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Nina Simone, 70

Jazz singer Nina Simone has died at her home in France. “Simone, born Eunice Kathleen Waymon in Tryon, N.C., had hit songs ranging from blues to spirtuals to classical fare. But she gained fame in 1959 with her recording of ‘I Loves You Porgy,’ from the musical ‘Porgy & Bess’. She later became a voice of the civil rights movement, with her song ‘Mississippi Goddam,’ and later, ‘To Be Young, Gifted and Black’.”

Forceful Voice

“Simone had only one Top 20 hit in her long career — her very first single, “I Loves You, Porgy,” released in 1959 — but her following was large and loyal and her impact deep and lasting. Aretha Franklin, Roberta Flack and Laura Nyro were among the singers who were influenced by her. In recent years her songs resurfaced and won new fans on television commercials and in dance-club remixes.”

Charleston Symphony Is Latest Orchestra In Financial Trouble

The Charleston Symphony is the latest to be threatened with closing. “Though it is the largest performing arts organization in South Carolina, and though ticket sales are up this year, it is in dire economic straits. Its endowment is puny, it’s considering shortening its 38-week performance season, and its board is scrambling to come up with a rescue plan.”

New Jersey’s Strad Problem – Who Gets To Play Them?

The New Jersey Symphony is the recipient of an amazing bounty – 30 violins from the Italian Golden Age – including 12 Strads. “The collection makes its official debut Saturday , when guests at a fund-raiser charging $2,500 per ticket will hear the instruments played at the historic railroad terminal hall at Liberty State Park in Jersey City. As the date nears, a new dilemma arises: In the midst of such bounty, who gets to play one, and who doesn’t?”

The Future Of Books (Or Something Like Them)

What will books look like in the future? “In this revolutionary future, an author will still create ‘a book’, and a reader still read ‘a book’; but the links in the chain between author and reader will not necessarily include a publisher, a printer, a distributor and a bookseller. Instead, the process will go something like this: You will step up to one of these machines and you will browse the index. You might be looking for a classic that has been out of print of years, perhaps, or the latest bestseller, or you might be looking for a book on quiltmaking. You will browse the index, and you will make your choice. You will choose the typeface, the size of the type, the binding, the cover. You will choose whether you want to listen to it or to read it. Then you will pay your money and you will punch your buttons.”

Majoring In Harry

“At the annual joint conference of the Popular Culture and American Culture Associations in the past week, J.K. Rowling’s boy wizard is the most talked-about topic among the 1500 university professors presenting papers on a wide range of subjects from Nathaniel Hawthorne to the sitcom Friends. In a series of essays and discussions, young Master Potter is being dissected from all angles, from the class consciousness in Rowling’s novels to the reaction of the religious right to the books. The phenomenal commercial success of the Harry Potter books has generated a lot of activity in the academic community.”