Deafness shaped Beethoven’s music

PARIS (AFP) ― Progressive deafness profoundly influenced Beethoven’s compositions, prompting him to choose lower-frequency notes as his condition worsened, scientists said on Tuesday.Beethoven first mentioned his hearing loss in 1801 at the age of 30, complaining that he was having problems hearing the high notes of instruments and voices.By 1812, people had to shout to make themselves understood and in 1818, he started to communicate through notebooks. In his last few years before his death in

Dec. 21, 2011

Russian enamels bequeathed to Walters Art Museum

BALTIMORE (AP) ― Hundreds of Russian enamels collected over decades by a Washington arts patron have been given to the Walters Art Museum, which said Tuesday that the gift reaffirms its position as a leading center for the study of Russian art.More than 260 enamels from the 17th through the early 20th centuries are in the collection amassed by Jean M. Riddell, who died last year at the age of 100. The private collection was internationally recognized as the finest of its kind in the United State

Dec. 21, 2011

George Michael ‘well,’ Christmas at home unclear

VIENNA (AFP) ― British pop star George Michael is doing well in hospital in Vienna but whether he will be able to spend Christmas back in Britain was still uncertain, one of his Austrian doctors said Tuesday.“We know that he is doing well. And we are generally optimistic,” Christoph Zielinski of Vienna’s General Hospital (AKH) told ORF radio.On whether Michael would be able to return home for the holidays or have to spend Christmas in hospital, Zielinski only said that the matter still had to be

Dec. 21, 2011

Thousands pay last respects to ‘barefoot diva’ Cesaria Evora

MINDELO, Cape Verde (AFP) ― Thousands of mourning fans, from ordinary people to national leaders, gathered Tuesday for the funeral of Cape Verde’s legendary singer Cesaria Evora.The beloved “barefoot diva” died Saturday at age 70 on her native island of Sao Vicente and her body was taken from the hospital Tuesday to her family’s home in Mindelo.Her fans, many in tears and singing her songs, lined the streets to see her casket pass, accompanied by 30 honour guards from the army of Cape Verde, an

Dec. 21, 2011

'27 Club' of dead rockers is a myth, says study

PARIS, Dec 21, 2011 (AFP) - Fame boosts the risk of early death for rock stars but the claim that the peril is greatest at the age of 27 is false, according to a study published on Tuesday by the British Medical Journal (BMJ).The theory of the "27 Club" spread earlier this year when Amy Winehouse jo

Dec. 21, 2011

Paul McCartney releasing an album of standards

NEW YORK (AP) -- Paul McCartney is releasing an album of standards -- plus two new songs of his own.The former Beatle announced Monday that his new disc will be out Feb. 7. It doesn’t have a title yet. He‘s already streaming one song, ``My Valentine,’‘ on his website.McCartney says he and John Lennon were inspired in their own writing by some of the standards. Some of them he first heard when his father performed them at home on piano.Eric Clapton and Stevie Wonder make appearances on the disc,

Dec. 20, 2011

Exhibit on Auld Lang Syne’s mysterious roots

NEW YORK (AFP) ― At the stroke of midnight this New Year’s, millions of people around the globe will hold hands and belt out the famous song “Auld Lang Syne” ― but how many will have a clue what it means?The Scottish poem and heartstring-tugging tune are reckoned to vie for the title of most widely recognized song on the planet after “Happy Birthday.”From the drunken masses in London’s Trafalgar Square to small towns in New Zealand, “Auld Lang Syne” is a staple of New Year’s, while the tune, set

Dec. 19, 2011

Frith painting nets $780,000 at auction

LONDON (AP) ― A long-lost Victorian painting by William Powell Frith sold for 505,250 pounds ($782,680) at a London auction, Christie’s auction house said Thursday.“The Derby Day’’ is an early version of one of the era’s most famous pictures ― Frith’s teeming, picaresque image of the crowds at an 1850s horse race, from a rich family in their carriage to gamblers, acrobats and prostitutes.The finished painting hangs in the Tate Britain gallery in London. The 15-by-35 inch (39 centimeter by 91 cen

Dec. 18, 2011

Louvre and Nintendo aim to make art child’s play

PARIS (AFP) ― The Louvre said Thursday it has teamed up with Nintendo to hand out 3D game consoles to guide visitors through its vast art collections, as part of a stepped up digital drive at the Paris museum.Starting in March, the world’s most visited museum will gradually replace its traditional audio-guides ― used by just four percent of its 8.5 million annual visitors ― with 3DS pocket consoles.“We are the first museum in the world to do this,” Agnes Alfandari, museum’s head of multimedia to

Dec. 18, 2011

Beach Boys announce 50th anniversary reunion tour

NEW YORK (AP) ― It’s almost winter, but get ready for some surf and sun: The Beach Boys are reuniting.The founding members of the classic rock group ― Brian Wilson, Mike Love and Al Jardine ― announced Friday they are getting back together to celebrate their 50th anniversary. They’re working on a new album and also plan a 50-date tour that will take them around the world.“This anniversary is special to me because I miss the boys, and it will be a thrill for me to make a new record and be on stag

Dec. 18, 2011

Rediscovered Bruegel painting on display

MADRID (AFP) ― Spain’s Prado museum on Monday put on display for the first time a canvas painted by the 16th-century Flemish master Pieter Bruegel the Elder which was discovered last year.The painting, The Wine of St Martin’s Day, shows about 100 peasants, beggars, thieves and drunks all struggling to get some of the wine from the first barrel of the season.In September 2010 curators at the Madrid museum identified the canvas as having been painted by the artist after an X-ray revealed fragments

Dec. 13, 2011

Largest armor collection on auction

BERLIN (AFP) ― A German octogenarian puts his lifelong fascination with armour under the hammer Tuesday when the largest private collection of medieval weapons goes on sale for millions of euros.The collection, valued at between three and four million euros ($4-5.4 million), goes up for auction in Brussels and includes not only classical armour and weaponry such as shields, helmets and swords, but also crustaceans.“Man does not have a shell, he had to make one,” collector Karsten Klingbeil, from

Dec. 13, 2011

Mandela museum ‘boot camp’ inspires artists

QUNU, South Africa (AFP) ― Artists pore over their computers ― drawing up work experience and not sketches ― in a rigorous “boot camp”inspired by Nelson Mandela that combines practical business sense with talent.The five students are in a six-week residency in the isolated hills of Qunu at the Nelson Mandela Museum, overlooking the icon’s childhood home where he has been living for the last four months.The programme is part of the museum’s outreach efforts and aims to give the artists, who are f

Dec. 13, 2011