Arts

Arts


Great Britain

Government interest in the arts is expressed through grants to the Art Council of Great Britain, the British Council and other organizations. The Arts Council`s-main duties are to develope a greater knowledge and understanding of the fine arts by the public, and to advise and co-orporate with Government deparments, local authorities and other organizations. The British Council-exists to promote a wider knowledge of the U.K. and the English language overseas and to develope closer cultural relations with other countries. It also arranges study programmes in Britain for scholars, teachers and other professional visitors from overseas.

Museum and art galleries
There are about 1,000 museums and art galleries open to the public. Art exhibitions are shown at many different centres by the Arts Council. The most comprehensive collections of objects of artistic, scientific, historical and general interest are contained in the national museums and art galleries in London. The British Museum-has unparalleled collections of archeological and ethnographical material, in addition to housing the national library of printed books, manuscripts, newspapers and periodicals.
The National Museum-houese paintings by almost all the greatest European masters.

Libraries and books
The largest library in Britain in the British Library, which was created in 1973 from a merger of the British Museum Library with other libraries and institutions. The British Library-Automatically receives a copy of each new book published in Britain. The other great “copyright“ libraries which are entitled to claim a copy of each new book are the following: the National Library of Scotland, the National library of Wales, the Bodleian Library of Oxford University and the Cambridge University Library.
Penguin Books are the best known publishers of peperbacks. Paperbacks are much cheaper than hard-backed books.

Professional theatre
The centre of theatrical activity is in London, with some 60 principal theatres in or near the West End and several more in the suburbs. The most important subsidized companies, which produce plays in theatres of their own, are the National Theatre Company and the Royal Shakespeare Company. Outside London, theatres are served by touring London companies, but some provincial towns have repertory theatres with the same company putting on a new play every week.

Amateur theatre
There are thousands of amateur dramatic societies in Britain.

Most universities have active drama clubs and societies, some of which are famous, especially the dramatic societies of Oxbridge; an International Festival of University Theatre is held annually.

Films
British films intended are appreciated both at home and abroad, and regularly achieve success at international film festivals and other events. All films intended for public showing are first submitted to the British Board of Film Censors. Films passed by the Board are placed into one of four categories: “U“-is suitable to be seen by any person over five years of age; “A“-for persosns over five years of age, but containing material that some parents might prefer their children not to see; “AA“-for persosns over 14 years of age; and “X“-for persosns over 18 years of age. Music
In London the principal concert halls are the Royal Festival Hall on the south bank of the Thames and the Royal Albert Hall, where the annual summer season of Promenade Concerts is given, which is sometimes described as the world`s greatest music festival. Music festivals are held annually in many towns throughout Britain-one of them is the famous Edinburgh International Festival. British composers who have distinguished themselves in the 20th century include: Vaughan Williams, Sir William Walton, Sir Michael Tippet and Benjamin Britten.

Opera and ballet
Regular seasons of opera and ballet are given at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. The royal Opera House has a permanent orchestra which plays for the Royal Opera House and the Royal Ballet. The English National Opera plays in the London Coliseum and makes provincial tours.


The USA

Americans have demonstrated an increasing interest in a variety of cultural events. Art festivals are held in many parts of the country each year and in big cities and in university towns throughout the nation. Art centres are estorablished or being built, f.e.: The Lincoln Centre for the Performing Arts in New York, completed in 1969, the Metropolitan Opera Company, orthe New York Philharmonic. Another major cultural complex is The John F. Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. There are three beautifully appointed theatres for opera, dance, drama and music. It is the home of the American Film Institute;s theatre and the National Symphony Orchestra.

Music

Music of all kinds is extremely popular in the United States. Radio stations broadcast about 15,000 hours of musical programmes weekly. Operas, orchestral performances, chamber music and jazz concerts are often presented on TV.
There are 1,500 symphony orchstras in the United States-the well known are: The New York Philharmonic, the great orchestras of Boston, Philadelphia, Cleveland and Chicago.

Two of the best summer musicfestivals are held at Tenglewood, Massachusetts, in the East and at Aspen, Colorado, in the West.

Opera

There are 80 major opera companies in the United States. For more than 40 years the fanous Metropolitan Opera Company in New York has broadcast a performance every Saturday afternoon during the opera season, bringing music of the highest quality.



Musicals

The modern American theatre has perfected an unusual art form: the musical play. These musicals combine songs and dances in both traditional and modern styles with original music in stories of dramatic interest, f.e.: “My Fair Lady“, “Hello, Dolly“.

Literature

About 28,000 new books and plays are published each year. Low-cost books in paper covers make available some of the world;s best literature to American readers. Each day an average of nearly one million copies of all books, including textbooks, are sold.
There are more than 30,000 libraries in the US. More than a third of them are free public libraries whicg lend about 500 million books a year. There are more than 2,800 university libraries, Harvard University has the largest one. There are about 1,500 medical and nearly 300 governmental libraries. A copy of every major book published in the US goes to the government;s Library of Congress in Washington D.C., which is the nation;s largest library.

Arts and sculptures

Many americans study arts and there are several million amateur painters and sculptors. The USA has more than 500 art schools. Nearly every town of any size has an art gallery, a museum, or both. Notable art museums include the National Gallery, the Metropolitan Museum(the nation;s largest museum), the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

Stage and screen

Many new plays are presented first on Brodway, the theatre district of New York. If they are successful they go “on the road“ to other cities throughout the country. To many Americans, seeing a Brodway show is a high point in their visit to the country;s largest city.
Motion pictures remain a favourite form of entertainment despite the popularity of tevelision. There are some 11,000 motion picture theatres and about 4,000 outdoor “drive-ins“ where patrons sit in their own cars and watch films. Educational or documentary films have wide appeal also. Educational films are shown in schools, clubs, as well as in theatres. Television gives the American people a wide variety of programmes from early morning until late at night. Watching Tv is very popular among Americans.