“A 3¼-inch limestone lion from ancient Mesopotamia fetched the highest price ever paid at an auction for a sculpture – $57 million. Sotheby’s had estimated that the Guennol Lioness would bring up to $18 million.”
Tag: 12.05.07
The Disease Of Perfectionism
“New research focuses on a familiar type, perfectionists, who panic or blow a fuse when things don’t turn out just so. The findings not only confirm that such purists are often at risk for mental distress but also suggest that perfectionism is a valuable lens through which to understand a variety of seemingly unrelated mental difficulties, from depression to compulsive behavior to addiction.”
Can Classical Music Be Saved On The Net?
“A decade into the internet revolution, the demand for classical downloads is still too soft to define. Dedicated concertgoers, conservative to a fault, have stuck to buying old-fashioned CDs. Apple runs a classical line at I-Tunes, but with limited scope (don’t go looking for Birtwistle) and delivering a feeble 128-192 kilobits per second (kbps), barely one-tenth of the density on CD.”
Question: Is A Composer Whose Music Isn’t Popular A Bad Composer?
An absurd idea, writes William Kraft. “A composer writes to express himself and his ideas to the best of his ability. He may want to communicate and share those elements with his public. He may not, but odds are that he would like to. The ivory tower is a myth.”
State Ends Investigation Of Boston’s Citi Arts Center
The Massachusetts attorney general has concluded an investigation of Boston’s Citi Performing Arts Center and “will take no further action against the Center, which has faced criticism in recent months for its decision to pay president and CEO Josiah A. Spaulding Jr. a $1.2 million bonus despite the nonprofit organization’s financial struggles.”
Thriller At 25 – How It Changed Pop Music
“Thriller” sold 40 million copies during its initial run. “From the distance of a quarter-century, the release of Thriller looks like … the most significant event in popular-music history in the past quarter-century. It is the record that ended commercial pop radio’s de facto apartheid, that ushered in the modern music-video era, that turned a former kiddie star into a new generation’s equivalent of Elvis and the Beatles.”
Switcheroo: Publishers Give Award To Critics
“The Association of American Publishers announced Wednesday that it will give its annual AAP Honors prize, for “significant achievements in promoting American books and authors,” to the National Book Critics Circle.”
Survey: Canadians Don’t Want Foreign Ownership Of Media
“A majority of Canadians oppose foreign ownership of the media, telephone and cable firms, and believe the government should play a role in preserving Canada’s cultural identity.”
New Video Game Spawns “Virtual” Musicians
“The new video game Rock Band lets users willing to part with $170 strum along with the Ramones, drum with Jimi Hendrix, or croon alongside Keith Richards.”
Beijing Serves Up Opera And Movies
To save a historic opera theatre in Beijing, a movie theatre company plans to create a dual-prupose building that will stage opera and show movies. The movie theater is much more meaningful if we preserve the opera at the same time, making both economically sound,”