“This then is the strange rags-to-riches tale of two mild-mannered librarians … who went hunting for fairytales and accidentally ended up changing the course of historical linguistics and kickstarting a whole new field of scholarship in folklore.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Baroque Music Has Survived For Three Centuries In The Bolivian Lowlands
When Jesuit missionaries first arrived in what is now eastern Bolivia at the end of the 17th century, they found the indigenous peoples of the area to be musically inclined and taught them to sing, to make and play fiddles, harps, wind instruments and such, and to compose music in a hybrid European-South American idiom. Reporter Nicholas Casey travels to the old mission and cathedral town of Concepción to find that the tradition of music-making has remained strong – and that, to the amazement of musicologists, thousands of scores from the 18th century have survived there and even remained in use.
The Sock-Puppet Ventriloquist Who Sells Out Stadiums
“[Jeff] Dunham is no children’s entertainer. His puppets are dysfunctional, foul-mouthed and unashamedly stereotypical, from Seamus the drunken Irish baby to José the Mexican immigrant and Achmed the jihadi suicide bomber. Spurning all accusations of racism, sexism and homophobia, Dunham has become a comic phenomenon. He doesn’t just hold the Guinness World Record for most tickets sold for a standup comedy tour – 2m across 386 venues – he is also ranked by Forbes as one the highest paid comedians on the planet, up there with Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock and Amy Schumer.”
How To Navigate The Minefield That Is Prompting Actors In Rehearsal
Professional deputy stage manager Katie Jackson: “In theory, this should be quite a simple task; the actor dries, they ask me to read out their line to them, I do so and then they repeat it and carry on with the scene. However, ask any DSM and they will say that it can be one of the most stressful parts of the job. Every actor has a different way of telling you that they want to be prompted, … [and,] unfortunately, it is very rare for actors to tell you their particular way of acknowledging the need for a prompt.”
LACMA Launches Program To Find And Train Minority Curators
“The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is teaming up with the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University to establish a three-year program that combines academic training and work experience to develop a new generation of diverse curators, directors and other museum professionals.”
Court Throws Out Lawsuit Aiming To Block Auction Of Basquiat
“The New York State Supreme Court on 7 May denied an injunction sought last week by collector Hubert G. Neumann to block Sotheby’s from offering a Jean-Michel Basquiat painting from his late wife’s estate. The work, titled Flesh and Spirit (1982-83), is to be offered in the auction house’s 16 May evening auction of contemporary art.”
Conductor Karina Canellakis Gets Her First Major Orchestra
“Shortly after beginning her first season as assistant conductor of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra four years ago, Karina Canellakis got one of those big breaks. The orchestra’s music director, Jaap van Zweden, was injured, and she was asked to lead Shostakovich’s formidable Eighth Symphony without even one rehearsal. … Since then her conducting career has exploded, and now she is again following in Mr. van Zweden’s footsteps: Ms. Canellakis, a 36-year-old native New Yorker, has been named the next chief conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra – a post that Mr. van Zweden held from 2006 to 2012.”
Art Dealers Could Be Governed By Financial Regulators Under Proposed US Law
“US lawmakers are working on legislation that would subject the country’s art dealers to financial regulation by the government and which could prove challenging for galleries, an art-law firm warned its clients this week. New York-based Pearlstein McCullough & Lederman said that legislation is likely to be introduced in Congress during the week of 14 May, adding dealers of fine art and antiquities to the list of regulated financial institutions under the Bank Secrecy Act.”
Marin Alsop’s Music Program For Baltimore Schoolkids Has Taken Root And Grown
When the Baltimore Symphony music director started OrchKids ten years ago – with $100,000 of her own money as seed funding – 30 students enrolled. Now there are 1,300, and Alsop hopes to see 5,000 kids taking part in the next five years. Reporter Michael Cooper traveled to Baltimore to have a look.
Terry Gilliam’s Ill-Starred Don Quixote Film Is Finished And Has The Closing Slot At Cannes – Yet *Still* Its Problems Aren’t Over
Reporter Nicholas Barber gives a refresher on the calamitous three-decade long history of The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, the run of good luck that finally saw the movie completed, and the last-minute monkey wrench that has been thrown into the works.