“Ludwig van Beethoven died on March 26, 1827, after four months of misery on a dirty straw mattress in Vienna. What brought on that downward spiral? Lead poisoning accidentally caused by his own doctor, says a journal article….”
Tag: 08.24.07
Audio Books Have A Good Year
“Sales of audiobook publishers increased 6% in 2006, to $923 million, according to the latest industry sales survey conducted by the Audio Publishers Association. The survey found that consumers continue to migrate to the CD and downloadable formats while leaving cassettes behind.”
Spelling Out The Berlin Philharmonic’s Nazi Past
“The Berlin Philharmonic became a privileged servant of Nazi propaganda after Adolf Hitler’s 1933 takeover. The pact with the Nazi regime resulted from the terrible financial situation of the orchestra since the middle of the 1920s, a certain feeling of superiority on the part of the orchestra collective and Goebbel’s vision of cultural propaganda.”
Lost Constable Discovered
“A lost sketch by John Constable, never recorded in the catalogues of his work, has tumbled with a cascade of other drawings and letters from volumes which the British Library has owned for almost a century.”
Is Venice Dead?
It’s fashionable to declare it so. The city has a population of only 60,000 and is dominated by tourism. “The Superintendency for architecture, which used to exercise very tight controls on what was done to the interiors of listed buildings, is now allowing them to be turned into hotels, with all the destruction of the originals fabric which that entails.”
UK Broadcasters Face Crisis Of Confidence
“The crisis over trust has affected all four of the UK’s public service broadcasters, damaging their relationship with viewers at a time when audiences are migrating to multichannel competitors and advertising revenues are under pressure.”
Seattle Art Museum’s Heady Year
“In a momentous few months, this previously respected but limited institution has landed in an international spotlight with panache, revealing its emerging arts leadership in the region and illuminating the complex strategies smaller museums increasingly employ to stay modern and engaged with their communities.”