In the past two years, more than 30 pilot programs imitating the Venezuelan music education model have arisen in the States, with more in the pipeline, “thanks in part to an award honoring El Sistema’s founder, Jose Antonio Abreu … [who is using] the award money to fund a training program for leaders who will start their own [programs] in the U.S.”
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Gauguin’s Voluptuous Nude Tahitian Maidens? Nothing But A Fantasy
“It’s a glamorous vision, but a false one. The artist had hoped to find such exotic, half-clothed beauties – but did not.” Tahiti “had been thoroughly Christianized and colonized. The women were not walking around half-naked. … They tended to be wearing … Christian missionary gowns.”
BBC Philharmonic, Badly Shaken by Quake, Aborts Japan Tour
The Manchester-based orchestra canceled the last four dates of its current 17-day, 10-concert tour of Japan after a terrifying experience: At the moment the magnitude 8.9 earthquake struck, the musicians were in a bus crossing a suspension bridge.
Carlos Slim Inaugurates His Mexico City Museum
“The world’s richest man, telecom tycoon Carlos Slim, gave a sneak peak Tuesday at the new museum where he plans to show his vast collection of art and collectibles … The Soumaya museum – named after the tycoon’s late wife – opens to the public on March 29 and admission will be free.”
Keeping Afghanistan’s Greatest Treasures Safe Through Decades of War
“In 17 years of war after the 1989 Soviet withdrawal, and five years of Taliban rule, most of the Afghan national museum’s riches were looted and some were deliberately destroyed. But the most valuable items survived, in a vault deep beneath the presidential palace, thanks to five men – among them museum director Omar Khan Massoudi.”
British TV Finally Succumbs to Lure of Product Placement
“Under the new rules, placements must be editorially justified and must not feature gambling, alcohol, tobacco, junk food, medicine or baby milk. They are also banned on all children’s, news, current affairs and religious programmes.”
Valentine’s Day Becomes Big Deal Among Palestinians
“In the past few years, Valentine’s Day … a romantic holiday with Christian roots and a uniquely American commercial spin … has become incredibly popular in Ramallah and other West Bank cities, and this year was no exception.”
Paris Review To Publish Roberto Bolano Novel
“The spring issue of the Paris Review will contain a lost manuscript … [which] Bolaño called The Third Reich. The magazine plans to publish the complete novel in four installments over the course of a year, which will be followed by a hardcover version” from Farrar Strauss Giroux.
The Late Soviet Union’s Oddest Architecture
The USSR’s final two decades saw “an extraordinary collection of buildings that drew on an extraordinary collection of styles: as well as the Soviet schools of suprematism (a controlled explosion of geometric forms) and constructivism (wild projections, provocative angles), there was a strong western undercurrent, with echoes of everything from Alvar Aalto and Antoni Gaudi to Oscar Niemeyer. And running through all this was a thrilling element of Soviet over-reaching, a hint of sputniks, space rockets and flying saucers.”
Why Have a Ballet Company Just for Dark-Skinned Dancers?
Cassa Pancho, founder of London’s Ballet Black: “The important thing in any specialised skill like ballet or sport is that you have someone reflective of you in the profession. … What may seem like a way of segregating people is actually there to show a concentrated amount of role models for kids coming up through the ranks. … The goal for Ballet Black ultimately is that it becomes obsolete.”