Does having kids play and listen to music actually make them smarter? An oft-quoted study said yes. But there has been resistance to the idea. “Researchers are mustering data to counter those who are intent on debunking the ‘Mozart effect” – the theory that classical music makes the brain work better.” – The Straits Times (Singapore) (NYT)
Author: Douglas McLennan
ORCHESTRA CUTS CONCERTS
Canada’s National Youth Orchestra brings together the country’s top young musicians each summer and plays a tour across the country. But this year the tour has been cut back from 15 concert stops to eight because of funding cuts. – CBC
HARRY HELD HOSTAGE
The Canadian distributor of “Harry Potter” refused last month to ship more copies of the book to the Chapters book superstore chain until Chapters paid some of its large outstanding debt, says the distributor. – National Post (Canada)
WEB PAY
National Writers Union makes deal with Stephen Brill’s Contentville to pay freelance writers a fee every time their work is downloaded from the site. – Variety
LEAVING SANTA FE
After 43 years John Crosby is stepping down from running the Santa Fe Opera. “A first-rate visionary and a second-rate conductor, Crosby has run his festival like a reasonably benign dictator, amassing an extraordinary record of significant premieres to counterbalance the tourist-attraction repertory. He has done much to cultivate domestic exposure to the neglected operas of his favourite composer, Richard Strauss, and has also helped discover several generations of important American singers. Glyndebourne was never like this.” – Financial Times
BERLIN THROUGH AN EXPAT’S EYES
Tom Freudenheim, a Jewish American and former director of the Jewish Museum Berlin, has decided to stay in Germany after stepping down from his museum post. His views on antisemitism in Germany, the Holocaust Memorial, and differences between the arts in the U.S. and Germany. – Die Welt
THE CORPORATE ARTS BUDDY PLAN
With only 1% of businesses investing in the arts, Australian Prime Minister John Howard decided it was about time to create an arts business foundation that would encourage funding from the private sector. “What we are trying to encourage is recognition that it’s not just about handing over a cheque. It’s about two partners looking for the longer term.” – The Age (Melbourne)
MOUSELAND
- Disney, already a huge presence on New York’s revitalized 42nd Street, says it wants to buy another theatre there. “Part of Disney’s yen for more theaters comes from its disdain for paying high rents to stage productions of Beauty and the Beast and Aida, as well as its need for space to stage a half dozen musicals in development, such as The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” – Inside.com
SCANDAL EFFECT
Sotheby’s earnings decline 5 percent, though revenue was up in the second quarter. “Sotheby’s shares have declined by more than a third this year as Internet spending and legal fees from the price-fixing investigation and related lawsuits cut into earnings.” – New York Times
ACQUIRING ETHICS
The American Association of Museums, comprised of 3,000 museums and 11,400 museum professionals and trustees, will adopt new ethical guidelines for how museums deal with art borrowed from private collections. Following in the wake of the Brooklyn Museum scandal in which it was discovered that Charles Saatchi, the exhibit’s largest donor, was also its single largest financial backer, the question of curatorial ethics has loomed large at arts organizations around America. – New York Times