politics
For the first time, a secretary of state openly lies and gets away with it. Or does he?
How bad is it really? A few lied lines in a Ministry of Education, Culture and Science booklet? Pretty bad. Because it's an outright lie, and a government that lies is not to be had. Because: how can you trust them anymore?
Gergiev comes to Rotterdam with a top orchestra and top repertoire, but audiences are used to that from him
Russian conductor Valeri Gergjev was back in Rotterdam for a while, for one concert. He conducted his own orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), in de Doelen. The famous orchestra played repertoire that we in our country know inside out: Gustav Mahler's 1st symphony and Dmitri Shostakovich's 1st piano concerto. A now historic combination: because the Netherlands has become fused...
Complaining Council for Culture backfires on Halbe Zijlstra
State Secretary Halbe Zijlstra does not like whining. Don't come to him with email bombardments, Twitter campaigns, angry letters and abusive language. He is not only insensitive to it, it even backfires on him. At least that is what he told
"On your knees, governor!" David Byrne wins lawsuit against abuse 'Road to nowhere'
Source: Wikipedia It was so nice, using the 1980s band Talking Heads' song 'Road to nowhere' to get your political message across. Now yes. Ex-Senator and Governor of Florida Charlie Crist thought he could get away with it, and he may have succeeded politically, financially he stands to lose a lot. The compensation amount is not known...
Province investigates: 'Utrecht worth 1 billion more thanks to arts sector'
Art costs money. The current Rutte administration has hammered that into it: it's expensive, no one but a small club of insiders goes there, and either way those are leftists or pseudo-leftists who can easily pay for it themselves. So much for the government's opinion. The opinion of the art world can be guessed: it is...
'There are provinces where you can vote VVD or CDA just fine'; new website gives voting tips to art lovers
It looked like a party. Coffee and flan, a Maastricht song, brass band music and a speech by Prince Carnival. Optimism surrounded the launch of the website nadeschreeuwnudestem.nl on 21 February. Surely the cry for culture in November was mainly a voice of dissent. Now there is a chance to take forward-looking action. 'Mobilise everyone you know to join the March 2...
Liszt's music is too important to ignore
Fransz Litszt, born in 1811, explored every nook and cranny of the piano in his work, trying to incorporate every conceivable technique. As this contemporary of Carl Czerny, Niccolo Paganini and Richard Wagner was born 200 years ago this year, so there is a Liszt year. The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra bit the bullet of that on Friday 28 January,...
What exactly does Mark Rutte say about the arts? It fits in 1 minute and it's not quite right.
We are politically neutral and even in the subsidy debate we try to maintain that. After all, every coin has a flip side and it is not the media's job to always and forever take sides. But now this. Mark Rutte was interviewed by Clairy Polak in Buitenhof on Sunday, 16 January 2011, and they talked for a minute about...
Peter Van Straaten wins Inktspot Prize 2010 with strikingly placed crucifix.
'The drawing is literally and figuratively striking, painfully comic and wry: it brings tears and laughter at the same time. The combination of the boy's peaceful pose with the cruel assault on his body lingers in your mind. The print needs no text; it could appear in any European, even global newspaper, so powerful and universal is it
Column: "As soon as they start embracing art in the PVV, right-thinking people should start watching out."
The Hague is quite complicated for those who do not visit it on a daily basis. I was there last Monday, as a spectator at the discussion of the culture and media budget, and it has taken me until now to fully understand what is going on. For that understanding, being there live was essential. After all, to understand a social system like the Lower House, you not only have to listen to what is being said, and see who is speaking, much more important are the 'listening shots': the body language and actions of those who are not speaking.
Concert hall finds wealthy partner for education and development in Deutsche Bank
German rescue in Dutch distress The Concertgebouw Amsterdam has found its first 'partner' in the large capital-rich business community. This fulfils the Dutch world-famous crown jewel's wish of the Rutte Cabinet to get more money 'from the market'. By the way, the capital-rich party found is not from the Netherlands, but from Germany: "From 1 January 2011, Deut......
Arts budget debated in second chamber: hardly any discussion on 200 million cut to performing arts
We were at a debate day in The Hague that was as inconspicuous as it was historic on 13 December 2010: it was about the budget of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science of the (first?) Rutte government, and that was the budget in which, at the request of the supporting party PVV, the amount to be cut in the arts budget was set at 200 million, with heritage and museums having to...
VAT increase performing arts possibly postponed, if it is up to VVD's Upper House faction
The VVD group in the Senate is threatening to shelve the increase in VAT on performing arts tickets proposed by the CDA-VVD-PVV cabinet. The Nederlands Dagblad reports this today. According to Associated Press Service editor Laurens Kok, this is evident from the words of the VVD's group leader in that chamber, Fred de Graaf. We quote: Acting...
World-renowned conductor Simon Rattle calls cuts to broadcasting orchestras 'baffling'
Sir Simon Rattle is quite clear about it: "The entire musical world must be as horrified and puzzled as I am to see such a massive destruction of orchestral and choral institutions in Holland." (The entire musical world must be as horrified and puzzled as I am, at the sight of such massive destruction of orchestral and choral institutions in Holland)....
Art world via Facebook in action against culture cut even before Rutte-Verhagen cabinet installed
It was a pleasantly out-of-control flashmob: according to the police, there were around 3,000 people on The Hague's Malieveld at around noon. Young people, mostly: students from The Hague Art Academy and the Consevatorium. But that is not enough to make the Malieveld feel crowded. From all corners of the country, young art students were...
Search tool for those wanting to keep up to date with artist action 'balderdash'
Today (Friday 24 September 2010) at Amsterdam's De Balie debate centre, the kick-off of the art world's actions against the 21% cuts to the OC&W budget planned by the new CDA and VVD cabinet, tolerated by PVV. For those who have not yet found reports about it in the mainstream media: the social netwersite 'twitter'...
Introverted Choice debate at The Union: Artist as participatory sociologist #thechoice
This year's debate season in Rotterdam opened in the renovated hall of De Unie. The newly completed space has a pleasant and intimate feel. All the more remarkable the statement by discussion leader Natasja van den Berg that questions from the floor are not allowed "because they are not about anything anyway". That doesn't exactly sound like a warm welcome in a debate centre. Admittedly, it did deliver...
Cultural world in action on September 24
Art-goers take note: the joint unions and professional organisations in the cultural sector are calling Friday 24 September a national day of action. So on that day, visitors may be confronted by talking musicians and dancers. On the website 'Stop the cultural barrenness', numerous artists' organisations (from FNV Kiem to the Art Directors Club) are calling on Hague's opnderhandelers to abandon...
René Pollesch: cancelled, but maybe too good for the Netherlands anyway
Over the next few days, the show Der perfekte Tag - Ruhrtrilogie Teil 3 by German director René Pollesch was due to play at De Internationale Keuze in Rotterdam. But unfortunately, the main actor, Fabian Hinrichs, broke his leg and the performance had to be cancelled. What are we missing now? In recent years, I saw a number of performances by René in Berlin...
Davis Freeman's investment show ironic reflection on money, power, individual and culture #decision
American Davis Freeman's multimedia show 'Investment' is initially reminiscent of Al Gore's PowerPoint show 'An Unconvenient Truth'. Three performers and a projection computer show the audience a whole range of investment options in a very routine and detailed manner. Initially sensible and sustainable, but soon whole other motives come into play. Piquant detail: everyone from the...
Opening #TF2010: 'Theatre should be at the forefront of discussion on society, instead of being dictated to by prevailing mores.'
On 2 September 2010, actress, writer, theatre and television producer Joan Nederlof opened the Dutch Theatre Festival with a speech that was as entertaining as it was provocative. As it was her turn to pronounce the annual 'State of the Theatre', Nederlof, born in 1962, seized the opportunity to call on her own generation to take a stand in the social debate. She did so in her own relatable way, known for her roles on TV (Deer Park) and in the theatre (Inside Out):
Queen makes up for absence from opening at Rameau's Pygmalion #hf10
State visits are hard to adjust to the cultural agenda, and when the Queen then misses her opening of the Holland Festival due to a visit to Norway planned years before, it is force majeure. And not anything else, though of course in these politically confused times it remains delightful to speculate on other reasons why the Majesty was absent from Amal...
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