• LAST WORDS MAGICALLY REALIZED: Nobel literature laureate Gabriel García Márquez is said to be working on his life story. He's also known to be dying. But in recent weeks an e-mail has been circulating that professes to be the master's final words and a goodbye to his loyal readers. It contains enough verse to convince readers it is authentic, but... Daily Mail & Guardian (South Africa) 01/29/01
  • LIFE REVEALED: The first chapter of Garcia Marquez's autobiography has been printed in a Spanish newspaper. "Judging by this chapter, which is written in a highly poetic Spanish full of images, the memoirs as a whole promise to be a great work of literature and a 'book of poetic fiction'." Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 01/31/01
• SHARING GLORY, SHARING GRIEF: Carlos Fuentes may be the best Latin American writer who hasn't yet won the Nobel Prize. No matter. "I received the Nobel Prize when my dear friend Gabriel García Márquez got it. I got it, and all our generation got it." Fuentes writes constantly of the tragedies in his own life, believing that words have power to make things happen, or not happen. "In literature you are always saying, I will write the worst possible scenario so that maybe that way it won't happen." The New York Times 01/31/01 (one-time registration required for access)
• THE HARDEST-WORKING WOMAN IN CULTURE: "For decades following the second world war, Marguerite Duras was the hardest-working woman in the French culture business. As a writer, she published more than 70 novels, plays, screenplays, and other works, not to mention a steady stream of newspaper columns and other journalistic projects. She was also an innovative filmmaker, with 19 titles to her credit. She was also a mess." The Idler 01/31/01

Tuesday January 30

• NOT A WILDE THING: A recording said to be the only one of Oscar Wilde, has been exposed as a fake. "Allegedly made in 1900, the recording - part of the British Library's sound archive - was found last week to have been created in the Sixties. The Library said the tape was a fake." Books Unlimited 01/28/01

Sunday January 28

• THE MAN WHO WOULD BE BING: Bing Crosby was a giant. Not just a giant of music, but a bona-fide representation of the American zeitgeist in the World War II era. But these days, while Sinatra lives on, while Louis and Ella are as popular as ever, the king of crooning is an afterthought at best. A new biography explores the rise and fall of one of the forgotten greats. New York Times, 01/28/01 (one-time registration required for access)

Thursday January 25

• THE "ARTS FIRST LADY"? Is American First Lady Laura Bush going to be "the arts first lady?" "Quietly, the word has been spreading among entertainment and arts circles that the Lone Star teacher and librarian is devoted to the arts, personally as well as publicly." Variety 01/24/01

Tuesday January 23

• MARTIN AMIS ON SCREEN: A new movie based on one of Martin Amis's books is about to be released. It's a rare event. "This is only the second time in almost 30 years of publishing that such an incident has come to pass." The Guardian (London) 01/23/01
• 600 MOVIES IN 60 YEARS: "At 81, producer Dino De Laurentiis remains a master showman, the last survivor of a bygone era of swashbuckling Hollywood producers like Joseph E. Levine and Sam Spiegel who made movies fueled by grandiose schemes and consummate salesmanship." Los Angeles Times 01/23/01

Monday January 22

• DOMINGO'S 60th: Placido Domingo had a 60th birthday party at the Met this weekend, inviting friends to sing with him. "Domingo, looking vigorous and in high spirits, was greeted with a standing ovation. He teared up at the response, turned his back momentarily to wipe his eyes and then nailed a brilliant rendition of Torroba's 'Romanza de Rafael' from 'Marivilla'." Washington Post 01/22/01

Sunday January 21

• RESCUED BY MUSIC: As a child Christoph Eschenbach escaped from the Nazis and became ill. Even after he was rescued he was unable to speak for almost a year. That's when music became the focus of his life. Now he has been appointed music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Philadelphia Inquirer 01/21/01

Friday January 19

• CONSOLATION CAREER: Ten years ago Jon Sarkin was a chiropractor. Then, at the age of 36, he had a strock. Stripped of his career he became an artist and before long the New Yorker and the New York Times Magazine began buying his work and GQ wrote about him. Now he has a thriving art career and Tom Cruise is badgering to make a movie of Sarkin's life. The Telegraph (London) 01/19/01
• WAXMAN DIES AT 65: Canadian actor Al Waxman, a "quintessential Canadian TV star" has died at the age of 65. "Throughout his career, which spanned more than four decades, he regularly worked in both films and on the stage, but it was on the small screen where he made his indelible mark." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 01/19/01

Wednesday January 17

• STILL SONNY: Saxophonist Sonny Rollins recorded one masterpiece after another in the late 1950s, and "set a standard that has inspired, and defeated, fellow saxophonists ever since. Despite some famous sabbaticals, Rollins, now 71, has been a familiar and frequently encountered performer, while never quite challenging the almost ruthless genius of those few invincible years. But he remains a sovereign figure, and the jazz audience is devoted to him, fretful if he releases an indifferent record or plays an unremarkable gig." New Statesman 01/15/01
• THE POLITICS OF FOURTH: "The 'fourth tenor' is a meaningless soubriquet that can deliver the kiss of death, the crock of gold, or both. Vargas, Cura and Roberto Alagna have all variously been hailed as the "fourth tenor" but Alagna – a Franco-Sicilian – was the first to be marketed as such. And boy, oh boy, has he sold a lot of records." The Independent (London) 01/14/01
• BERNARD SHAW AT 80: A recording of the critic/playwright at the age of 80, in which he tells students that: "If a person's a born fool, the folly will get worse not better by a life long practice, not better." BBC 01/16/01 [Audio clip Real Audio required]

Tuesday January 16

• FORMER BSO CHIEF DIES: Former Boston Symphony manager Kenneth Haas, died unexpectedly at the age of 57. "During a 30-year career, Haas held important positions with three of America's so-called Big Five symphony orchestras: the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra and the BSO. Haas commanded attention just by walking into a room. But he was a soft-spoken, tireless advocate for the arts who always seemed happiest when music, not he, was the center of attention." Boston Herald 01/15/01

Monday January 15

• HUGHES BLUES: Robert Hughes’ caustic wit has served him well as an art critic, but the same irreverent style may be his downfall in court. He faces possible jail time after refusing to plead guilty to last year’s car crash, as well as defamation suits from prosecutors he antagonized. "Many Australians, from the prime minister on down, feel that he has worn out his homeland. Now many consider the 62-year-old critic a remnant of Australia's free-swinging past, a tone-deaf duffer with poor impulse control." New York Times Magazine 1/14/01 (one-time registration required for access)
• CAROL SHIELDS REFLECTS: Battling breast cancer, Canadian author Carol Shields ponders her life and her new play. The Globe & Mail (Canada) 01/15/01

Friday January 12

• HONORING MOREAU: Actress Jeanne Moreau has become the first woman to be inducted into France’s prestigious Academie des Beaux Arts. Moreau’s career has spanned 50 years and 100 films. Times of India (Reuters) 1/12/01

Wednesday January 10

• THE LURE OF A NEW HALL? It would appear that conductor Christophe Eschenbach had his pick of orchestras to lead as music director. Why did he choose the Philadelphia Orchestra over the New York Philharmonic? Chicago Sun-Times 01/10/01

Tuesday January 9

• GARBO AND DIETRICH: A new book claims that Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo "not only knew each other in their pre-Hollywood days, but were lovers 20 years before their 'introduction' by Welles, and the affair, although brief, had a lasting effect on them both." The Telegraph (London) 01/09/01

Sunday January 7

• REBUILDING LA: A year ago when Deborah Borda took over management of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the orchestra was in shambles, with a $7 million debt and attendance and morale problems. "By September, the end of fiscal year 1999-2000, the Phil's operating deficit had been reduced to less than $200,000. To date, this season's ticket sales are up an average of 13% per concert following 10 years of steady decline - good news, but still 25% behind ticket sales a decade ago." Los Angeles Times 01/07/01
• CONCEPTUAL ARTIST: Architect Daniel Libeskind has a number of projects in the proposal or construction stages. "For Libeskind, the point of architecture is not how it looks, but how it feels. He always saw his drawings as a necessary preparation for building, rather than theoretical speculation. The fact that they are not immediately comprehensible as architecture is no drawback for him." The Observer (London) 01/07/01
• BUM'S RAP? Controversial rapper Eminem had a schizophrenic week. He was nominated for a Grammy, but he also "faces felony assault and weapons charges in two Michigan counties, and in one of those jurisdictions, Macomb County, the prosecutor has pledged to seek 'significant jail time'." Los Angeles Times 01/07/01

Friday January 5

• HEART TO HART: A forthcoming tell-all book about theatre legend Moss Hart has New York buzzing. The book is reportedly "chock-full of juicy details about Hart's homosexuality, battles with manic-depression, suicidal impulses and spendthrift ways." New York Post 01/05/01

Thursday January 4

• JOSE GRECO DIES AT 82: "His appearance in several movies, notably Around the World in 80 Days (1956) and Ship of Fools (1965), brought Greco's talents to a worldwide audience. At the height of his career, in the 1950s and 1960s, he also performed on television variety shows hosted by Ed Sullivan, Perry Como, Dean Martin and others." Philadelphia Inquirer 01/04/01

Wednesday January 3

• THE LEGEND CONTINUES: When Ronald Wilford announced in November that he was stepping aside as president of Columbia Artists Management, the music world took notice. "A seminal and sometimes fearsome figure in the business, he has had an unequaled role in helping to shape the careers of many of the world's leading orchestras and conductors like Herbert von Karajan, James Levine, Kurt Masur and Seiji Ozawa. But WWilford says he's not retiring. "I don't want to step down. I have no intention of retiring or anything like that." New York Times 01/03/01 (one-time registration required for access)
• LAST SOLO: The principal trumpeter of the Trenton Symphony collapsed onstage Monday right after performing a solo and died before an audience of about 2,000. Backstage 01/02/01

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