2010 Kennedy Center Honorees Announced

[Helene]

The 2010 Honorees are:

Oprah Winfrey

Merle Haggard

Bill T. Jones

Jerry Herman

Sir Paul McCartney

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/07/AR2010090702439.html?hpid=artslot

[dirac]

Thanks for posting, Helene. Good to see that they are honoring a figure from the dance world this time around and Jones is deserving. I have reservations about the Kennedy Center honoring Brits, since they have their own such awards and Macca's contributions have surely been recognized fully. The inclusion of Oprah is a real eye-roller.

[volcanohunter]

I have reservations about the Kennedy Center honoring Brits, since they have their own such awards and Macca's contributions have surely been recognized fully. The inclusion of Oprah is a real eye-roller.

My thoughts exactly.

[GeorgeB fan]

Oprah Winfrey?? Seriously?? I'm sorry but her inclusion doesn't make any sense. She may have acted in some movies as well as producing a few, but her true claim to fame is being a straight-forward talk show host that more or less discuss serious issues facing our society. And while that is an enormously important thing to do, it has nothing to do with the creative performing arts. She's News and Information.

Johnny Carson made it on the list because he was more then just a talk show host. He was an entertainer and a comic and he displayed that in all the 30 years he was host of The Tonight Show.

If the center wanted to select a lone woman for this year list they could have picked Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Cynthia Gregory - it would be nice if someday a classical dancer who has nothing to do with Balanchine would be one of the honorees, Doris Day, Shirley Caesar, Meryl Streep, or any other countless ladies who best represent the true meaning of excellence in the performing arts.

I love Oprah Winfrey...but she does not deserve a Kennedy Center Honor.

[GeorgeB fan]

I have reservations about the Kennedy Center honoring Brits, since they have their own such awards...

I'm on the fence with this.

On one hand when the Center honored individuals like Joan Sutherland, Elton John, Andrew Lloyd Webber and presently Paul McCartney I do think Brit, Brit, Brit. They have their knighthood and all that suff.

But then I think of people like Antony Tudor, Julie Andrews, Angela Lansbury, to name a few. They're all Brits - and Andrews is a Dame of the British Empire - but their greatest fame and lasting contribution to the perfroming arts happened here in America. So in that regard I don't really have much of a problem with their inclusion.

It goes back and forth for me.

[dirac]

But then I think of people like Antony Tudor, Julie Andrews, Angela Lansbury, to name a few. They're all Brits - and Andrews is a Dame of the British Empire - but their greatest fame and lasting contribution to the performing arts happened here in America.

I agree. I think a British performer such as Lansbury who makes her name and career in the States is an eligible honoree no matter how many honors she has received back home. Tudor qualifies in this respect, too.

Cynthia Gregory - it would be nice if someday a classical dancer who has nothing to do with Balanchine would be one of the honorees,

Gregory is most deserving. They’ll get around to her one day, I’m sure.

And while that is an enormously important thing to do, it has nothing to do with the creative performing arts. She's News and Information.

Johnny Carson made it on the list because he was more then just a talk show host. He was an entertainer and a comic and he displayed that in all the 30 years he was host of The Tonight Show.

Quite so. Carson was a stretch but I can understand the Kennedy Center recognizing him. Winfrey has been an actor and film producer and acquitted herself well in both capacities, but her achievements in that arena would hardly warrant her inclusion. I wonder if the Chicago connection was a consideration – Winfrey was a prominent early supporter of Obama and is close to the family.

[Kathleen O'Connell]

Oprah Winfrey?? Seriously?? I'm sorry but her inclusion doesn't make any sense. She may have acted in some movies as well as producing a few, but her true claim to fame is being a straight-forward talk show host that more or less discuss serious issues facing our society. And while that is an enormously important thing to do, it has nothing to do with the creative performing arts. She's News and Information.

My first thought was that it was a reward for getting people to walk into bookstores and buy copies of Anna Karenina. (Getting them to actually read it willingly is another thing altogether ... I'd almost be inclined to grant her beatification for that.) Oprah's book club was a big deal, but, as you have pointed out, it's not exactly a performing art.

[dirac]

Winfrey's Book Club selections are a generally respectable lot, trending mostly to middlebrow fare with a few exceptions. Her promotion of varieties of medical quackery is less edifying.

Are there any performing artists who haven't been honored yet that BTers would like to see recognized? Suggestions?

[Drew]

I don't think it's quite accurate to describe Sutherland as a Brit.

[dirac]

I don't think it's quite accurate to describe Sutherland as a Brit.

Good point. Sutherland was born in Australia but her parents were Scottish and her career began at Covent Garden, so she falls among several stools. I still wouldn't have given her a Kennedy Center honor, though, despite her great successes here in the States. Heaven knows she's received plenty elsewhere.

[papeetepatrick]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_Center_Honors#1970s

Here's the list since the beginning. I've never paid too much attention to these, and was surprised that I liked more of the ones from previous years than I didn't.

Definitely think it's worse even than giving one to Oprah, no matter how far-fetched, to give to McCartney and Lloyd Webber, that's all wrong unless you include French, Italian, German, etc.

A few old ones seemed just as silly as some of these do. I can't really see why Lauren Bacall got one, although I find her effective enough in old 40s films. I'm surprised Shirley MacLaine hasn't gotten one, not that I think she should especially.

I'd like to see Mr. Miranda, the composer and star of 'IN the Heights' get one, there aren't enough Hispanics, and that really is part of American culture--and he's written the only score I've really liked for a B'way show for some 3 decades--but hasn't been around long enough. Maybe also along those lines Eddie Palmieri. The Dixie Chicks ought to get one, although I haven't heard of them for awhile.

Best news on the new list to me was Merle Haggard and Jerry Herman. Means they're not forgetting people who aren't still coming up with new products, but once did make major contributions in different domains.

I checked in several places and cannot see that Elliott Carter has ever been the recipient. Is that really possible that he hasn't been? If so, that's the most egregious omission I can find.

Of actors, Al Pacino certainly seems deserving.

[Kathleen O'Connell]

I checked in several places and cannot see that Elliott Carter has ever been the recipient. Is that really possible that he hasn't been? If so, that's the most egregious omission I can find.

Egregious indeed - are they waiting for him to turn 101?

Winfrey's Book Club selections are a generally respectable lot, trending mostly to middlebrow fare with a few exceptions. Her promotion of varieties of medical quackery is less edifying.

Gack! - Dirac, I'd pushed those to the back of my mind. Even Anna Karenina can't erase the stain that is "The Secret."

[Jack Reed]

I'm startled by Oprah's inclusion among the aging performing-arts crowd, too. But let's not overlook that this is the second year running there is a dance Honoree. Last year it was Twyla Tharp, IIRC? Hmm.

[kfw]

I checked in several places and cannot see that Elliott Carter has ever been the recipient. Is that really possible that he hasn't been? If so, that's the most egregious omission I can find.

Egregious indeed - are they waiting for him to turn 101?

It would be nice if accessibility and the television broadcast weren't factors in the selection, but I imagine they think his music is far too difficult for a CBS prime time broadcast.

[papeetepatrick]

I checked in several places and cannot see that Elliott Carter has ever been the recipient. Is that really possible that he hasn't been? If so, that's the most egregious omission I can find.

Egregious indeed - are they waiting for him to turn 101?

It would be nice if accessibility and the television broadcast weren't factors in the selection, but I imagine they think his music is far too difficult for a CBS prime time broadcast.

I doubt that: "Carter's earlier works are influenced by Stravinsky, Harris, Copland, and Hindemith, and are mainly neoclassical in aesthetic", from his wikipedia entry.

If they had to, they could use an earlier work which wouldn't be too difficult. If he's too difficult, then Suzanne Farrell, Bill T. Jones, and Balanchine (except for Nutcracker) are all too difficult, Virgil Thomson was mostly too difficult (or not appealing), and although Leonard Bernstein is more famous for 'West Side Story', he also wrote much music that is much too complex for a 'pop television broadcast', as did Copland. There is no real excuse. And Kathleen is right: When he turns 101 in December, will they deign to decide it's time?

Oprah's book club stuff doesn't have anything to do with it. She is a fine actress, even though she didn't want to do much, but as a producer of some major shows, she's not up there with Harold Prince, but since he won it, maybe that's part of the perf. arts criteria. In any case, in the Wiki entry on the awards themselves, Frank Rich calls it the Kennedy City Dishonours. I didn't think it was all that bad by now, but he does point out that it's for the 'performing arts', not pop stuff primarily, and some of the Hollywood types seem every bit as 'pure fluff' as Oprah, even though I agree about the 'medical quackery',. But a lot of movie stars are into that stuff too. She did produce 'The Color Purple' musical on B'way (and probably some others), I didn't think much of the score, but that's still the performing arts, and so are those TV movies with Halle Berry going to Martha's Vineyard, etc., if one considers TV shows to be 'arts'. I'm no fan of Oprah, but I don't see as much difference in Johnny Carson getting such an award from her getting it as others do.

I could also say something about the ones that have been overlooked, but since it's only 5, that's not really a legitimate complaint. What next? Honour Alan Mencken? Yes, I think that's what they'll do.

Here's what Rich said in 1995:

"Perhaps the Kennedy Center Honors should just be laughed off as Washington's own philistine answer to Hollywood's Golden Globes, and let it go at that. But in a country that honors culture so rarely, this annual presentation of lifetime achievement awards is by default a big deal. It's the only national event celebrating the performing arts as distinct from show business. Yet it has fallen so far in esteem even within the arts community that A-list performers are more likely to show up on the Honors' various committee lists than on stage or even in the audience at the gala."

Actually, they do anything but make it distinct from show business, but if anything, Harold Prince and Stephen Sondheim are show business, and Steve Martin is show business, and all the Hollywood stars they've honoured are show business. He was right to compare it to the Golden Globes.

[Kathleen O'Connell]

I checked in several places and cannot see that Elliott Carter has ever been the recipient. Is that really possible that he hasn't been? If so, that's the most egregious omission I can find.

Egregious indeed - are they waiting for him to turn 101?

It would be nice if accessibility and the television broadcast weren't factors in the selection, but I imagine they think his music is far too difficult for a CBS prime time broadcast.

What could be better television than honoring a centenarian who's still in good enough shape to show up and accept the award? I mean the man is still composing good music. I heard a piece he composed at 99 for the pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard and it was fierce and wonderful. (Aimard leapt off the stage when he was done, raced into the audience,showered Carter with hugs and kisses, then leapt back onto the stage and played the piece again. Centenary theater just doesn't get any better than that.) When I last saw Carter, at one of the concerts honoring his 100th birthday, he was spry enough to rise to his feet with some assistance and wave joyfully at the audience and the musicians giving him a well-deserved standing ovation.

[sandik]

I haven't gone back to look at the list of previous winners, but I think that Rich puts a finger on part of the criteria when he refers to "lifetime achievement awards." The KC prizes are designed for artists whose careers are substantially established, or in some cases almost done. The trick is to balance between someone like Bill T. Jones, who is still actively making work but whose contributions to the field is already formidable, and George Jones, who I think has all but stopped performing.

Perhaps it was Winfrey's announcement that she was bringing her long-term television talk show to an end that precipitated her inclusion.

[bart]

The trick is to balance ...

My apologies, sandik, for quoting you out of context.

However, it IS a difficult job to balance selections in a country as large and culturally complex as the United States. Think of trying to balance, year after year, gender, region, ethnicity, art form, lifetime achievement, personal story, and ... as suggested earlier in this thread ... life-expectancy and television appeal. The completing claims of "elitists" and "populists" also have to be catered to.

Not an easy job.

Maybe that is why I don't get too worked up about the individuals chosen (even Oprah Winfrey has her constituency) or left out. The wikipedia listing (and thanks, patrick, for that link) contains an astonishing number of brilliant artists by anyone's standards, anywhere in the world. They are something to be proud of. For me, their presence excuses the inclusion of a certain number of duds, embarrassments, and people who make me want to go .

That said, I'm glad there's another dancer/choreographer on this list, even one whose work I've not seen.

[kfw]

I doubt that: "Carter's earlier works are influenced by Stravinsky, Harris, Copland, and Hindemith, and are mainly neoclassical in aesthetic", from his wikipedia entry.

If they had to, they could use an earlier work which wouldn't be too difficult. If he's too difficult, then Suzanne Farrell, Bill T. Jones, and Balanchine (except for Nutcracker) are all too difficult, Virgil Thomson was mostly too difficult (or not appealing), and although Leonard Bernstein is more famous for 'West Side Story', he also wrote much music that is much too complex for a 'pop television broadcast', as did Copland.

You have a point about Thomson, but then that was back in '83, when if I'm not mistaken there was a larger audience for classical music. I'm thinking in particular of television audience members who would have seen Bernstein lecture on TV. As for Carter's early influences, I doubt casual listeners would find Hindemith or even most Stravinsky easy on the ears. I think there are much easier points of access for Balanchine and Farrell (she chose an excerpt from Divertimento #15). Likewise for Bernstein and Copland, and for their bodies of work as a whole.

There is no real excuse.

I agree there.

[dirac]

What could be better television than honoring a centenarian who's still in good enough shape to show up and accept the award? I mean the man is still composing good music.

Indeedy. If they're fretting about ratings, Carter could always be cushioned by a pop star or a movie star or two. Certainly popularity and ratings are considerations, but in view of the fact that the Kennedy Center Honors were intended specifically to honor the less popular arts, Carter should be included, and if they can't find room for him then there's not much point to the proceedings. (If only Jackie were still here. She'd get him on.)

She did produce 'The Color Purple' musical on B'way (and probably some others),

The point isn't that Oprah isn't connected with showbiz but that those connections aren't strong enough to justify her presence. She's there as the host of an afternoon talk show and entrepreneur with boatloads of cash, not as an actor or producer. Granted she's a phenomenon, but not one of a kind for which these awards were intended. Carson's selection was arguable but not in the same class. As GeorgeB pointed out, Carson's talk show was structured primarily around entertainment and he was a performer himself. And let us not forget the Mighty Carson Art Players. If talk show hosts counted by definition as entertainment, then Phil Donahue shouldn't be overlooked. Whatever you think of him his show was a substantial one - by current standards unimaginably so.

But let's not overlook that this is the second year running there is a dance Honoree. Last year it was Twyla Tharp, IIRC? Hmm.

Fair enough.

[dirac]

Personally I think they should honor Charo.

[bart]

Personally I think they should honor Charo.

I couldn't quite recall who this was, fearing that the reference was to some legendary flamenco or tango dancer I ought to know about.

So I looked her up. Now I know. (Hint: "cuchi cuchi"). And remember.

Perhaps Charo's chances would be better if she ran for this award under her non-stage name. It's mind-bogglingly impressive.

María Rosario Pilar Martínez Molina Gutiérrez de los Perales Santa Ana Romanguera y de la Hinojosa Rasten

[sandik]

Personally I think they should honor Charo.

My brother-in-law interviewed her several years ago, and wound up on her holiday card list. Alas, he fell off when they moved -- the cards and gifts were truly odd.

[papeetepatrick]

I doubt that: "Carter's earlier works are influenced by Stravinsky, Harris, Copland, and Hindemith, and are mainly neoclassical in aesthetic", from his wikipedia entry.

If they had to, they could use an earlier work which wouldn't be too difficult. If he's too difficult, then Suzanne Farrell, Bill T. Jones, and Balanchine (except for Nutcracker) are all too difficult, Virgil Thomson was mostly too difficult (or not appealing), and although Leonard Bernstein is more famous for 'West Side Story', he also wrote much music that is much too complex for a 'pop television broadcast', as did Copland.

You have a point about Thomson, but then that was back in '83, when if I'm not mistaken there was a larger audience for classical music. I'm thinking in particular of television audience members who would have seen Bernstein lecture on TV. As for Carter's early influences, I doubt casual listeners would find Hindemith or even most Stravinsky easy on the ears. I think there are much easier points of access for Balanchine and Farrell (she chose an excerpt from Divertimento #15). Likewise for Bernstein and Copland, and for their bodies of work as a whole.

It has nothing to do with 'easy on the ears', or 'casual listeners' unless this is just supposed to be some little People's Choice Award crap. It's not just for 'television viewers', and classical music audiences have not declined anyway--at least no more substantially than ballet and serious dance and general. And 'bodies of work as a whole' means absolutely nothing here, since they choose something that is accessible enough. Kathleen gave a recent piece that was accessible enough--written for Pierre-Laurent Aimard, that would be effective, and I played the Piano Sonata from way back myself. 'Divertimento #15' is not something 'casual viewers' care to see, with these criteria, there is no room for anything of classical ballet if not also for classical music. I already put up Rich's thing about how this was not supposed to be for 'show business', but rather for the other performing arts, and if that's so, the last thing that should be a criterion is whether all of it is accessible. Nobody outside the ballet world knows a thing about Suzanne Farrell Ballet, and few ever saw her dance way back when, what? by watching 'Choreography by Balanchine?' It was written about at the time of the award she got (2006) that nobody in the general public even knew who Suzanne Farrell was, and they don't. Should that mean she shouldn't have gotten the award? Of course not. She should have gotten it. But don't agree with me that 'there is no excuse' if you also give me all the reasons why Carter doesn't have 'easier points of access' as do Balanchine and Copland. Actually, Virgil Thomson's movie scores (one won a Pulitzer Prize) are very accessible, and he certainly deserved one too. If that's all the Kennedy Center Honours are about, then they are even more of a laughingstock than Rich said. When Suzanne got it, there were other big names, as dirac suggested, to 'cushion it out'.

Tharp was, I believe, two years ago, 2008. Yes, just checked. There was no dancer or choreography honoured in 2009.

Ann Reinking ought to get one, IMO.

Plus, here is the original quote: "Carter's earlier works are influenced by Stravinsky, Harris, Copland, and Hindemith, and are mainly neoclassical in aesthetic". When making your case about Carter's difficulty of accessibility, you talked about Copland as BEING accessible, and singled out Hindemith and Stravinsky as being not 'easy on the ears' for 'casual listeners'. And Roy Harris's 3rd Symphony is well-known to be easy even for the 'contemporary music for dummies' set.

[volcanohunter]

Personally I think they should honor Charo.

As I recall, she is a decent guitarist, which makes her at least as qualified as Oprah Winfrey.

Ann Reinking ought to get one, IMO.

No argument there.