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MUSIC SHORTS
News Briefs
September 19, 2000
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By Janos Gereben
Musicians to get back their own works--in a few decades
A tiny amendment passed by the House of Representatives on Tuesday restores to recording musicians the right to reclaim copyright of their own recordings after 35 years. Big deal? Yes, indeed. After years of struggle among various parties, the Recording Industry Association
of America last year talked Congress into exempting "sound recordings" from the 35-year copyright reclamation rule. This old piece of legislation which included recordings along with
other "works made for hire," meant that recording artists turned over their work to the record labels in perpetuity. In face of highly vocal opposition, mostly from pop artists, and the industry's concern about crucial Napster-related copyright issues, the Recording Industry Association backed down, and "allowed" the House to act. Of course, the matter is far from closed, but this was a significant milestone.
They have a yen for music
A private foundation in Japan is sponsoring a huge prize award for classical musicians around the world, only the world doesn't know much about it. The Inamori Foundation - established in 1984 by Kazuo Inamori of the Kyocera Corporation, with a 20 billion yen ($188 million) endowment in 1984 - has just announced the 2001 Kyoto Prize Contest in three categories, including music, for an award of 50 million yen ($467,000). Nominations are made by invitation; the foundation decides the winner among those nominated. The "local angle"? It could be John Adams' turn.
Fields covered by the Kyoto Prizes rotate both within science and the arts, so music has been up only four times before in 16 years. The winners were Olivier Messiaen (1985), John Cage (1989), Witold Lutoslawski (1993), and Iannis Xenakis (1997). Choreographer Maurice Bejart received the prize in 1999 in the category of theater. For information, see www.kyocera.de/culture/prizes.htm.
Mussbach intelligence from abroad When the new Domingo-Nagano regime bowed at the Los Angeles Opera last week, they announced a Wagner Ring cycle beginning in 2003, to be directed by Peter Mussbach, a name that left music lovers on the West Coast scratching their head. An opera administrator in Berlin told Music Shorts that Mussbach is "a highly intelligent, educated, well spoken, interesting person. He did a wonderful Lulu here (co-production with Salzburg), but every production after that seemed somehow black (especially the sets), brooding and without poetry." Still, Deep Throat said, a Mussbach Ring cycle could be very interesting, indeed, "especially if he gets a good set and costume designer." That would be, in part, Industrial Light & Magic, so who knows?
Yo-Yo On The Web Just in: Yo-Yo Ma playing the Elgar Cello Concerto and, with cellist Edward Arron, Vivaldi's Concerto for Two cellos, will be available from this Friday, September 22 to October 5, on www.gmn.com/events/event.asp?id=35. These performances were recorded at the Caramoor Music Festival 2000 this past summer. The site making this available is the Global Music Network, www.gmn.com
La Jolla Turnover The La Jolla Chamber Music Society's Webpage for the SummerFest chamber music festival is "under construction" at the moment, even in the "History" department, which is a bit strange. Now that co-directors David Finckel and Wu Han have resigned after only three seasons because of "long-standing and unresolvable differences" with the Society, surely the past will not be rewritten. The husband-and-wife cello-piano duo served as the only directors after founder-director Heiichiro Ohyama's 12-year run (leaving both La Jolla and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival). At any rate, the festival is looking for replacements, and none too soon as preparations for such a series of events take at least a year.
S.F. Ballet continues without music director When Denis de Coteau died last year after a long illness, the position of music director was already vacant de facto for some time, after de Coteau's illustrious quarter-century run. Emil de Cou has filled in ably as acting music director, but the Ballet has decided to continue searching, inviting guest conductors for a tryout during the 2001 season. (Janos Gereben is arts editor of the Post Newspaper Group and technology editor for www.the451.com.) ©2000 Janos Gereben, all rights reserved |