Category: today’s top story

Ellen dePasquale, an associate concertmaster with the Cleveland Orchestra for the past eight years, has resigned her position in protest of music director Franz Welser-Möst’s decision to create a new titled chair which would outrank her. “The musician who wins the [newly created] post will be first in line to substitute for concertmaster [William] Preucil,” a privilege that had formerly been reserved for dePasquale.

“In the beauty and geometric complexity of tile mosaics on walls of medieval Islamic buildings, scientists have recognized patterns suggesting that the designers had made a conceptual breakthrough in mathematics beginning as early as the 13th century. A new study shows that the Islamic pattern-making process … appears to have involved an advanced math of quasi crystals, which was not understood by modern scientists until three decades ago.”

Only a couple of years ago, theatre buffs were bemoaning the grip that the musical had on Broadway, and wondering if the day of the serious play had all but passed. Now, with twelve new plays slated to open on Broadway in the next several months, non-musical drama is making a serious comeback.

“The English National Opera is to cut 10% of its staff, axing about 45 jobs. The ENO said the losses, to include performers and technical staff, were needed to make it ‘artistically and financially viable in the long term’. It is aiming to cut fixed costs – £20m of its £30m turnover – saying it feared reduced funding if government money to the Arts Council did not increase.”

“Censorship is as old as civilisation itself – and the drive to suppress as strong today as ever. Our politicians seem to have concluded that there are no votes in artistic freedom, or even upholding the law, but many in pandering to every angry cry of offence.”

“An ancient Greek theater accidentally discovered by construction workers in Athens is one of the classical world’s most famous lost stages. Builders stumbled last week across the 2,500-year-old amphitheatre of Acharnes, known from ancient writings to be an important arena for tragedies, comedies and musical contests.”

“Directors have started to manipulate actors’ performances in postproduction. Modern visual effects technology allows them to go beyond traditional cosmetic changes, such as removing wrinkles and unsightly hairs, and adjust actors facial expressions and subtly alter the mood of a scene.”

“Over the last decade, the portion of corporate philanthropy dedicated to the arts has dropped by more than half, according to the Giving USA Foundation, an educational and research program of the American Association of Fundraising Counsel. In 2004, the most recent year for which figures are available, support for the arts was 4 percent of total corporate philanthropy, compared with 9.5 percent in 1994 — part of a general shift in giving toward health and social services.”

In New Orleans, belonging to a high school band is a mark of adolescent prestige, not loserdom. When Hurricane Katrina struck, closing schools and scattering the populace, those bands — which have long nurtured the city’s musical talent — suffered, and many of them disappeared. “But some of the top high school bands are back: a rare, heartening sign not only for the [Mardi Gras] parades but also for the long-term vitality of New Orleans culture.”

Lois Greenfield is a photographer who shoots Australian Dance Theatre performances live onstage. The photos are instantly projected on the stage. “I thought the dancers would jump in a pre-set place so I could shoot them. Instead, I’m on stage with an SLR camera, zooming in and out all over the place. At first, I was terrified, as everything I shoot goes on screen.”