There have been a number of plays in recent years that take up science as a topic. But most of them bury the science behind personalities. But why not put science or math upfront? “Doing mathematics can often feel like the creative process of a theatre improvisation. You set up a tableau with conditions for collisions of ideas and let the thing run. Very often it gets nowhere – but sometimes there is a dynamic created that clicks. Like the rules of a theatre game, the conditions push you in extraordinary unexpected directions that too much freedom would stifle.”
Tag: 11.04.03
FCC Approves Anti-Pirate Flag
The Federal Communications Commission has approved a controversial plan to allow broadcasters to insert a digital “flag” into their television programs which would prevent consumers from distributing digital copies of the program over peer-to-peer file trading services. Privacy advocates had argued that the plan infringed on the “fair use” rights of the public, but the FCC determined that U.S. copyright law made it legal for restrictions to be placed on just what consumers can do with the pictures that come across their TV screens.
And A Finn Shall Lead Them
Finland is justifiably proud of its musical tradition, and sometimes, it seems as if the Finns have taken over the conducting profession completely. Esa-Pekka Salonen, music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, is one of the country’s most successful native sons, and lately, he has been captivating America as well. Following the glittering opening night of the Phil’s new Disney Hall, Salonen’s already-considerable profile has been raised, and many are saying that the conductor appears to have graciously evolved from his early years in LA, when he favored obscure composers and difficult modernist works, into a truly well-rounded leader who skillfully balances the demands of his audience, his musicians, and his own soul.
Denby: Movies Suck, But There’s Hope
New Yorker film critic David Denby began a talk at Yale University this week by flatly declaring that “movies suck.” Specifically, according to Denby, the Matrix trilogy sucks, most other film critics suck, and so does the exasperating tendency of the big Hollywood studios to churn out embarrassing pap masquerading as cinema. But Denby isn’t all doom and gloom, saying that just because there are fewer profound stories being filmed than in the medium’s “golden age,” that doesn’t indicate that Hollywood is dying out.
Company Jumps Into The Arts Mentor Business
“In an unusual experiment in sponsorship Rolex has funded an initiative through which five leading artists take a young tyro talent under their wing for a year. As a wealthy foundation with no shareholders to please Rolex has been serious with its cash and time – the cost of the project comfortably topped $1m (£594,000).”
MTV Downloadable?
Is MTV threatened by music download sites like iTunes? The music channel plans to launch a service of downloadable MTV. “There’s no doubt it’s a strong brand, with a strong profile of viewers. But they can’t rely solely on their brand come next year … After iTunes launched in April, MTV should have been like a hawk on a field mouse.”
Book Sales Roar In September
Book sales were sharply up in September, the book trade’s best month in a long time. “Children’s hardcover category continued to show the strongest gains as sales in September increased 62.1%. For the first nine months of the year, children’s hardcover sales were up 56%. Adult hardcover, which has had an up-and-down year, posted a sales gain of 31.7% in September, although year-to-date sales were off 5.8%.”
Is The New Book Culture Killing Literature?
“Literature now is in a dangerous zone where there seems to be little separation between the private act of writing and the public performance demanded of writers,” says author Michael Ondaatje. “Books are judged today as successful or not depending on sales and jury short lists. Meanwhile the critical climate, for all the media coverage of writers, is random and manic… And with awards, the one thing we have to admit about juries is that they can often choose the wrong books.”
Warner Chappell Music Publisher For Sale
Time Warner is said to be putting up Warner Chappell, its music publishing business, for sale. The company is said to be worth about $1 billion, and already suitors are lining up…
The Courtship Of David Zinman
Conductor David Zinman resigned the music directorship of the Baltimore Symphony five years ago, unhappy with what he called the orchestra’s increasingly conservative direction. At the time, many observers assumed that Zinman would never again agree to lead an American orchestra, that he was just too disgusted with the place of the arts in his native country. But now, with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra revving up its search to replace outgoing director Mariss Jansons, Zinman is apparently willing to consider a return to the States. “I told them that it really depends on who the new executive director is and who the new board president is,” he says. “Then I would be open to talking about it.”