“Classicists see O’Neill as adapting the ancient themes of Aeschylus to and for an America unsophisticated about classical tragedy. When O’Neill was asked why he returned to classical antiquity to deal with modern democracy, he responded that the Greek stage allows us to look into ourselves. Greek philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle held up reason as the highest human faculty. Rational reflection was, they taught, the key to discovering life’s meaning. By grasping eternal and immutable truths, we could fathom who we are and why we exist, they believed.”
Tag: 05.01.07
Canada – Hospitable To Chamber Music
Canadian string quartets are doing well in a major international string quartet competition. Why? “Look at some of the presenting organizations in Canada. And where are the real successes? Chamber music festivals. The Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, for example. That’s an international story of success — the largest chamber music festival in the world.”
A New Digital Order
“The mandarin complaint about the new digital order is that it lacks history and substance, existing in a chaotic eternal present – one with no memory and precious little attention span. But a bibliographical guide that Turkel posted in January demonstrates that there is now extensive enough literature to speak of a field of digital history.”
Take A Jock To The Orchestra?
Inspired by AJ Blogger Drew McManus’s “Take A Friend to the Orchestra” month, the staff critic at DCist decided to throw himself deeply into the spirit of the thing, inviting a sportswriter to accompany him to an Australian Chamber Orchestra concert. To make things even more challenging, the sportswriter was in a bad mood the night of the show, and in no mood for high culture. And then, the music started…
Why Do Brit Plays Have An Easier Time On Broadway?
“Right now, many of the most prominent plays on Broadway are incarnations of British productions – sometimes recast with American actors, or wholly imported. In a strange transatlantic calculation, the chances of a British or Irish play making it on Broadway are seemingly greater than their US equivalents. A quick look at so-called straight plays on Broadway provides, at the very least, anecdotal evidence that this is so.”
The Trouble With Book Clubs
“What is it about book clubs that turns us all so evil? They may parade themselves as grown-up gatherings, but they bear far more resemblance to a club formed by a cluster of girls in a playground; exclusion and bullying are rife.”
US Makes A Piracy List (Checking It Twice)
The United States issues a list of 12 countries that don’t pursue piracy as aggressively as the US wants them to. “The Bush administration placed the 12 on a ‘priority watch list’ which will subject them to extra scrutiny. The Office of the US Trade Representative said piracy is costing the country billions of dollars.”
Philly Orchestra On The Big Screen
Using Internet 2, the Philadelphia Orchestra beams a real-time performance to remote locations. “Unlike sound-only recordings, multicasts won’t be just prestigious calling cards that cost more money than they bring in: ‘We’re going to aggressively pursue this as a business opportunity’. Worldwide exposure, particularly with Western classical music emerging in Asia, could be insurance for the orchestra’s continued future amid the uncertainties of the 21st century.”
Egypt Makes Pitch For Return Of Rosetta Stone, Etc
“Egypt is calling for the temporary return of the Rosetta Stone, a bust of Nefertiti and three other valuable Egyptian artifacts currently held in museums abroad. This week, the country’s Foreign Ministry is to send letters to the British Museum, the Louvre in Paris, two German museums and Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts seeking temporary loans of the ancient artifacts.”
Church’s Carvings Are Encrypted Score, Pair Say
“A Scottish church which featured in the best-selling novel ‘The Da Vinci Code’ has revealed another mystery hidden in secret code for almost 600 years. A father and son who became fascinated by symbols carved into the chapel’s arches say they have deciphered a musical score encrypted in them.”