Alberto W. Vilar, who was a major benefactor of American orchestras and opera houses, “was sent to jail on Thursday. Convicted of 12 counts related to securities fraud on Nov. 19, Mr. Vilar had been free on bail pending his sentencing March 20. But federal prosecutors argued that Mr. Vilar was a flight risk given the prospect of a lengthy prison term and what they called his penchant for lying and stealing.”
Tag: 12.19.08
It’s Actually A Pretty Terrible Life
It may be a classic holiday film, but Wendell Jameson says that It’s a Wonderful Life is anything but an uplifting tale. “[It] is a terrifying, asphyxiating story about growing up and relinquishing your dreams, of seeing your father driven to the grave before his time, of living among bitter, small-minded people. It is a story of being trapped, of compromising, of watching others move ahead and away, of becoming so filled with rage that you verbally abuse your children, their teacher and your oppressively perfect wife.”
New DaVinci Sketches Uncovered
“Previously unknown sketches have been discovered on the back of a Leonardo da Vinci painting in Paris that experts think may have been drawn by him. The sketches, which were discovered by accident, feature a horse head, part of a skull and baby Jesus with a lamb.”
Spotting The Duck
An annual trip to see The Nutcracker reminds an author of her own dreams of dancing on the big stage at Lincoln Center someday, and the way those dreams were inevitably dashed. “My feet were flat, my head was too big, I had no neck and my legs were disproportionately short. Those Russian ladies really know their stuff. They can spot a duck who will always be a duck.”
Brendel Takes His Final Bow
Legendary pianist Alfred Brendel’s final stage appearance was greeted with 20 minutes of ovations by an overflow crowd at Vienna’s Musikverein. “Brendel, who has lived in London since 1971, is also a published author of books on music and humorous verse and says he will continue to write after his retirement from the concert stage. He also plans to give lectures, readings and seminars.”
In Art Installation, All England Becomes A Symphony
The Fragmented Orchestra, installed at the FACT Gallery in Liverpool, consists of 24 “neurons,” microphone/speaker units placed at various points throughout the country; each neuron picks up sounds and transmits them to the central “brain” (a computer), which plays them on speakers in the gallery and sends them out to other “neurons.”
Piven’s Problem With Broadway: Too Much Sushi
When Jeremy Piven pulled out of the current Broadway revival of Mamet’s Speed-The-Plow this week, his excuse – “a high mercury count” – was greeted with some skepticism. Now Piven’s doctor has spoken publicly, saying that the actor’s considerable consumption of sushi (twice a day) has indeed led to mercury poisoning.
Artist-Composer Henning Christiansen, 76
He “was active as a composer from the 60’s as well as an active member of the Fluxus-movement. He worked with artists such as Joseph Beuys and Nam June Paik as well as with his wife Ursula Reuter Christiansen.”
Why Studying Literature Is Losing Popularity
“The good news is that we’ve created a discipline: literary studies. The bad news is that we’ve made ourselves rulers of a realm that has separated itself almost completely from the rest of the world. In the process, we’ve lost many of the students — I’d say, many of them men — and even some of the professors.”