“A quest for the lost island of Atlantis began off the southern shores of Cyprus yesterday. After a decade of intense study an American, Robert Sarmast, claims to have assembled evidence to prove that the fabled island lies a mile deep in the sea between Cyprus and Syria… By August he hopes to have proved that Atlantis was not simply a figment of the imagination but a real empire with stone temples, bridges, canals and roads.” Of course, Sarmast is hardly the first to have claimed that the mythical island exists, and recent claims as to its whereabouts have spanned at least four continents.
Blog
Will NJSO Have To Pay For Axelrod’s Dodge?
The New Jersey Symphony thought that philanhropist Herbert Axelrod was nuts when he offered to sell them a $50 million collection of instruments for $18 million, but they certainly never thought that, by agreeing to the sale, they would be running afoul of the United States Congress. But now, with Axelrod hiding out in Cuba from charges of tax evasion, “Senate investigators are questioning whether the instrument sale is representative of a fast-growing tax dodge in which wealthy donors inflate the value of gifts — from rare violins to paintings, period furnishings and even fossils — abetted by docile appraisers, weak tax enforcement and cultural institutions with little interest in making waves.”
Picasso’s Battle With France Over Citizenship
Picasso tried to get citizenship in France, but authorities branded him an anarchist and held up his application. “Picasso never received a formal rejection of his application but remained in France until his death in 1973. He never mentioned his naturalisation attempt to anyone. ‘I think he was profoundly humiliated by the fact that France didn’t say yes,’ said Charlot. ‘He never applied again.”
16-Year-Old Violinist Is BBC’s Young Musician of the Year
Sixteen-year-old violinist Nicola Benedetti has won the BBC’s Young Musician of the Year award. “She triumphed over four other finalists at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall and became the first Scot to win the competition. Nicola began playing the violin at the age of four and left school aged 10 to attend the Yehudi Menuhin School for gifted musicians in Surrey.”
Qatar’s Amazing Museum Plans
“Virtually nothing compares with the scale and ambition of the museums planned for Qatar’s capital Doha.” The capital is being remade, and five museums, designed by architectural heavyweights, are in the planning.
MoMA: Swapping Picassos For Hirsts?
The Museum of Modern Art is selling nine paintings and could raise $27 million from the sale. At the same time, “a London source close to the contemporary art market told The Art Newspaper that the museum is considering the purchase of the 13 Damien Hirsts now on show at Tate Britain in the exhibition “In-a-Gadda-da-Vida” (until 31 May). Could MoMA be trading its Picassos, Légers, and Pollocks for a flock of butterfly paintings and vitrines by Mr Hirst?”
Pianists With Personality
For a long time now, many pianists have suffered from a bewildering lack of personality. Oh, the notes were (usually) all there, and the technical prowess could astonish. But too many pianists sounded the same. Tim Mangan notes that four young pianists are distinguishing themselves with their individualistic playing.
Levine: I’ll Keep Conducting
Conductor James Levine has responded to a story that said he was suffering from ailments that increasingly make him an ineffective leader. He has signed an extension to his Metropolitan Opera contract to 2011, and will take over as music director of the Boston Symphony as scheduled. “I wouldn’t have agreed to it if I didn’t think I would be able to fulfill the contract. As I get older, no doubt I’ll keep changing in some ways, and I hope it’ll mean I keep doing better work. The perception of most of the people I know has been that even when I absorb or deal with something like my back or my tremor, the work gets better. And I think that’s true.”
PEN Lit Awards To Playwrights Wilson, Nottage
“Pulitzer Prize winner Lanford Wilson and fellow playwright Lynn Nottage were honored with literary awards announced Sunday by the PEN American Center.”
Oklahoma: Rebuilding A Blown-Up Building
How do you rebuild the Oklahoma Federal Building that was blown up? It’s not easy to make a statement. “With elegant curving walls of glass and brute masses of concrete, the three-story, $42.7 million structure is both anti-fortress and fortress, a self-consciouslessly masculine building that doesn’t shy from a show of strength — and sometimes goes too far.”