“Modern [sic] classical music is so widely disliked by audiences because the human brain struggles to find patterns it needs to understand the compositions as music.”
Tag: 02.20.10
The Guardian’s Ten Rules For Writing Fiction
“Get an accountant, abstain from sex and similes, cut, rewrite, then cut and rewrite again – if all else fails, pray. Inspired by Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing, we asked authors for their personal dos and don’ts.”
Critic To Lincoln Center: Forget The Brits And Support Homegrown Shakespeare
Terry Teachout calls out the leadership of the Lincoln Center Festival for going to the expense of bringing the Royal Shakespeare Company to New York for six weeks (and assembling an entire theater for their use) while there are numerous first-rate classical troupes in the U.S. which need that kind of support and exposure.
Can’t Hear Your Date At That Noisy Bar? Sing Or Play Some Music First
“Do you have trouble hearing people talk at cocktail parties? Try practicing the piano before you leave the house. Musicians – from karaoke singers to professional cello players – are better able to hear targeted sounds in a noisy environment, according to new research that adds to evidence that music makes the brain work better.”
Protests Greet Touring Israeli Dance Company (Yet Again)
“Advocates for Palestinian rights have called for a boycott of the Israel Ballet, which is performing Sunday at Brooklyn College. The advocates said that there would be protests at the college’s Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts to denounce what they call Israel’s ‘apartheid and colonial policies’.”
Benjamin Britten’s And Peter Pears’s Secret Love Nest Was Where??
Grand Rapids, Michigan, that’s where. Pianist Stephen Hough writes: “I was amazed to discover that it was in this town that the most famous gay musical couple of the 20th century first … well, you know what I mean.” (Hough also reveals the lewd little love note Pears wrote about it later.)