The Orchestre Métropolitain, where native Montrealer YNS held his first music director position (beginning in 2000) and which he brought to international attention, has appointed him Artistic Director and Chief Conductor for life, an extremely rare move in the orchestra world. – Ludwig Van
Month: September 2019
L.A. Philharmonic CEO Simon Woods Resigns, Effective Immediately
“After a great deal of reflection,” said Woods in a statement, “I have concluded that my hopes and aspirations lie elsewhere, and as a result, I have tendered my resignation.” He served in the position for less than 21 months, succeeding Deborah Borda at the beginning of 2018. – Los Angeles Times
Is Gary Larson About To Revive ‘The Far Side’?
“Fans of the surreal, the bizarre and sardonic anthropomorphic cows are in a fervour after The Far Side cartoonist Gary Larson’s website was updated this weekend with promises of ‘a new online era’, 24 years after the reclusive creator retired at the age of 44.” – The Guardian
Kentridge, Hatoum, Mutter, Bando, And Williams & Tsien Win Praemium Imperiale
The 2019 laureates for the ¥15 million ($141,000) award, created by the Japan Art Association as a sort of Nobel Prize for the arts, are William Kentridge (painting) Mona Hatoum (sculpture), Anne-Sophie Mutter (music), Tod Williams and Billie Tsien (architecture) and kabuki master Tamasaburo Bando V (theatre/film). – Deutsche Welle
Historic Find: Milton’s Notes On Shakespeare’s Plays
The astonishing find, which academics say could be one of the most important literary discoveries of modern times, was made by Cambridge University fellow Jason Scott-Warren when he was reading an article about the anonymous annotator by Pennsylvania State University English professor Claire Bourne. – The Guardian
A Little Art With That Wine? Wine Country Experiments With Installations
Some are dubious of the so-called Vine Art Movement. “Equating wine with art flatters the people who buy wine into thinking they’re participating in something larger than they are,” said James Conaway, the author of “Napa at Last Light.” And there have been some spectacular busts: Copia, an ambitious museum dedicated to wine, food and the arts, opened to much fanfare in 2001 then closed in 2008. – The New York Times
How Rich People Like Jeffrey Epstein Are Corrupting Science
“Money corrupts—which, duh—but the Epstein episode tells an even bigger story. The entire system for metabolizing philanthropic gifts, particularly private ones, into academic research is a poorly illuminated pile of broken guardrails. Even if most institutions and foundations are cautious internally, even if the unfolding scandal with Epstein and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is an outlier, the system is essentially a pool of dark money.” – Wired
The Internet Is Changing How We Write (For Bad And Good)
The Internet is speeding up the evolution of English by increasing our ability to stay loosely in touch with, and mutually influence, one another. – Washington Post
Why People Believe Fake Videos (Even The Bad Ones)
“Seeking to understand what was going on, I took very unscientific straw polls of family and friends. I learned anecdotally what sociologists and social psychologists have shown in more scholarly explorations: If the image or manipulation supports what someone already believes, they often accept it unquestioningly.” – Fast Company
Music Deserts: What We Need Is Nutritional Music
“Musical malnourishment, with increasing mono-diets and over-consumption of processed, chemically treated/created culture, entails an over-reliance upon intake from manufactured commodities such as loudspeakers, machines, and computers. Thus greater passivity is generated whereby people no longer look to themselves to make music, but simply purchase it via a concert ticket or through a new electronic home entertainment toy.” – NewMusicBox