“The incomplete copy of the gene seems to have showed up just as the extinct hominin Australopithecus made room for the genus Homo, which led to modern humans. That’s also when the brains of our ancestors began to expand and when dramatic changes in cognitive abilities are likely to have emerged.”
Tag: 05.06.12
Detroit Symphony Orchestra Hires Yoonshin Song As New Concertmaster
“The Detroit Symphony Orchestra has hired violinist Yoonshin Song, a 30-year-old native of South Korea, as its new concertmaster. … Landing Song is a major artistic coup for the DSO as it rebuilds after last year’s debilitating strike.”
Outrage Over Turkey’s Seizing Control Of Istanbul Theatres
“Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week backed a move by Istanbul’s Islamist mayor to take over decision-making at Istanbul City Theaters, a theater troupe which is funded by the city and staged [a] play that outraged conservative critics. Erdogan also threatened to privatize state-run theaters — essentially cutting their funding — in response to resignations and protests by secular-minded artists against alleged political interference.”
A Q&A With Filmmaker Bess Kargman About First Position
“A lot of people come up to me and say I don’t like ballet, but I really loved your film, and that means so much to me. That means that I’ve exposed people to dance and showed the intimate lives of these dancers, even if they’re not obsessed with ballet.”
Chicago Symphony’s Ricardo Muti To Conduct At The Vatican
“Muti will lead Rome’s Teatro dell’Opera in selections from Vivaldi and Verdi in the May 11 concert, which is being offered to the pope by Italy’s president in honor of the seventh anniversary of his election to the pontificate.”
Percussion Quest (Including Wine Corks, Bamboo, And Felt)
“Pereira looks like a drummer but talks like a scholar. He is serious about his craft, which he knows doesn’t always get enough respect as serious musicianship. ‘There is a lot of creativity and exploration in sound that we have to do for percussion,’ he says. ‘It’s not just two plates of metal or drums and sticks. You have to work hard at it or you deserve all the bad jokes.'”
Zvi Zeitlin, 90, Violinist Who Championed Modern Composers
“Robust of constitution, Mr. Zeitlin, who performed on a 1734 Guarneri del Gesù, continued touring until he was well into his 80s. At Eastman, he gave his last major recital in February, two days before his 90th birthday, in a program of Schubert.”
The Frisbee’s Background As A Baking Tool
“Walter Fredrick Morrison and his girlfriend, Lucile Nay, discovered that flying discs were marketable when a stranger asked to buy the metal cake pan they were flipping through the air on a Santa Monica beach. By 1938, the couple were selling the 5-cent pans for a quarter a piece. Morrison used the proceeds to buy Nay a $35 diamond engagement ring.”