“Loneliness and being alone are not the same thing, but both are on the rise. We meet fewer people. We gather less. And when we gather, our bonds are less meaningful and less easy. The decrease in confidants–that is, in quality social connections–has been dramatic over the past 25 years.”
Month: April 2012
Serbian Police Recover Stolen Cezanne
“Police in Serbia believe they have recovered an impressionist masterpiece by Paul Cezanne worth at least £68m that was stolen at gunpoint in one of the world’s biggest art heists four years ago, a police official has said.”
Wanted: A CBC With More Style
“What the CBC needs is an emphatic style of its own. And, by style, I mean an assertiveness about what it does well, a ferocious insistence on the importance of a small number of shows that stand out.”
Vatican And Bodleian Libraries To Digitize 1.5 Million Ancient Texts
“Transforming these ancient texts and images into digital form helps transcend the limitations of time and space, which have in the past restricted access to knowledge. Scholars will be able to interrogate these documents in fresh approaches as a result of their online availability.”
Backlash Against Olympic Arts Festival Draws A Victim
“It may have escaped enlightened readers hereabouts, but in some newspapers the cultural programme of the 2012 Olympics has come in for some criticism. Specifically, the more adventurous art events have been mocked. And the mockery has drawn blood, for this week Olafur Eliasson’s application for £1m funding for his proposed artwork Take a Deep Breath was turned down by the Olympic Lottery Distributor.”
Sacramento Philharmonic: We Have To Raise $150,000 In A Month Or Close
The 15-year-old symphony said it needs to raise twice that much – $300,000 – before it can consider presenting a 2012-13 season of concerts starting in the fall.
Minnesota Orchestra Faces Year Of Living Dangerously
“Last December, the organization reported its biggest annual deficit ever. In June, the band evacuates Orchestra Hall for a yearlong face-lift of its iconic home on Nicollet Mall. A shortened 2012-13 season opens in October in the acoustically challenged Minneapolis Convention Center.” Then there are the upcoming contract negotiations …
Marta Eggerth, Operetta Star, Still Sharp And Still Singing At 100
“People ask me, How is it to be 100? I say, I don’t know. I have no standard of comparison. You must ask me when I am 200 what it was like to be 100, and then I will be able to tell you.”
Soprano Ailyn Pérez Wins 2012 Richard Tucker Award
The $30,000 prize “is conferred annually on an American opera singer at the threshold of a major international career.” Pérez’s husband, tenor Stephen Costello, received the award in 2009.
Meet Hong Kong’s Hot Young Choreographer (He’s Over 40)
“Strictly speaking, Dominic Wong isn’t a dancer. He’s a character. And, there’s little dispute, a comedic one.”