Leadership: When it comes to economic performance, there's no contest: Apart from the early years of the Depression, Jimmy Carter's brief tenure as president was the worst in the 20th century.Carter's rather smug attempt to rank President Bush as the worst president ever wouldn't be...

When conductor Michael Tilson Thomas was a music student, he practically broke into a cold sweat the first time he heard James Brown on the radio."I was so struck by it that I actually had to pull to the side of the road, because I...

The Los Angeles Philharmonic's music director, Esa-Pekka Salonen, announced Sunday he will step down at the end of the 2008-2009 season to concentrate on composing.His successor will be Gustavo Dudamel, a 26-year-old Venezuelan conductor with limited experience conducting a professional orchestra.Salonen, 48, said he will...

"Handel is closer to us than many composers who came along years later," William Christie said as we were having coffee in the lobby of the Carlyle. He was in town with Les Arts Florissants, his celebrated, Paris-based troupe of musicians, who are dedicated to...

Examines how the concept of change is treated in `Maestro,' a novel by Australian author Peter Goldsworthy. Concludes that change is treated at times as an underlying theme and in other instances as a prominent and emphasized concept.

Provides an analysis of Maestro, a novel by Australian author Peter Goldsworthy. Discusses the major theme of rites of passage especially in relation to main character Paul.

Peter Goldsworthy's "Maestro" is the character of Paul's first-person account of his maturation during adolescence. Themes of war, beauty, perfection and passion allow readers to develop empathy and understand Paul.