“Boosters say toys with even the most basic brain wave-reading technology — scheduled to debut later this year — could boost mental focus and help kids with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism and mood disorders. But scientific research is scant. Even if the devices work as promised, some question whether people who use biofeedback devices will be able to replicate their relaxed or focused states in real life, when they’re not attached to equipment in front of their television or computer.”
Tag: 04.29.07
Young Hate To Lose
Brain scans show that younger people have more difficulty coping with loss than older pople do…
Looking Forward To The Death Of The CD
“We can start celebrating the imminent demise of the CD. Right now, that might sound silly. However many downloads Arctic Monkeys end up selling, 85,000 CDs flew out of the shops on Monday. Globally, downloads still account for only 10 per cent of the market. But for aesthetic reasons if nothing else, the day that the last CD gets melted into an ashtray will be a day to savour.”
Nicholas Kenyon Remembers Slava
“In an age of performers created by record companies or talent shows, Rostropovich was the real thing – a player of breathtaking command and power who put across the music he played with an emotional intensity that none could resist. But more than that, in standing up for his friends and colleagues and for music itself, Rostropovich was the most inspiring example of the interconnectedness and total indivisibility of music and political reality, art and life.”
Sylvie Guillem’s Life Beyond Company
Star ballerina Sylvie Guillem is traveling the world these days, having left life in a company behind. “Had she stayed with the Paris Opera Ballet, she would now have reached the company’s mandatory retirement age of 42. She shrugs off this notion with disdain. ‘Older is better. You have maturity, you have experiences, and you want to live all the minutes. Soon I am going to have to stop. I’m not blind. I’m not stupid. But I want to make the most of every second that is left.”
Opera’s New Clothes
Opera is reaching “beyond its traditional image and audience. An infusion of directing talent from stage and screen continues, and opera is also venturing into new media with a sense of urgency — and a success — unthinkable just a few years ago. It all points toward an abruptly expanding view of the mission of the opera house. ‘We are in the first year of really creative, energetic experimentation, and I am curious to measure the outcome. We need to be viewing all of it in a measured way to see what works, using traditional and new technologies’.”
Rostropovich Buried
Mstislav Rostropovich, who died on Friday aged 80, was laid to rest at the Novodevichye cemetery near the grave of Boris Yeltsin. “Among about 1,000 mourners were his widow, soprano Galina Vishnyevskaya, Yeltsin’s wife, the Queen of Spain and the wife of French President Jacques Chirac.”
Questions About Cooper-Hewitt
New York’s Cooper-Hewitt Museum is pushing ahead with an expansion. “Yet even in the middle of progress, the Cooper-Hewitt, which collects and exhibits design objects, has drawn criticism for what some art-world figures view as tepid ambition and lackadaisical collecting. In an independent report commissioned by the Smithsonian and released last month, a committee of experts said it was worried about the museum.”
A New Romeo – A Year In The Making
New York City Ballet has a new Romeo and Juliet. “Staging such a large production is like first creating, then fitting together thousands of interlocking jigsaw pieces. However the work is judged by critics, audiences and posterity, the requirements are always the same: money, time and very, very hard work.”
How Rostropovich Redefined The Cello Literature
Rostropovich was a great cellist, certainly. But one of his biggest legacies will be the 200+ pieces of cello music composed for him. “He was the recipient of five pieces by Britten; two cello concertos by Shostakovich; and Prokofiev’s Sinfonia Concertante. He gave the first performances of works by Penderecki, Dutilleux, Lutoslawski, Schnittke, Messiaen, Bernstein, Auric and Walton and a host of other 20th-century composers.”