“Russian authorities have reshaped the Georgia-born dictator’s image into that of a misunderstood, demonized leader who did what he had to do to mold the Soviet Union into the superpower it became.” These efforts go as far as the confiscation by police of archives containing firsthand evidence of Stalin’s reign of terror.
Tag: 12.17.08
Mamma Mia! Surpasses Titanic In UK Grosses
“The critics might have hoped it would meet its Waterloo after just a few weeks, but four months after it opened the Abba-themed musical Mamma Mia! has become the highest grossing movie ever to be released in the UK, usurping Titanic‘s decade-long hold on the record.”
Rowling’s Beedle Flies Out Of Bookstores
“JK Rowling’s The Tales of Beedle the Bard has been selling at a rate of two copies a second around the world, according to the first international sales figures for the book… [the title] has sold 2.6m copies worldwide since it was published on 4 December.”
O Come, All Ye Jacobites
A Durham University professor claims that the Christmas carol “Adeste Fideles” (“O Come, All Ye Faithful”) was originally written as “a coded rallying call for Catholic supporters of Bonnie Prince Charlie,” with the “faithful” being those who remained loyal to the Stuart dynasty.
GM Pulls Out Of Montreal Jazz Fest
“The Montreal International Jazz Festival is falling victim to the global economic slowdown. The festival’s main sponsor, General Motors, has decided not to renew its five-year sponsorship contract, which expires at the end of next year.”
Download Sales To Pass The One Billion Mark
“Annual sales of digital songs will surpass 1 billion downloads this year, a first for the struggling music industry… Still, that’s not enough to offset the decline in CD sales. This year’s album sales are off 45% from the same time in 2000.”
Shaking Off The Auld Sod
In New York this year, a full raft of plays and productions from Ireland has been upending any and every preconception Yank audiences might have about theatre from the Emerald Isle in the new century.
Forgetting Mendelssohn
“What is it about Felix Mendelssohn that so habitually slips the mind? For most of the 19th century, Mendelssohn was considered the equal of Beethoven and Bach. For much of the 20th, his music was known to at least as many listeners as the Beatles… Yet each season when the concert programmes drop through the door his is the name that gets oddly left off.”
As Getty’s Endowment Plummets, Trust Freezes Hiring
The value of the Getty Trust has plunged by 25% since this summer. In a memo, chief executive James N. Wood has “asked our management team to freeze all hiring. Any requests to replace positions will be subject to my review. I have also asked that promotions and salary adjustments be halted…”
Berlin Phil Opens Digital Concert Hall
“There are two options: to watch and listen to concerts as they happen, and also to watch and listen to the concert on the BPO’s archive platform. For €9.90 visitors to the Digital Concert Hall [at the BPO website] can either watch a single concert live or for 48-hours afterwards from the archive, or for €149 can have access for the entire season.”