It used to be that great inventions were the product of odd individuals working in home workshops. But sometime in the past century most of the lone inventors moved inside large corporations where they found resources to work with. Now, some are arguing that being inside large corporate structures inhibits true innovation. So how about a return to the lone inventor?…
Tag: 06.06.04
New Opera, New Tryout
“Even though the operagoing public today seems more open to new works than it has in decades, the repertory in most houses remains overwhelmingly traditional. Major commissions are rare. So even composers with no prior experience are under pressure to come up with an effective work right off the bat.” That’s why New York City Opera’s annual showcase for new operas “provides composers and librettists with an invaluable chance to assess how a work might come across.”
Scottish Opera – At The Mercy Of Consultants
Should Scottish Opera downsize and restructure? To decide, the Scottish government brought in consultants. “Figures from the Scottish Arts Council reveal that earlier this year the body handed a grant for £195,830 to the company’s board to pay for lawyers, management experts and accountants, brought in to advise on a restructuring plan.”
Chinese Pianist Wins E-Competition
“Jie Chen, an 18-year-old pianist from China who moved to the United States with her mother five years ago, won first prize in the second biennial International Piano-e-Competition in Minneapolis. She received $25,000 and a Yamaha Disklavier (an electronic keyboard) valued at $75,000, along with a recital at Alice Tully Hall in New York and a CD on the Ten Thousands Lakes label. Pianists from 12 countries, from 15 to 31 years old, competed.”
The Illiad In 32 Lines Of Text Msg
The “translation of the first five of the 24 Iliad books condenses 37,000 words to 32 lines of mobile telephone text message language, with sad and smiley faces and love hearts. In book three, a duel between Paris and Menelaus to determine possession of Helen, is reduced to: “Paris went 2 fight Menelaus. But he was wiv fright. Hector told im 2 b a man. Shame on him! Helen went 2 watch from da walls.”
Testing The Mobile Music Companion
A concert-goer takes a spin with a hand-held electronic Concert Companion at a New York Philharmonic concert. “It was amazing, in fact: to my untrained eye and ear, the text invariably arrived at exactly the right moment. And there was something exciting, or at least satisfying, about reading that the concertmaster traditionally plays the solo and glancing up to see said concertmaster sawing away.” And yet, there were some problems…