchronized conducting but as I’m watching the opening ceremony for the Olympics in Beijing, I wonder what part classical music (the Western European variety) will play in this year’s games. I know the Cincinnati Pops is in Beijing to officially take part in planned entertainment events but is anyone aware of any other orchestras who are taking part (regardless of nationality)? Regardless, I’ll be happy with the …
Cross-Blogging On Summer Festivals And More
In response to a post here from 6/27/2008 on the impact of rising gas prices on summer music festivals, my Inside The Arts blogging neighbor, Jason Heath, posted an excellent companion piece. In his article, Jason takes the time to provide far more detail regarding some of the issues that musicians tend to consider when deciding whether or not to pursue work in summer music festivals. His article provides exactly the …