Knockoff editions of the new Harry Potter are outselling the authentic version in Pakistan. “One bookseller said at least five different versions of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix were on the market. Priced at between 295-495 rupees (£3-5, $5-8.50), they are proving hugely popular in competition with the $29.99 (£18) official version. Pakistan is ranked as one of the world’s largest producers of pirated goods, including CDs, films and computer software.”
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Musicians Protest Licensing
UK musicians are protesting a new musician licencing law passed in parliament last week. “It means that venues catering for audiences of 200 or fewer will have to obtain a licence to stage concerts – with the exception of unamplified ensembles such as string quartets. The government says public safety is at risk from unlicensed events, citing more than 1,500 fires in pubs and clubs in England and Wales in 2001. But the Musicians’ Union says its artists are being singled out – while performers such as stand-up comics and novelty acts are exempt.”
Your Concert Buddy
Would it be nice to have someone with you at a symphony concert explaining what’s happening with this music? “Still in the testing stages, the Concert Companion provides written cues to guide listeners through a concert hall performance, moment by moment, as it’s happening – in real time, as they say. Conceived by a former Kansas City Symphony executive and designed in conjunction with two Silicon Valley software firms and a UCLA musicologist, the Concert Companion is creating a buzz in the symphonic world.”
Seen The Movie, Now Come To The Play, Er, Movie…Er…
Used to be that theatre productions used to depend on stars to attract audiences. But lately, movies have been the draw. “Miramax, the studio that created ‘Chicago,’ has secured the rights to film at least three more Broadway musicals. Two of them — ‘Guys and Dolls’ and ‘Damn Yankees’ — have been given the Hollywood treatment before. And industry publications have said in recent weeks that uber-producer/director Steven Spielberg is interested in creating a film version of Stephen Sondheim’s 1979 masterpiece, ‘Sweeney Todd.’ If these projects do make it to movie theaters, it will represent a turnaround from Broadway’s recent history.”
Why Invest In Arts? Because Of “We The People”
California legislators are deciding whether to eliminate the California Arts Council. The state has a huge budget deficit, but doesn’t the state have a compelling interest in investing in culture, too? “Not as a matter of deciding what pictures get painted, not as a matter of supporting this or that artist, but as a matter of promoting excellence, the ‘common wealth.’ We certainly pay enough lip service to these ideals…”
Could Technology Decipher Burned Medieval Manuscripts?
Scientists suggest that technology used to scan and map planets could be used to decipher a unique library of medieval manuscripts mostly destroyed in allied bombing during World War II. “The collection, then housed in an annexe of Chartres town hall, comprised around 2,000 medieval books and parchments, many of which dated to the 12th Century. The library was considered a national treasure and a good proportion of the works were unpublished.”
Insta-Mobs
Flash mobs are performance art projects involving large groups of people. Mobilized by e-mail, a mob suddenly materializes in a public place, acts out according to some loose instructions, and then melts away as quickly as it formed. In New York, the city’s finest turned out in force to block the city’s third mob gathering last Wednesday evening. ‘There’s a real desire for something like this out there. Community has always been a big buzzword in the Web space, and I think the smart mob concept helps to bring the virtual community into real space. No matter how good our devices become at allowing us to communicate, I think we’re always going to need some real face time with folks’.”
The Living Word
Is there any way to figure out what books will live for posterity? “The idea that, although you will be dust, your words will outlive you is a potent one. Potent, but vain. The fate of most books, even successful ones, is a fairly swift rendezvous with Lethe.
Realistically calculating the odds in the posterity stakes: ‘A writer’s ambition should be to trade 100 contemporary readers for 10 readers in 10 years’ time and for one in 100 years’.”
Domingo To Sing And Conduct Opera
“Not content with continuing to sing both old roles and new in defiance of his 62 years, Placido Domingo is preparing to embark on another new project. For Domingo is about to sing in an opera – and then to conduct it. Far from passing the baton, he intends to pick the baton up.”
Yesterdays Are Made Of…
Where did Paul McCartney get the tune for “Yesterday”? “The origins of ‘Yesterday’, which has been recorded by more than 2,000 artists and played on the radio more than six million times, has always been a mystery – not least to McCartney himself. He woke up in his flat in London in May 1965 with the song in his head. He realized that he might have borrowed the arrangement from another song and asked friends if they could suggest any similar tunes. They convinced him it was his and that it had come to him in a dream. Now musicologists have identified echoes of Answer Me, the 1953 U.K. hit for both Frankie Laine and David Whitfield, which was later covered by Cole.”