“If they cannot go as tourists, put ’em to work.” The New York Philharmonic had to call off plans to play in Cuba last year when the US government refused permission, citing the ongoing embargo, for the patrons underwriting the tour to travel along. So this year, the Phil is adding to its plans some educational work in which the patrons would take part.
Tag: 10.28.10
Christopher Hogwood Tries Teaching Baroque Music in China
“It was a small but telling scene at Beijing’s Central Conservatory of Music … The young musicians ended the first movement of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 and looked expectantly at the maestro.” Hogwood’s assessment: “That was Tchaikovsky. It was not Baroque music. Can you buy CDs of Baroque music in China? DVDs? I’d suggest listening to them first.”
Top Russian Filmmaker Attacks Democracy
Oscar-winning director Nikita Mikhalkov (Burnt by the Sun), notorious for his monarchist views and his connections to the new Russian oligarchy, has set off a political furor with a 10,000-word manifesto which he titled “Right and Truth.”
Can We Create A National Digital Library?
“That is, a comprehensive library of digitized books that will be easily accessible to the general public. Simple as it sounds, the question is extraordinarily complex. It involves issues that concern the nature of the library to be built, the technological difficulties of designing it, the legal obstacles to getting it off the ground, the financial costs of constructing and maintaining it, and the political problems of mobilizing support for it.”