Aisle Be Seeing You

Merce Cunningham, 90, plans dance company's future

 
Annie Leibovitz's iconic protrait of Merce Cunningham

Choreographer Merce Cunningham, at 90 years of age, has announced plans for what will happen to his dance company when he passes and how his work will continue to be performed. Here is brief outline from the Associated Press:

"The company and the foundation will close at a date to be determined after a two-year international tour, including a final New York performance with tickets he wants sold for only $10, foundation officials said in a statement. All assets — from costumes and props to audio and video footage — are to be transferred to the nonprofit Merce Cunningham Trust, which he has established to document his cutting-edge movements, sets and costumes."

This seems a blueprint any number of artists could follow. Still a leader after all this time.

Read the full article.

JazzTimes Magazine suspends publication

JazzTimes Magazine has announced it is suspending publication. Jazz critic Howard Mandel discusses the situation.

Wall Street Journal: "What was the Van Cliburn jury thinking?"

Benjamin Ivry takes the Van Cliburn jury to task in today's Wall Street Journal. See/hear what the judges saw/heard on cliburn.tv.

"Web 2.0" is millionth word, or is it?

No really. The Global Language Monitor, based on the formula of a neologism being created every 98 minutes, has declared "web 2.0" to be the millionth word in the English language. One million words is more than double the total of Mandarin Chinese, the world's runner up.

But this gimmickry has already been exposed by Professor David Crystal of Bangor University, who claims the English language passed the million marks some time ago:

"It is total nonsense. English reached 1 million words years ago. It's like someone standing by the side of the road counting cars, and when they get to 1 million pronouncing that to be the millionth car in the world. It's extraordinary."

More about this budding controversy can be found here.

Ingrid Fliter plays Chopin Nocturne (video)

Argentine pianist Ingrid Fliter plays Chopin's Nocturne in D-flat Major, Op. 27, No. 2. The DVD from which this performance is excerpted may be purchased here.

Ms. Fliter makes her Boston debut on Sunday, November 1 at NEC's Jordan Hall. Tickets may be purchased as part of a subscription now or individually starting September 14, 2009.

Bobby McFerrin gig you're sorry you missed ...

Bobby's performance in the United Arab Emirates on April 29, which was actually titled, "Bobby meets Abu Dhabi." (Paging Dr. Suess...?)

And don't you feel good that you have not missed Bobby's performance at Symphony Hall here in Boston on March 21, courtesy of your friendly neighborhood Celebrity Series (I know you saw the plug coming).

Yoko Ono on Twitter: the real deal?

Lots of celebrities have a presence on Twitter, but few of them have convinced me that the actual celebrity personage is really behind the curtain. In Yoko Ono's case, I have to say, I think it's really her. Who else could generate such an intriguing blend of zen riddles, wisdom and da-da all with just enough of the non-native speaker tone to be convincing?

Here are some of her recent tweets:

1. Imagine one thousand suns in the sky at the same time. Let them shine for one hour. Then, let them gradually melt into the sky.

2. Imagine letting a goldfish swim across the sky. Let it swim from the East to the West. Drink a liter of water.

3. Be playful. Dance with your mind and body. It's such fun that "they" might start to dance with us, too!

4. If one billion people in the world would Think PEACE - we're gonna get it.

5. Welcome to time - the great equalizer of all things

6. This world is separated into two industries: the War industry and the Peace industry.

7. Next time you meet a 'foreigner', remember it's only like a window with a different shape to it and the person who's sitting inside is you.

8. Clean up the water inside your body. Let's be the oasis for the world. Even if you don't announce it, it will be felt by the whole world.

9.You are the media. We immediately get your message, even when you are not intending to send it out!

My personal favorites are #2, for its casual non-sequitur, #4, for its unintended message, and #5, for the sheer chutzpah of welcoming people to "time" ... beautiful.

Check out Yoko for yourself: http://twitter.com/yokoono

"Mindfulness" can create musical passion, study finds

One of the messages of a new study released in the journal Psychology of Music is that practice does not, in fact, make perfect, practice merely makes permanent. The study, by Harvard University psychologist Ellen Langer and Arizona State University music professor Timothy Russell focused on the concept of "mindful performance" primarily in orchestral settings, finding that, "Individual attention to novel distinctions and subtle nuances appears to alter the process of creative ensemble performance and lead to music that is more enjoyable to perform and hear."

Tom Jacobs writes about the study for Miller-McCune.

A tie at the Van Cliburn Piano Competition

It's true, the nation's preeminent piano competition (America's Piano Idol?) has produced a tie. 20-year-old Nobuyuki Tsujii and 19-year-old Haochen Zhang both took first prizes. And $20,000 in cash. And 3 years of concert management. And a CD recording contract. Here's the full story from the Dallas Morning News.

Shouldn't they go into overtime or something? Just asking.

UPDATE: Bart Collins at The Well-Tempered Blog offers some comments on the Van Cliburn results.

Updated blogroll

Regular readers (I know you're out there) may have noticed that the Aisle Be Seeing You blog roll on the right panel has migrated. I have added a few blogs and categories to the list and put them all on their own page, here.

Bloggers, if you don't see yourself there and think you should be listed, drop me a line.