The financially troubled St. Louis Symphony has been doing some management restructuring. But that “restructuring” included dismissing the executive most orchestra observers believe knows the most about how to run an orchestra. So what’s going on?
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World’s Most Endangered Monuments
This year’s World Monuments Watch list of 100 Most Endangered Sites includes structures from every continent.
Prisoner For A Day – Manchester Installation Shows You What It’s Like
A recreation in Manchester of the American prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba invites civilians to become prisoners for a day. “The worst thing was the sensory deprivation. When I couldn’t see or hear anything I wanted to panic. I jumped if someone touched me and the ground was so uneven I was scared I’d fall down. I felt euphoric whenever my mask was taken off.”
Chair Sells For Record Price
An 18th century chair bought for £300 50 years ago, has set the world record for an English chair when it sold for £386,400, almost twice the highest estimate, at a Sotheby’s auction.
The Booker Winner’s Amazing Display
DBC Pierre, who won this year’s Booker, said he would use his winnings to pay off some of his many debts. “The virtually unknown author, who won for his debut novel, Vernon God Little, turned last night’s prize-giving ceremony in London into an astonishing exercise in self-pity. The prize, which is 35 years old, last witnessed such eccentric scenes in 1972 when the winner, John Berger, pledged to give his cheque to the Black Power movement.”
Patriot’s Chilling Effect On E-Book-selling
Is the Patriot Act inhibiting online bookselling? “Compared with companies that sell their wares only in stores, online businesses – particularly those engaged in selling so-called expressive materials like books, music and videos – are good candidates for law enforcement requests under the Patriot Act. While off-line customers can avoid creating an audit trail by paying cash for their purchases, consumer anonymity is hard to achieve online, where transactions typically involve credit cards and shipping addresses.”
The National Writers Union’s Bold Gamble
“The National Writers Union, founded on the premise that freelance writers can organize and demand better treatment from the industry, always seems to be tangled in one internal struggle or another. But this year, as dire economic realities set in, elected officials have been forced to make decisions that will either ensure the union’s long-term survival—or cause it to self-destruct, depending on whose side you line up on.”
Pierre Wins Booker
DBC Pierre has won this year’s Booker Prize for his first novel. “Pierre, 42, is the third Australian to win the prize in its 35th year, following in the footsteps of Peter Carey and Thomas Keneally. The chairman of the judges, Professor John Carey, said his team chose Pierre by a margin of four to one.”
Atlanta Opera’s Big New Home
Atlanta Opera enters a new chapter, moving into the 4,600-seat Atlanta Civic Center. “The generically functional auditorium was built in the late ’60s to accommodate annual visits from New York’s Metropolitan Opera, which, for most of the 20th century, was the highlight of affluent Atlanta’s summer social calendar. It was only after the center’s final Met performance – Verdi’s “La Traviata” in May 1986 – that Atlantans, and the city’s business community, were ready to support a local opera company.”
Painting Is Dead, Long Live Painting!
A recent survey suggested Britons know next to nothing about fine art. But how can this be true, really? “If half the population can’t remember who painted the ‘Mona Lisa’ — or never knew in the first place — the other half seem anxious to travel to Paris and stand in front of it. In fact it is an excellent example of a work of art so popular that no one has had a chance to see it properly for decades. There is a constant, jostling throng in front of the picture, so only the staff of the Louvre and those lucky enough to be let in after hours ever get a chance to look at it as a painting should be looked at, slowly and tranquilly. “