Here’s a list of classical music recordings that won at this year’s Grammys.
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Moscow Cracking Down On Digital Pirates
Moscow has begun cracking down on illegal copies of movies and music. Last summer, illegal CD’s and DVD’s were freely available on the streets of the Russian capital. “In the early 1990s, cinemas showed the latest movies, but not one rouble went to pay the Hollywood studios that made them. Often pirate movies were broadcast on state television. Even now, pirate disks are openly on sale in almost every corner of Russia.”
Sydney Opera House Opening Up To The World
The Sydney Opera House is getting its first structural facelift. “The western foyers will be opened to the harbour by a new glassed facade, and a $6 million loggia, or colonnade,” opening up a long windowless tube that connects the center’s various theatres. An ambitious plan to lower the Opera House floor would cost $300 million, and hasn’t yet been approved.
Controversial Swedish Exhibit Shut Down
A controversial exhibit at Stockholm’s Museum of National Antiquities that sparked a row last month when the Israeli ambassador to Sweden briefly shut it down, has been taken down from the show. The installation, entitled ‘Snow White and the Madness of Truth’, “featured a small ship carrying a picture of Islamic Jihad bomber Hanadi Jaradat sailing in a rectangular pool filled with blood-colored water.”
GarageBand – Clogging The Internet With Amateur Music
Since Apple released GarageBand, its digital music creation application, the internet has become jammed with amateur musicians posting their musical creations. “The amount of creative energy that GarageBand is creating is staggering. Apple has created a monster…. As a pro musician/producer, I love this app. It puts the fun back into creating. I’m amazed.”
Harry In Ancient Greek
The first Harry Potter book has been translated into ancient Greek. “Classics teacher Andrew Wilson, from Bedford, says it is the longest text to have been translated into the ancient language in 1,500 years.”
Florez – The Tenor As Rock Star
Peter G. Davis is ready to declare 31-year-old tenor Juan Diego Flórez a star, after his New York debut. “There has been no shortage of agile tenors recently to handle the florid bel canto repertory, but none I’ve encountered offers this kind of total package. Flórez’s accurate articulation of coloratura and the sheer fizz of his passagework, without loss of tonal quality or definition, take the breath away.”
Schjeldahl: Altering Barnes Would Be “Aesthetic Crime”
Peter Schjeldahl pays his first-ever visit to the Barnes Collection and weighs in on discussions now determining its fate. “Altering so much as a molecule of one of the greatest art installations I have ever seen would be an aesthetic crime. It would also give hosts of my fellow art lovers access to treasures that they might otherwise never see. And it’s not as if aesthetic crimes don’t happen all the time. Life goes on. But something extraordinary would be lost in the event.”
Seattle Rakes In The Music Dollars
A new study measures the economic impact of Seattle’s music business. Figures show that the music business generates “more than $650 million in annual revenue and 8,700 jobs for the local economy, according to an economic impact study released last night by Mayor Greg Nickels. When combined with revenue generated by businesses that support the core music industry, the figure tops $1.3 billion.”
The Ballet Life On Screen
Most ballet movies get it wrong about what life is like in a company, writes Joan Acocella. “The fact is that most young ballet dancers are no more obsessive, work no harder, and have no less chance of being hired by world-class companies than other young people training for a career in the classical performing arts. Nor do most modern ballets look ethereal; they are often crotchy affairs dressed in spandex and set to rock music. But in general, people don’t know about ballet from seeing it. People know about ballet from the movies.”