STAY UP LATE WITH THE EDGARS: Just a reminder. The Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar Awards are tomorrow night in New York at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. And among the nominees are Bev Vincent of Woodlands, Texas, for best critical/biographical book for his Stephen King Illustrated Companion; Jeff Guinn of Fort Worth for best ‘fact [...]
… or maybe it’s just Chicago Tribune classical music critic John von Rhein. He’s pretty much loved the DSO conductor every time he’s come to town to play with the Chicago Symphony. Interestingly enough, where the LATimes’ Richard Grinnell rolled his eyes at van Zweden’s “muscular, jerking” gestures, intimating that he must have been inspired [...]
Last weekend was the DSO conductor’s debut with the LA Philharmonic at Disney Hall. To introduce him, critic Richard S. Grinell recounted the DSO’s “love at first sight” experience with van Zweden, comparing it the LA’s own rapturous, quicky romance with Gustavo Dudamel. But at least, Grinell sniffs, the LA Phil was much more circumspect. [...]
JUST THE HARD-TO-MISS ONES: Travel writer Stephen Jermanok visits three new buildings in North Texas for the Boston Globe. Guess which ones? Maybe the Cowboys Stadium, the Winspear Opera House and the Wyly Theatre? [Stadium project manager Bill] Bury tells me that the arts district is ideal for out-of-towners because you can walk from downtown [...]
THE YEAR IN LIVE MUSIC: The music critics for the local major dailies have unveiled their picks for the best concerts of 2009. Topping Preston Jones’ list is Leonard Cohen’s marathon show at the Nokia Theatre in April. Meanwhile, Mario Tarradell loved Raphael Saadiq’s set last month at the House of Blues. The only shows [...]
QUOTABLE I: “He, more than anyone else I know, had the humor and the wit and the experience and the point of view of life on the road. He had the greatest, most realistic, bitterly funny version of life on the road. I definitely wanted him to come in and write the songs and just [...]
Eddy Tovar stars as the Prince in The Nutcracker, currently playing at the Winspear before moving to Bass Hall next week. The native of Cuba has taken a winding path to North Texas, with stops in Brazil, Orlando and other ports along the way.
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra announced today that it will present a two-year, pops concert series that will feature DSO-commissioned world-premiere works plus multi-media retrospectives by five leading film composers — and Sir Anthony Hopkins. “The Masters of Film Music” are James Newton Howard (The Dark Knight), George Fenton (Gandhi), Theodore Shapiro (Tropic Thunder), Michael Giacchino [...]
DSO Music Director Jaap Van Zweden’s contract has been extended. He’ll stick around town at least through the 2015-2016 concert season. Read on for happy quotes from Van Zweden, the orchestra’s board, and even Mayor Tom Leppert.
THE VALUE OF NEW BLOOD: The National Symphony in Washington opened its second straight season without a permanent musical director over the weekend. While the city waits for the arrival of Christoph Eschenbach in 2010, the Washington Post is wondering aloud if a new music director will lead to increased ticket sales. And when it [...]
