Children’s book author Jacqueline Wilson had the most books borrowed last year from British libraries. Danielle Steel was runner-up, with Josephine Cox in third place, both for the second year in a row. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was the most borrowed book. Wilson’s books were borrowed more than two million times, according to the Public Lending Right (PLR) organisation.”
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Arthur Miller Ailing
Playwright Arthur Miller, 89, is battling cancer, pneumonia and a heart condition and is in hospital. Miller, a fiery moralist whose plays include “Death of a Salesman,” “The Crucible” and “A View from the Bridge,” had been in hospice care at Copeland’s New York apartment since his release several weeks ago from Memorial Sloan-Kettering.
DC Loses A Classical Music Station
Washington DC classical music station WTEA is changing formats, dropping most of its music and airing news and public affairs. “By an overwhelming majority, the board approved a resolution to focus on news and public-affairs programming. A new lineup, with round-the-clock news, analysis and interview programs, will debut Feb. 28. Only the weekly broadcasts of the Metropolitan Opera and “Traditions With Mary Cliff,” a folk music program, will remain for music lovers.
Vegas Gets The Theatre Bug (And Builds Big)
Fantastic new-generation theatres in Las Vegas eclipse anything Broadway can produce. “Freed of the constraints of space that are a struggle in jam-packed Manhattan, and armed with shocking amounts of money from wealthy casino conglomerates, show producers can dream far bigger and bolder than in New York. The theater at a Vegas resort is a piece of a much larger business model in which the patrons are also diners, shoppers, hotel guests, and casino players, making it worthwhile for Caesars Palace to plunge $95 million into a showroom for pop star Céline Dion, even though the hotel shares the ticket revenue with Dion and her production company.”
Broadway Courts Kids
Broadway producers worried about developing a next generation of theatre fans are concentrating on more programs for kids. “Family fare has taken off on Broadway (think “The Lion King,” “Beauty and the Beast”), and a survey from the League of American Theaters and Producers shows that the number of kids filling seats is up slightly. In the 2003-2004 season, the league reports that nearly 1.3 million kids under 18 attended shows, the second highest turnout in more than 20 years (the highest was in 2000-01 season).”
Regulators Reject Broadcasters Digital Request
US regulators Thursday “rejected a request by broadcasters to require cable and satellite operators to carry multiple digital channel offerings from local television stations. Cable operators have voluntarily agreed to carry multiple digital channels in some cities, but broadcasters say making it a requirement would benefit the public by giving them more programming choices. They contend that cable companies are afraid of the competition that more free, local “over-the-air” channels would give popular cable-only movie and sports networks.”
Entertainment Unions Protest Illegal Downloads
“Five labor organizations representing America’s actors, writers, directors, and musicians have complained of the injury caused by illegal Internet downloads in a 21-page “friend of the court” brief filed in support of film and music companies led by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios.” The companies are suing download services for copyright infringement…
US Congress Considers Huge Indecency Fine Increase
“Indecency” fines for US broadcasters could go up 15-fold under a bill wending its way through Congress. “A select committee in the House of Representatives has voted in favour of a bill to increase individual fines to a maximum of $500,000. Stations could also face losing their licence if they violate indecency laws more than three times. Under the bill, individual performers could also face a fine.”
Thoroughly Modern Fiddles
More top violinists are playing modern instruments. “The great violinists from 1800 onwards always went back to the instruments by Stradivarius or Guarneri. For the 19th-century makers, there was never the thrill of building for the best violinists, so they didn’t have the incentive. They were more like repairmen. They would build instruments, but they would build for the lesser player. There were quite a few good Italian instruments, but some of them have really died and are not playable any more. Now all of a sudden there is a demand. And so we go to the makers and say, sorry, we need a great instrument. We don’t need something in between.”
Lebrecht: Frank Talk About The State Of Classical Music
There is much to be gloomy about for the state of classical music, writes Norman Lebrecht. “Why the world has gone off classical concerts is a conundrum in which almost every reasonable assertion is disputable. Take the attention-span thesis. Many in the concert world believe that its decline stems from the public’s flickering tolerance for prolonged concentration. If politicians speak in soundbites, how can we expect voters to sit through a Bruckner symphony? It is a persuasive argument but one that I have come to find both fatuous and patronising.”