“To say that this orchestra is resurgent is to understate things. With fine reviews and prizes falling into their laps at almost every turn” under popular music director Antonio Pappano (who holds the same position at London’s Royal Opera), “Italy’s premiere orchestra is more highly regarded that at any time in its history.”
Tag: 11.22.11
Are Humans The Only Animals Who Teach?
“There’s no culture on Earth without teachers. … And in the animal kingdom, teaching is exceedingly rare. In fact, it’s not clear whether any other animal can teach. I know this may come as a surprise, but it does so because we tend to mix up teaching and learning.” Indeed, not all behavioral scientists (or pet owners) agree on the distinction.
Royal Winnipeg Ballet Cancels Ontario Tour Due To ‘Fiscal Pressures’
“The Manitoba troupe was slated to bring its newest original ballet, the psychological drama Svengali, to Toronto for two dates in January before continuing onto Hamilton, Ont. and London, Ont.”
For Mariinsky’s Second Stage, Cool Canadian Modernism
The St. Petersburg theater’s new adjunct building, designed by Toronto’s Diamond and Schmitt Architects and expected to open next year, “will be a contemporary performance space with soaring glass walls and a roof-top ampitheatre designed to attract younger and wider audiences to the performing arts in Russia’s former imperial city.”
Intellectual History, Long Out Of Fashion, Begins A Comeback
The field was “swept aside in the 1960s by the rise of social and then cultural history, which regarded talk of ‘the American mind’ as code for ‘the mind of white, male Americans who happened to write books.’ Today, however, a new breed of young intellectual historian is aiming to integrate the spirit of ‘history from below’ with an approach that doesn’t chop American history off at the neck.”
The (Relatively) Brief And Troubled History Of Zero
“There is evidence of counting that stretches back five millennia in Egypt, Mesopotamia and Persia. Yet even by the most generous definition, a mathematical conception of nothing – a zero – has existed for less than half that time. Even then, the civilisations that discovered it missed its point entirely. In Europe, indifference, myopia and fear stunted its development for centuries. What is it about zero?”
The Soweto Boy Who Became A Budding Ballet Star
For Andile Ndlovu, a 23-year-old member of Washington Ballet, “to be accepted into the rarefied world of classical dance – which in South Africa is traditionally seen as an elitist and a predominantly white preserve – the boy from the rough Soweto townships says he had to overcome outdated stereotypes” on both sides of the country’s racial divide.
Defendant In Corot Art Fraud Case Gets Six-Year Prison Sentence
“Thomas Doyle, the Manhattan man who pleaded guilty in July to one count of wire fraud in connection with his deceitful purchase of the painting in 2010 … was sentenced on Monday to six years in prison – twice the sentence stipulated by guidelines relating to his plea bargain.”
If You Pick Us, Do We Not Bleed? Considering Plants’ Perception
“Plants respond to environmental factors. We’ve known this for a very long time. They will turn toward or away from the sun; they will sway with a passing breeze. But more and more, science has been telling us that the awareness goes much deeper, that plants have a kind of sentience. Does that mean they have consciousness? If they have consciousness, can they suffer?”
‘The Lascaux Of Punk’: Thrilled Archaeologists Find Johnny Rotten Graffiti
“Graffiti daubed on the walls of a flat by the Sex Pistols’ Johnny Rotten could be as important as the discovery of early Beatles recordings – or even the prehistoric Lascaux cave paintings,” according to a scholar from the University of York.