Tag: 12.05.12

Composer Jonathan Harvey Dead At 73

“[He had] been composing since the 1960s, during which period he was a prominent disciple of Karlheinz Stockhausen, whose experimentalism and use of electronic instrumentation influenced Harvey’s early works. But from the 1970s he began to establish his own distinctive voice, drawing on an abiding interest in spirituality and world religions.”

Rococo Furniture As Performance Art

“At first glance it’s a typical high-end rococo desk, its swanlike cabriole legs and paneled sides aglitter with gilt-bronze mounts, its surfaces alive with delicately painted scenes of temples [which are actually inlay, not paint] … Everywhere, hidden buttons, levers and key-operated mechanisms trigger hidden side trays, pop-up easels, secret drawers concealing further secret drawers.”

Covent Garden Kerfuffle Over Last-Minute Firing Of Debut Soprano

“It was always going to be a drama for the Royal Opera House to put on [Meyerbeer’s] epic Robert le diable for the first time in more than a century. It almost turned into a crisis when they gambled with a relatively unknown singer for the grueling lead female role and, at the last minute, had to swap newcomer Jennifer Rowley for a more experienced soprano.”

Dave Brubeck, 91

“[He] composed ambitious classical and choral works, released nearly 100 albums” – including the first jazz album to sell a million copies – “and remained a charismatic and indefatigable performer into old age. In December 2010, … his quartet won the readers’ poll of DownBeat magazine as the best group in jazz – 57 years after he first won the poll.”