How Did The Pompeians Get That Red? "An Italian researcher has discovered the formula of Pompeian red, the shiny and intense color that dominated Pompeii's wall paintings 2,000 years ago." It turns out the secret was in the processing. Discovery 11/1/04
Posted: 11/03/2004 4:35 am
Scotland: Museum-Going A "Cultural Right?" Scotland's museums say schoolchildren should get free transportation to museums as part of students' "cultural rights." "Schools have to work within their curriculum but there’s a real richness on their doorstep if it can be accessed properly. You’ve got collections all over the country but they can’t be seen. Kids are entitled to so many swims a year, and they have developed minimum standards of physical education in schools." The Scotsman 11/03/04
Posted: 11/02/2004 10:43 pm
Did British Museum Buy Smuggled Scrolls? "A Norwegian television film is alleging that the British Library in London has acquired looted Buddhist scrolls. The birch bark scrolls in Kharosthi script, from the 1st century AD, are the oldest surviving Buddhist texts and the earliest known manuscripts in any Indic language. They have been dubbed ‘the Dead Sea Scrolls of Buddhism’." The Art Newspaper 11/02/04
Posted: 11/02/2004 6:30 pm
China Invites In The Auction Houses For the first time, China is opening up to foreign auction houses, beginning in December. "The move opens up what is potentially the world’s largest market with its growing number of collectors to Western auction houses although the crucial question of what the firms will be allowed to sell has not yet been answered." The Art Newspaper 11/02/04
Posted: 11/02/2004 6:17 pm
MoMA Entry Fee Sign Of Future? There have been howls about the Museum of Modern Art's decision to charge $20 to enter its new building. But "though MoMA's new price tag seems to have caused sticker shock, museum admission prices are clearly headed higher. To keep the public interested, museums must keep booking blockbuster shows housed in new, jaw-dropping buildings designed by architectural superstars. Neither comes cheaply." Crain's New York Business 11/02/04
Posted: 11/02/2004 4:59 pm
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Orchestral Music Soothes A Wounded Soldier "When James Salamanca joined the Portland Youth Philharmonic five years ago, he had no idea what music would mean to him today. A standout musician, he's 19 now, and a U.S. Marine fighting in Iraq. But music, he says, helps keep him going." The Oregonian 11/3/04
Posted: 11/03/2004 6:24 am
Building Better Buzz Through Touring "Tours like the San Francisco Symphony's current two-week stint through Italy, Greece and Spain require large investments of money, time and operational resources, all for the sake of keeping the orchestra in the consciousness of the larger musical world." The symphony's executive director, Brent Assink, says touring isn't just necessary. It's fundamental. San Francisco Chronicle 11/3/04
Posted: 11/03/2004 3:46 am
Starbucks, Music Giant? Starbucks is getting into the music business in a big way, producing and selling CD's and even making it possible for customers to make their own compilations. The coffee retailer figures to be a player in the recording industry, even cracking the top music charts. The New York Times 11/03/04
Posted: 11/02/2004 10:10 pm
The Rostropovich Corps Mstislav Rostropovich has had a brilliant career. Now he says it's time to give something back. So he started a foundation to identify and support seven promising young musicians. Each month , he pays living and teaching money. He also helps them get concert engagements, buy instruments and pay for masterclasses. The Independent (UK) 11/01/04
Posted: 11/02/2004 7:12 pm
Digging Up Mozart's Relatives Archaeologists have opened a grave in Salzburg thought to contain the remains of Mozart's father and other relatives. Experts plan to compare the remains' genetic material with a skull to determine if it belonged to the famed Austrian composer. Legend has it that a gravedigger who knew which body was Mozart's sneaked the skull out of the grave. Through different channels, the skull came to the Mozarteum in Salzburg in 1902. Yahoo! (AP) 11/02/04
Posted: 11/02/2004 6:07 pm
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Lyrics Illegal? Scotland Yard Investigates "Detectives are investigating claims that lyrics penned by eight leading reggae artists incite violence against homosexuals and are therefore illegal. Lyrics by Beenie Man, Elephant Man and Bounty Killer are among those being scrutinised by Scotland Yard." BBC 11/3/04
Posted: 11/03/2004 4:01 am
Ten Years Of UK's Cultural Jackpot The UK's national lottery has transformed the cultural landscape in the past ten years. "From large-scale projects such as Cornwall's Eden Project to much smaller, community-based projects, such as in-school football coaching in primary schools, the lottery has, to date, raised £16bn for good causes." The Guardian (UK) 11/03/04
Posted: 11/02/2004 8:12 pm
- Could Arts Lose Lottery Funding? Sir Christopher Frayling, the chairman of Arts Council England, has warned that the arts could get edged out of National Lottery money in favor of sports. Frayling points to a number of reasons, adding that "ministers were happy being photographed at football matches, but afraid of being seen at any remotely controversial [arts event]." The Guardian (UK) 11/03/04
Posted: 11/02/2004 8:04 pm
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Edmunds Takes On Melbourne Fest American Kristy Edmunds has taken charge of the next two Melbourne International Arts Festivals. "It's the first time since 1986 that a foreigner has been given the job, one of the most powerful arts positions in Australia and the region. What Edmunds chooses to include, or exclude, can affect festivals across the country, in New Zealand and Singapore, and, in the long term, artists' careers. And there's the more important issue of how it thrills, moves or disappoints the festival goers." The Age (Melbourne) 11/03/04
Posted: 11/02/2004 6:53 pm
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The Producers Consortium A look at the making of the London production of The Producers shows how the modern musical is built these days. "Huge producer consortiums are now the norm for modern stage musicals. The single, all-powerful producer exerting full artistic and financial control has become exceptionally rare - Cameron Mackintosh being the notable exception. But most big shows, particularly those that transfer internationally, are financed and packaged like films." The Guardian (UK) 11/03/04
Posted: 11/02/2004 9:44 pm
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And Now A Bedtime Story By My Favorite Celeb Ed Koch, Madonna, John Gotti: Is there a celebrity who's not writing a children's book these days? The market is booming, but critics -- including longtime children's authors -- point out that kids don't care if a book was written by someone famous; what they want is a good story. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 11/3/04
Posted: 11/03/2004 3:18 am
Poets Take On Publishers Weekly (And Win) Over the summer, Publishers Weekly decided to discontinue its monthly poetry forecast. "But for many in the world of independent presses, where the bottom line is quite a bit lower than in commercial publishing, that explanation wasn’t good enough. Zaleski estimates that Publishers Weekly received approximately 150 phone calls, e-mails, and letters about the decision. The response was so great that the magazine reversed its decision and reinstituted its monthly poetry section in September." Poets & Writers 11/04
Posted: 11/02/2004 11:35 pm
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