“Three tattooed Maori warrior heads that have been hidden away in a Glasgow museum vault for up to a century are to be returned to their native New Zealand. The somewhat grisly relics have never been on display and have lain in storage in Kelvingrove art gallery and museum.”
Tag: 06.25.04
A Prescient Guantánamo Opera
Keith Bernstein set out to write an opera about torture at Guantánamo, but he had no idea the images he imagined for his plot would hit so close to home. “The whole scenario of the opera has flooded the world since it was written to a degree that we could not have predicted. Or perhaps we all knew subconsciously that Abu Ghraib was inevitable, and it just took a librettist of sufficient prescience to imagine it.”
UK Libraries Get A Bandaid
The British government allocates £2 million more for public libraries. But critics aren’t happy. “The money will do nothing to restore the value of book budgets or improve drab buildings, two factors often seen as being central to libraries’ falling popularity over the past 20 years. One report forecasts they will cease to exist in a further 20 if trends continue.”
A Jazz Label That Makes Money
Blue Note Records, owned by another big company, EMI, is a legend in jazz recording. But though jazz isn’t a big seller, Blue Note is consistently profitable. “That financial stability gives CEO Bruce Lundvall and the label’s musicians the freedom to follow their vision and to take risks. It also means Blue Note is a force for enriching and continuing the genre. Last week, it picked up another award for Best Jazz Label from the Jazz Journalists Association – an indication that even with the addition of a broader range of artists, it hasn’t lost its roots.”