“On the block … were more than 460 lots from the soprano’s home overlooking Central Park. With a standing-room-only crowd of fans competing against bidders on the Internet and telephone, the auction’s total of $519,075 exceeded the pre-sale estimate of about $253,000 to $378,000.”
Author: Laura Collins Hughes
Live Nation-Ticketmaster Merger Hits Roadblock In UK
“In a preliminary ruling, the [Competition Commission] said that the deal would make it harder for new entrants to break into the ticketing marketplace. It also warned that combining the two major players in the music market could mean the price of tickets goes up, or result in concert-goers receiving a poorer service.”
Chinese Orchestra Taps Frenchman As Music Director
“[F]or the first time an orchestra in mainland China is taking on a foreign music director: the French conductor Michel Plasson is becoming music director of the China National Symphony Orchestra.” Plasson’s contract runs for a year, during which he will conduct 10 concerts.
The FTC’s Bizarre Persecution Of Bloggers
“Because of a pesky thing called the First Amendment, the [FTC’s new] guidelines don’t apply to news organizations, which receive thousands of free books, CDs, and DVDs each day from media companies hoping for reviews. But if the guidelines don’t apply to established media … why should they apply to Joe Blow’s blog?”
Bacardi’s Miami Headquarters Designated As Historic
“The designation covers the original mural-bedecked 1963 tower, the square annex, and the plaza — emblazoned with Bacardi’s trademark bat — between them.” The Biscayne Boulevard buildings are “widely regarded as architectural and engineering masterworks, and among the most distinctive of Miami’s modern structures.”
Los Angeles Attempts To Become A Film-Friendly Town
Tax incentives and free parking are among “a series of recommendations adopted Wednesday by the L.A. City Council aimed at making it easier for producers to film locally and discouraging them from taking their business elsewhere.”
What Was The Crying Need For A New Pooh Book?
“In the new book, a different author” — David Benedictus, not A.A. Milne — “controls [the characters’] actions. Pooh is a tad more resourceful. And Eeyore is downright sociable…. It’s unsettling. How’s a kid reading that to know what you mean when you call someone Eeyore?”
Editorial: Why Dudamel Is A Brilliant Match For LA
“Part of the craze is inspired by Dudamel himself — his manner, his easy rapport with audiences and his talent. But something else is at work here too. Deborah Borda, the L.A. Phil’s visionary president, understood two things in bringing the exuberant 28-year-old Venezuelan to Los Angeles: the city’s widespread hunger for music, and how Dudamel could help sate it.”
Brian Wilson Chosen To Finish Gershwin Songs
“[F]ormer Beach Boy Brian Wilson has been authorized by the estate of George Gershwin to complete unfinished songs Gershwin left behind when he died in 1937. He plans to finish and record at least two such pieces on an album of Gershwin music he hopes to release next year.”
Preserving The Architecture Of Kabul’s Old City
The nonprofit Aga Khan Trust for Culture “is working to preserve Afghanistan’s heritage for those who live among it.” While it’s “best known for its restoration of Baghe-Babur, or Babur’s Gardens, now once again a popular Kabuli park,” it “has been working quietly … on projects that few besides the residents of the neighborhood see.”