A 17-year-old British high school student has received an advance of $77,000 (US) – believed to be the British record for his age – for his fantasy novel “Heresy,” which he wrote while studying (or at least pretending to) for exams. – The Age (Melbourne)
Tag: 05.10.00
THE THEME OF THINGS TO COME
There was a time when orchestras programs looked like smorgasbord menus – a little of this, a little of that – you got yer meat, you got yer potatoes, and let’s not forget the veggies. Now, the marketing people need a good hook. Everything’s got to have a theme. “Anything but a trendy caprice, theme programming is widely perceived as an answer to numerous ills in the performing arts.” – Philadelphia Inquirer
KILLING THEM SOFTLY WITH HER (POP) SONG
Hip-hop diva Lauryn Hill is embroiled in a lawsuit with four songwriters who charge they did not receive proper credit for their contributions to her album. “She will be asked, under oath, a simple question: Who wrote those songs? But just beneath that question is a far more elusive one: What is a pop song, anyway?” – Salon
“JOY”FUL SILENCE
Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” was greeted with complete silence at Sunday’s concert in the former Mauthausen concentration camp. “No concert in the history of the Vienna Philharmonic has been discussed as intensively. The debate about whether this concert should go ahead in Austria’s new political situation, has absorbed Vienna for weeks, and was still at full tilt in Austria’s weekend newspapers. Televised live around the country, the Mauthausen memorial was not so much a concert, more a journey of the Austrian soul.” – The Guardian
NOT GUILTY
A court in Western Australia has thrown out the dangerous driving charges against art critic Robert Hughes. – The Age (Melbourne)
DREAM MAYOR?
London mayor-elect Ken Livingstone’s recent promises have already thrilled the art world. He plans to support the film industry, strengthen independent cinemas, and help make London a user-friendly environment for filming. He also “intends to maintain free entry to museums, and to introduce a “capital arts card” in partnership with business to give students, senior citizens and the unemployed the chance to attend theatres, cinemas and concerts for £3. And he wants to support cultural diversity in the arts.” – The Times (UK)
HANOVER BAILS
NY Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s wife, actress Donna Hanover, who was supposed to perform in the sexually suggestive “The Vagina Monologues” Off-Broadway has postponed her appearance in the show, citing family circumstances. – Chicago Sun-Times (AP)