“Both Rachmaninoff and Liszt had legendarily large mitts. … Meanwhile, shorter digits haven’t impeded the success of other pianists, such as Daniel Barenboim (who can only reach a ninth on the keyboard), and Wael Farouk, who was born with unusually short ligaments and fingers.” includes video)
Author: Matthew Westphal
New Service Would Offer Hollywood Movies For Home Viewing On Day They Hit Theaters
“Now, a startup backed by Sean Parker of Facebook and Napster fame … called the Screening Room … offers secure anti-piracy technology that will offer new releases in the home on the same day they hit theaters.” But it will cost a lot more than the price of two cinema tickets.
Failure Is Good – Within Reason
Recent research indicates that “it is better to make plans to fail intermittently – to splurge on occasional luxuries when saving for a house; to have a slice of chocolate cake when trying to shed a few pounds – than to end up failing anyway and getting so demoralised you give up your goal altogether.”
Stop Calling The MacArthur Fellowships ‘Genius Grants’
Joan Acocella: “Why that term? Well: vulgarity, addiction to hot air, and brain poisoning in consequence of exposure to advertising.”
High School Production Of ‘The Producers’ Forced To Remove Swastikas
“After someone posted a rehearsal photo on social media last week showing giant Nazi flags over the Tappan Zee [High School] stage, some parents were offended, and let the administration know they were offended.”
English National Opera Chorus Reveals Its First Labor Action Against Wage Cuts
There’s a chorus-heavy opera this week for which they say they’ll stand silently and refuse to sing 25% of the score – to match the 25% pay cut they’re being asked to take.
Inside The Breuer Building, After The Whitney And Before The Met
“What remains, aside from the odd chair or electrical cord, is Breuer’s inimitable space. Also, maybe, a little nostalgia for the former tenant.” (slide show)
Is This The Solution To The Cellphones-In-The-Audience Problem?
“Audience members using cellphones bedevil performers and presenters around the world. But in China, theaters and other venues have adopted what they say is an effective – others might say disturbing – solution. Zap them with a laser beam.”
The Cat Video Festival Has Been Put To Sleep
“After hosting four purr-fectly successful Internet Cat Video Festivals, the Walker [Art Center] is quitting cats … ‘We think that cat videos will live on without us, and we’re really excited for other people to take up the mantle and program their own festivals’.”
‘I Believe That Madrid Killed Him’ – Gérard Mortier’s Widower Looks Back On His Four-Decade Career
How such a promising tenure at Spain’s Teatro Real went so sour; the problems with the Paris Opera and Paris audiences; why he constantly worked with some collaborators and refused others entirely; what he believed was most important about opera. (in French)