“Top-end French piano maker Pleyel, whose instruments were used by the likes of Frederic Chopin, Claude Debussy and Franz Liszt, announced Wednesday it will end production by the end of the year.” Founded in 1807, it was the oldest piano manufacturer still operating.
Author: Matthew Westphal
Why Somebody Paid $142 Million For A Set Of Paintings
“Still, given the debate over rising inequality in the U.S. and elsewhere, paying $142 million for a work of art may seem … extreme. And that’s probably true. However, the mechanics of the art world suggest the amount is justifiable.”
Man Booker Prize Winner Picks Up Second Big Award
Eleanor Catton, who last month became the youngest Booker laureate ever for her murder mystery The Luminaries, has now won Canada’s $25,000 Governor-General’s Literary Award.
England’s Latest Theatre Kerfuffle: Critic Walks Out On Stand-Up Comic, Audience Member Fights Back
“Accusations and counter-accusations are flying this week, after the Telegraph‘s comedy critic walked out of Stewart Lee’s Much A-Stew About Nothing – and wrote a combative article explaining why.” Now an audience member accuses the critic of omitting key information from the story.
Dominic Cavendish: Why I Walked Out Of Stewart Lee’s Show
“The first half-hour or so was beset by his own interruptions, as he took issue with our wrong-headed laughs, our lack of responsiveness, our failure to ‘make connections’ and our want of imagination in coming up with suggestions when asked to do so. … Come the interval, I decided to take him at his word. Why stay on and risk letting him down further?”
“Delicious To Hear And Even More Toothsome To Sing”: Nico Muhly On John Tavener’s Music
“It is difficult to overstate the effect Tavener’s music has had on younger generations. There is much to be learned compositionally from careful study of his patience and surprise revelations, but I am more interested in how singing his music has enabled a generation of musicians to really enjoy stillness and circular structures.”
CEO Of Arts Centre Melbourne Resigns Following $7.2M Deficit
“[Judith] Isherwood has been a controversial figure during her tenure, with numerous current and former staff speaking critically of her tough, at times confrontational, management style and determination to launch costly initiatives such as … [presenting] Einstein on the Beach.” Others praise her artistic ambitions for the Centre as well as her stewardship of the recent renovations of concert venue Hamer Hall.
Bill Cosby Plans New Prime Time Sitcom
“Nearly 30 years after The Cosby Show debuted, Cosby has re-teamed with one of that series’ executive producers, Tom Werner, to develop a family comedy that he says ‘would [satisfy] the people who have come to me in public places and said, ‘Can’t you put something on that I can watch?'”
How Young People Come To Love Camus (A Centennial Appreciation)
Jerry Delaney: “Friends of mine still speak openly of their ‘love’ of Camus. Does anyone speak of a love of Jean-Paul Sartre? Or Martin Heidegger? I feel an intense gratitude to Camus for giving me the language to express a few basic truths on which to base a life.”
Spike Lee Sued By Victims Of Mistaken George Zimmerman Tweet
“Spike Lee has been sued by an elderly couple in Florida, whose address he incorrectly identified as the home of Trayvon Martin killer George Zimmerman.” Lee and the couple had settled last year, but a round of re-tweets following Zimmerman’s trial caused further trouble.