Monthly Archives: October 2004

Back at Halley, briefly (we hope!)

Dear Granny, Thankyou so much for your last two letters that I haven’t yet responded to – one of October 15/16th and the next, which I just received today, from the 23rd. I hope you received the flowers in place … Continue reading

Posted in Rhian in Antarctica | 2 Comments

Midnight light

When I first came here, I was mesmerised by continual light, the midnight sun, the beauty of the ice at all times of day and day. I couldn’t understand why both blinds and curtains were firmly closed in evenings at … Continue reading

Posted in Rhian in Antarctica | 12 Comments

Julie Taymor’s Magic Flute

Julie Taymor’s new production of Die Zauberflöte at the Met is an unqualified triumph. My guess is that it will last at least as long as the David Hockney production it replaces (14 years), and might, conceivably, even outlast The … Continue reading

Posted in Culture | 6 Comments

Where does new music belong?

When I was 16, a concert changed my life. I’ve written about it here before: it was the London Symphony, under Kent Nagano, playing Olivier Messiaen’s Saint François d’Assise. Read my piece from 2002 if you want to know that … Continue reading

Posted in Culture | 3 Comments

Cheney’s $80 billion: The facts

Normally, this is a place for me to rant about stuff which I might care about, but can’t really claim to be any kind of an expert on. I’m breaking with tradition here, however, to pick on Dick Cheney for … Continue reading

Posted in Finance | 2 Comments

Dan Flavin

One of the biggest surprises, for myself along with many people, of Dia:Beacon was the fact that Dan Flavin’s work looks so marvelous in natural light. So when I heard that the head of Dia, Michael Govan, had curated the … Continue reading

Posted in Culture | 10 Comments