Dallas’s $275 million performing arts center is being designed and built by star architects Rem Koolhaas and Norman Foster. But trying to get the two to work together has been difficult. And the arts groups that will call the center home have little access to the two or their representatives. “This pattern has produced frustration among performing arts center staff and some members of the building committees, who complain privately about lack of coordination and their once-a-month access to the decision-makers.”
Blog
How Blogging Is Changing Iran
Blogging has taken off in Iran, and Persian is now the fourth most popular blog language in the world. “A major factor in the widespread adoption of blogging in Iran has been the Unicode standard, which has made it possible for people to write and publish easily in the Persian script. Nor does it hurt that it is easy to set up a blog — or to use a pseudonym. The result has been the creation of a medium that cuts across social and geographic boundaries.”
Japanese Orchestra Reforms How It Pays Players
One of Japan’s top orchestras is restructuring and offering new contracts to players. “The two new contracts will have members choose between a fixed-term employment system and an annual contract system based on performance evaluation. This is the first time that a Japanese professional orchestra has decided to adopt a performance-based wage system comparable to that used by private-sector companies.”
About Those 562 Stolen Picassos…
“There are more than 160,000 missing works of art, according to the Art Loss Register, a London-based organization that tracks stolen and recovered art. The global trade in stolen art is estimated to amount to at least $5 billion a year, according to the Progressive Policy Institute, which reports by comparison that the legitimate art market is said to be about $25 billion annually.”
Freelance Writers Win Big Online Settlement
Free lance writers win a $10 million-$18 million award to compensate for work that has been posted online. “Plaintiffs, who filed on behalf of thousands of freelance writers, included the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the Authors Guild, the National Writers Union and almost two dozen freelance writers. Under the terms of the settlement, freelance writers who had work published between August 1977 and December 2002 will be eligible to fill out a form — online or by mail — that will entitle them to money for works to which they had not signed away their rights to electronic publication.”
Rocky 2 Tops Classic FM List Again
Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 has again topped UK listeners’ list of favorite music in the annual Classic FM survey. “The concerto, which was used in the classic romance Brief Encounter, has now topped the Hall of Fame countdown for five years running. Vaughan Williams’ A Lark Ascending came second, while Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A was third.”
Royal Winnipeg Star Retires
Royal Winnipeg star Evelyn Hart has retired from the company after 30 years. “Hart, who turns 49 on April 6, said that over the past few years, the company has mounted more and more productions without her. Although billed as one of the company’s principal dancers, she was scheduled to dance only one short pas de deux this season and was not cast in any of the company’s recent hit productions.”
Police Investigate Missing Boston Gallery Owner
The owner of a venerable Boston art and prints gallery abruptly left the country about two weeks ago, setting off a criminal investigation into whether he absconded with hundreds of thousands of dollars from the sales of artwork left on consignment at his shop…
Havel Writes Again
Former Czech president Vaclav Havel says he’s returning to writing. “The 68-year-old has said he is planning to write an autobiograhy and a play based on Shakespeare’s King Lear. He has also talked about publishing a book of conversations with friends.”
The Precocious China Philharmonic
The China Philharmonic Orchestra is only four years old, but already it is touring the world. “The 106-strong orchestra was founded in 2000 through a revamp of an old Beijing radio orchestra. Supporters say that the orchestra’s success is heralding a renaissance in classical music in China. Around 240 million Chinese children now learn the piano and the Pearl River Piano Group is now the second largest instrument manufacturer in the world.”