“When completed in 2010, a glass ziggurat by prize-winning American architect Antoine Predock will open doors into galleries and installations dealing with slavery, suffrage and civil rights. ‘It’s great news for the country and a real centrepiece for Winnipeg. My understanding is that it’s going to be like a world university’.”
Tag: 04.20.07
The Governor, The Racist, The Opera
“The longest-lasting lesson in modern Georgia politics, the event that cracked the state’s official wall separating white and black, has become what it always was: An opera. The opera chronicles Governor Eugene Talmadge’s 1941 assault on the state university system, and his persecution of two academics for their alleged advocacy of race-mixing at Georgia’s all-white institutions of higher education.”
TV Classic Marred By Copyright Issues
WKRP in Cincinnati has been released on DVD. But all of its pop music has been replaced by generic fare. Why? Rights. “Some might consider it ironic that a series with such a relentless anti-automation agenda has had its soundtrack replaced by the kind of synthetic tune that the DJs railed against in episode after episode. Wherever Fever is today, up or down the dial, he can’t feel good that his legacy has been tarnished.”
Spider Man, The Musical?
“Julie Taymor, who won Tonys for direction and costume design for the Broadway production of ‘The Lion King,’ will direct, with U2’s Bono and The Edge creating new music and lyrics for the project. Auditions are taking place, and a reading is scheduled for the summer. No dates for a Broadway opening have been set.”
Clear Channel Sells Its 56 TV Stations
The dismantling of Clear Channel continues. “The sale comes as Clear Channel considers a nearly $19.5 billion private equity buyout offer for the company. Bidders Thomas H. Lee and Bain Capital raised their offer for the company earlier this week, though it is unclear whether it will persuade enough shareholders to support the deal.”
Why Recording Companies Are Giving It Away
“The record industry has reached a strange pass when it makes more economic sense to give away an entire album than to spend the money needed to persuade people to buy it. But, when it comes to the process of downloading, it seems that the cost of providing tracks and the profit margins from them are slender enough often to make giving music away the only worthwhile option.”
Orchestras’ Diversity Problem
“Baseball is celebrating the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s debut by adding new programs to encourage more African American youngsters to play ball. But there is no such concerted effort among America’s top symphonies. Even the Philadelphia Orchestra, which 16 years ago announced with great fanfare that it was on a mission to shed its “lily-white” label, appears stuck.”
Why Must Pianists Play By Memory?
“Playing from memory in public is a fairly recent fashion. Before the late 19th century, playing without the score was often considered a sign of casualness, even of arrogance. The custom of playing from memory developed along with the growth of a body of classics that everyone agreed were worth preserving exactly as their composers had intended. Teachers encouraged students to memorise them.”