In Brief

Here is your regular Sunday selection of links to good things in Blogville and Beyond.

• I am not the only one taken by Paul Hillier's new recording of Stockhausen's Stimmung. Vilaine Fille (AKA Marion Lignana Rosenberg) has published a review. [Time Out New York]


• Moisés Kaufman's new play, 33 Variations, about Beethoven's obsession with the Diabelli waltz that was the basis of his final work for piano, is at Arena Stage through September 30. Chris Klimek has a review. [DCist]


• Sibelius the Brand is born. [Via Felsenmusick]


• The Booker Prize short list has been announced, with Ian McEwan's On Chesil Beach reportedly the favorite to win in October. [Laila Lalami]


• You simply must read this interview with Mirella Freni about her life with Luciano Pavarotti. [Opera Chic]


• Matthew Guerrieri has a very funny extension of a comment by William Friedkin, comparing his movies to the symphonies of Mahler. As much as I love The Exorcist, I did not care that much for Friedkin's staging of Duke Bluebeard's Castle and Gianni Schicchi. [Soho the Dog]


• Finally, the Washington National Opera is going to make some last-minute, discounted tickets available to the public. $25, available at the box office only on the morning of limited weekday performances. [Access to Opera Tickets]


• You may have sensed that we here at Ionarts have certain ... obsessions. One of my favorite blogs is written by someone whose obsession is languages. Someone who cares whether the dino- in dinoflagellate comes from the Greek for "terrifying" or the Greek for "whirling" and, after learning which one, corrects the Wikipedia entry's etymology. [Languagehat]