“Earlier this week there was a brief spark of hope that the Michigan Legislature would swiftly pass a bill to try and prevent a potential sale of the Detroit Institue of Arts’ (DIA) collection. That spark has been put out, at least for now, by both the State House of Representatives and Governor Rick Snyder.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Why Do The Chinese Love Western Classical Music?
Former ambassador Nicholas Platt: “One of the things that strikes me is that most of the literature and the music and the philosophy and so forth are very practically oriented, directed toward the solution of problems, the description of events, or program music with pictures of moonlight on water. You know the routine. And it’s beautiful. But it’s not very abstract. And I think classical music has some appeal to the Chinese because of its abstractness. It may fill a hole in their needs. There are simpler explanations. They love grand things – big buildings and big bridges – and Western classical music is grand.”
Philadelphia Orchestra Ends China Tour In A Casino
“Where else does your hotel serve cupcakes and ice cream for breakfast? And offer wake-up calls from Shrek? In Cantonese? [Macau, the] pleasure capital of Asia – one that is said to outstrip Las Vegas for superficial splendor – is only the latest unlikely host of the Philadelphia Orchestra.”
It’s Official: Bolshoi Dumps Nikolai Tsiskaridze
A Bolshoi spokesperson confirms that the principal dancer and Russian media celebrity – who has spent at least the last two years loudly criticizing the Bolshoi’s management, artistic product and renovation, and has repeatedly demanded that he himself be appointed the theater’s director – will not have his contract renewed when it expires at the end of this month.
Does ‘Yeah, No…’ Mean Yes Or No (Or Both)?
“In fact, according to research by a couple of Australian linguists, ‘yeah, no’ (and its less popular sibling ‘yes, no’) has a hidden logic all its own and can be used in a number of discrete ways. Listen to Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo dissect a construction that appears to be contradictory but is actually quite useful.”
Is It Okay (Or Even Legal) To Make Art From Other People’s ‘Abandoned’ DNA?
“It has been described as both ‘creepy’ and ‘cool’. But amid the publicity surrounding a provocative art project that creates ‘facial reconstruction’ sculptures based on the analysis of DNA on cigarette butts, chewing gum, and other detritus collected from the streets of New York City, one question has remained unasked: is it legal?”
Russian LGBT Film Festival Declared ‘Foreign Agent’ And Fined
“A St. Petersburg LGBT film festival has been branded a ‘foreign agent’ and fined 500,000 rubles ($15,500) under a recently adopted law which is largely seen as a tool to crack down on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).”
Opera Conductor Bruno Bartoletti, 86
“[While he] conducted around the world, including in Rome, at London’s Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires and, for many years, at the Maggio Musicale festival in Florence,” he was best known for his 35 years as artistic director of Lyric Opera of Chicago, which he heped make into one of the world’s top companies.
Descartes Gets No Respect Anymore, But He Still Matters
“It’s a sign of his range that Descartes has made such a wide variety of enemies. Psychologists, feminists, biologists, animal rights activists, and Al Gore have all lined up to denounce him. … Unloved, his arguments served up to undergraduates as target practice, Descartes has fallen on hard times.”
Founder Of Top Chinese Literary Web Site Arrested
“The news came out this week in English-language media, that Luo Li, the founder and former head of one of China’s largest literary websites, Qidian, has been arrested, though there are still conflicting reports about what he’s actually been accused of and the whole picture remains a bit murky.”