In the largest analysis of the issue thus far, investigators have found that the smaller the research team working on a problem, the more likely it was to generate innovative solutions. Large consortiums are still important drivers of progress, but they are best suited to confirming or consolidating novel findings, rather than generating them. – The New York Times
Blog
‘Leonard Bernstein’s Black America’
“[Lenny] marched in Selma with Harry Belafonte, he brought black conductors to Tanglewood in the ’50s and in the ’60s integrated the Philharmonic by hiring violinist Sanford Allen. To raise money for civil rights organizations, he also hosted jazz in the afternoon at his house, and when John F. Kennedy was assassinated, he called for André Watts to play Beethoven at the memorial.” Here’s a one-hour audio documentary by WQXR host Terrance McKnight on Bernstein’s activism for racial equaliy. – WQXR (New York City)
Did Dan Mallory Also Plagiarize His Best-Selling Novel? (Along With His Other Problems)
The parallels are numerous, and detailed. Both novels feature anxiety-ridden, middle-aged female narrators who are afraid to leave their homes, and they witness something suspicious while spying on neighbors. The stories have nearly identical plot twists in the final act. “It is the EXACT same plot like down to the main characters’ back story,” one person wrote in an Amazon review comparing the two books. “Sorry but there’s no way the amount of stolen material is a coincidence.” – The New York Times
The Naked Pharaoh Speaks! Anthony Roth Costanzo On How Playing Philip Glass’s Akhnaten Has Changed Him
“In fact I have the show to thank for discovering electrical muscle stimulation (EMS), which uses electric current to amplify your workout and actually builds muscles much faster than I could on my own. I liked it so much that I gathered investors and started one of the first EMS companies in America (seriously).” – The Guardian
See What The Sydney Opera House Would Have Looked Like If They’d Chosen A Different Architect
The Herald offers visualizations, in situ on the tiny peninsula in Sydney Harbor, of half a dozen of the runners-up in the competition to design what was meant to be Australia’s new national opera house. (Personally, we think the panel made the right choice.) – Sydney Morning Herald
Why Tamara Rojo And Akram Khan Were Brave Enough To Redo ‘Giselle’
Rojo: “I wanted to do a classical ballet from a new point of view, and I wanted the hardest one … I had seen the Björk film Dancer in the Dark, and I kept thinking: This is Giselle, and it is possible to tell this story in a new context.”
Khan: “When Tamara asked me, I did think a bit: Are you mad? I had barely seen a ballet, and knew nothing about Giselle.” – The New York Times
Minnesota Public Radio Opens New Online Portal For Immigrants
“Sahan Journal is the brainchild of Mukhtar Ibrahim, who began his career as MPR’s first Somali-American reporter before joining the Minneapolis Star Tribune. He … said he wants Sahan to be ‘a one-stop shop for all things immigrant in Minnesota.'” – Current
Art Dealer Mary Boone Sentenced To Prison For Tax Fraud
“After pleading guilty in September to filing false tax returns that claimed she had taken in millions of dollars less than was the reality, Mary Boone — an art dealer with roots in New York’s 1970s-era SoHo scene and galleries in the present in Midtown and Chelsea — was sentenced on Thursday to 30 months in prison in New York’s Southern District Court. – ARTnews
Chicago Symphony Musicians Vote To Authorize Strike
“Chicago Symphony Orchestra musicians voted on Wednesday evening to authorize a strike that would begin on March 10, if contract negotiations are not resolved. … At issue are pension, health care and salary.” – Chicago Tribune
Boston Symphony And Principal Flute Elizabeth Rowe Settle Equal-Pay Lawsuit
“A landmark pay-discrimination lawsuit filed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s star flutist, Elizabeth Rowe, has been settled out of court after successful mediation between the two sides. ‘While the details of the resolution are confidential, all those involved in the process are satisfied with the result,’ according to a joint statement from the BSO and Rowe issued by the orchestra Thursday afternoon.” – Berkshire Eagle (Pittsfield, MA)