David Afkham, 27, “currently assistant conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra and a Dudamel conducting fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, was selected from 81 candidates … in a multi-tiered process which culminated with three finalists leading the Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon.”
Tag: 08.09.10
Oxytocin, the Hormone Civilization Depends On
Says neuroeconomist Paul Zak of the brain chemical known as “the trust hormone” (and, sometimes, “the cuddle hormone”), “Civilization is dependent on oxytocin. You can’t live around people you don’t know intimately unless you have something that says, ‘Him I can trust, and this one I can’t trust’.”
But Does Oxytocin Make Us All Into Suckers?
“Before we start putting this stuff into the water, however, it’s worth asking the question: Does it also make us more gullible? Trust is great, but not everyone is trustworthy.” Luckily, new research indicates that oxytocin loses its effect “when a partner is perceived as dishonest.”
Pop-Up Books May Be Fun, But They Don’t Help a Kid Learn
When Waldo Hunt and Bennett Cerf revived the pop-up book in the mid-1960s, “[their] guiding belief was that these books were more interactive and thus more engaging to young readers. … [Yet] new research finds youngsters learn more by leafing through traditional books – ones where the illustrations stay on the page.”
Pina Bausch’s Dancers, Keeping Her Work Alive
“The detail and complexity of Bausch’s work were such that, whenever a production was revived, it required months of preparation from her. Yet Robert Sturm, who had for 10 years worked alongside Bausch as assistant director, felt they had to find a way of keeping the company going. ‘Pina fought hard to bring this kind of work to Wuppertal – I know she didn’t want it to disappear’.”
Dostoevsky on the Moscow Subway
“The Dostoevskaya station – which opened this summer in memory of Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky – met a fair share of opposition when psychologists expressed concern that dark murals of the violent scenes from Dostoevsky’s books could put riders in gloomy moods – or, worse, even encourage suicidal impulses.”
John Waters in Provincetown
“This is my forty-sixth summer here. I came here for the first time when I was seventeen. I hitchhiked and then stayed two weeks and lived in a tree fort. … The rest of Provincetown: everyone else says, ‘it’s changed, blah, blah, blah.’ I don’t think it has, I feel like if I dropped a piece of gum there in 1971 it would still be there.”
Are Astronomers’ Pictures Of The Galaxy Too Much Like Art?
“An urban legend has developed over the years that the colors in modern astronomical photos are made up in a paint-by-numbers game by publicity-hungry astronomers.”
Seattle Opera Fights The Battle
“This past year my insider look has none of the romance, wistfulness or wit that I may have brought to you in the past. At Seattle Opera we have been at battle. We have been at war with multiple enemies. There have been very real casualties.”
New York Mag Art Critic Open-Sources Book
Last week, Jerry Saltz announced (via his enormously popular Facebook page) an open call for “guest artists” to send in their own 100-word submissions. This being the art criticism business, Saltz stressed that “there’s no money in this for you whatsoever.”