Harold Pinter’s Nobel speech was critical of the UK and US. But to have more impact, he might have looked at Dario Fo’s Nobel talk a few years earlier. “By equating the modern farceur with the jesters of the middle ages, Fo made it clear that ideas have always been dangerous — and that artists who entertain by rattling those in power continue a noble tradition. Art, truth and politics will always be in conflict. Fo made this point using laughter, and because of this, his Noble lecture was an extension of his art. Pinter’s lecture is not. His Nobel speech stands in opposition to his plays, the best of which exhibited the power of few words and silence.”
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Mozart – Genius Or Hard Work?
Mozart was a genius, right? Well, “as the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth approaches this month, one film-maker is setting out to prove that such astounding achievements were a product more of hard graft than genius, as has often been assumed.”
Italian Restorers Try To Patch Relations With Greece
Italian restorers are working to try to repair a priceless ancient Greek statue, and the results of their work will have diplomatic consequences. “In an incident that went almost unnoticed at the time, the authorities in Athens last year suspended all further digs by Italian archaeologists in Greece and slapped a five-year ban on an Italian lecturer. The sanctions were imposed after officials learned that the 4th century BC statue, found in an Italian dig on Crete, had fallen and been smashed in transit.”
English National’s Melodrama (In Three Acts)
The mess at the English national Opera is the stuff of operatic tragedy. “Since the music director Paul Daniel resigned, with cat-calls from another senior executive ringing in his ears, events have taken on a life of their own. The artistic director has gone, and a Greek chorus of the great and good penned a letter of open revolt aimed at the chairman. He duly resigned in December. Then 94 per cent of the staff voted last week to strike.”
Mozart’s Best Piece?
His Clarinet Concerto, according to a poll on the eve of the composer’s 250th anniversary year. “It was followed by his Requiem and the Ave Verum Corpus in the survey of 103,000 Classic FM listeners. Next on the list was the piano concerto No 21 and then The Marriage of Figaro.”
South Africa’s Hottest Band (And The Color Barrier)
The band is mixed race, even if most of its audiences aren’t. “The racial mix of Freshlyground would draw little notice in Europe or the United States. But in a South Africa still struggling to unite its fractured population after centuries of rigid discrimination, the band has become a sensation, drawing audiences in both traditionally black venues and traditionally white ones.”
Missing Violin Turns Up After Reported Stolen
“A $175,000 violin that was reported stolen turned up Friday on the steps of a San Bruno church, and San Francisco police said it was never stolen after all.” The student who reported it stolen “admitted that the violin had never been stolen and that she had filed a false police report.”
Car Prowler Nabs A $175,000 Violin
A rare violin has been stolen from the trunk of a car in San Francisco. “The violin was crafted by Nicolo Gagliano in the 1760s and is valued at more than $175,000 US. Gagliano studied under legendary violin maker Antonio Stradivari. “I’ve always left my violin in the trunk and it has always been fine,” said Sabina Nakajima, 23, a student with the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.”
Hollywood making Chinese Movies For China
“Traditionally, Hollywood studios have tailored their films for showing in Los Angeles or Kansas City or Lubbock. Foreign markets were the icing on an American cake, a lucrative revenue stream for the cost of a few subtitles or some language dubbing. Then in recent years, as the cost of filming in Hollywood skyrocketed, foreign lands became the destination of choice for bargain-basement movie production — with their offer of cheap labor, financial incentives and unspoiled landscapes. But American moviegoers were still the endgame. Now, faced with shrinking, fragmenting audiences at home, the studios are rethinking how they operate in foreign markets.”
Movie Slump – Blame To Go Around
“The Great Box Office Slump has been covered by the entertainment press with a kind of giddy obsession ever since the summer proved blockbuster-deficient. The year isn’t quite over, but Hollywood will likely end 2005 having sold about 1.4 billion tickets in the United States, which is a 6 percent decrease from last year. Revenue at the box office is expected to reach about $9 billion, trailing last year by 4 to 5 percent (the dip is slightly less than it would have been otherwise because of rising ticket prices).”