News, comment, links and observations

Powerless Structures, Fig. 101, Fourth Plinth

New sculpture in Trafalgar Square is not quite what it seems

Superficially it's the very picture of innocence. A boy clings to his wooden steed, one hand clutching the neck, the other flying free. Few Fourth Plinth commissions will be more easily co-opted for official public duty. Hope, youth, the exultation of the ordinary: the state will be able to do plenty with this. Already Boris Johnson has tried to make an Olympic mascot of the boy. Joanna Lumley, who unveiled the work earlier today, hoped his gold-plating boded well for the Summer.

A swift comeback for Covent Garden's ballet prodigal Polunin

Rapid return for the sell-out Sadler's Wells show for male ballet rebels

Fascinating news of the errant Royal Ballet star Sergei Polunin, apparently not lost to ballet just yet. Following his sudden walkout from the world-famous company where he was trained and nurtured as the most promising young man for decades, he is returning to Sadler's Wells in a mere three weeks with the independent programme of male ballet put on by his compatriot-in-rebellion Ivan Putrov.

Sport and classical music: they should hang out more

A Five Live concert with the BBC Philharmonic is bringing the two together

Classical music and sport: should they spend more time together? The idea was posited more than 20 years ago that football and opera made for ideal bedfellows, so long as the football was being played in Italy and the operatic aria was Nessun Dorma, sung by Pavarotti. Since then no major tournament or Olympiad passes by without the BBC making the effort to hoik improving classical sounds into the broadcasting mix.

The BRIT Awards: The Brand leading the Bland

THE BRIT AWARDS: The UK music industry pats itself on the back. Should we be celebrating, too?

The UK music industry pats itself on the back. Should we be celebrating, too?

It's awards season for the music industry, and no amount of complaining, ignoring or pointedly watching BBC Four in protest is going to stop the BRIT Awards from ordering in a few thousand servings of homemade tomato chutney and crostini to be laid out for the insider guests gathered at the O2 Arena. It's their once-a-year big chance to let their stars try and demonstrate their USPs in their winner's speeches, for starters. However in 2012, it seems that there's all too little that's unique about many of them - in particular their "love" for their fans. 

Now English National Ballet loses its second head - Eagling to leave

Artistic director Wayne Eagling resigns only months after managing director's departure

Sudden and disconcerting news from English National Ballet where it's just been announced that artistic director Wayne Eagling is to step down this summer. The company gives no reason for this exceedingly short notice, which leaves them having to advertise the third most significant job in British ballet within the next few days, and a precipitate appointment procedure only weeks after the departure of their managing director.

Channel 4 has high hopes for Homeland

Award-winning series probes the underbelly of the War on Terror

If you don't fancy any more masters-and-servants dramas on a Sunday evening, you can thank Channel 4 for bringing the excellent Homeland to its Sunday roster. Kicking off tonight, it arrives in the UK basking in Golden Globe glory, having picked up accolades for Best Drama Series and Best Actress in a Drama Series in last month's ceremony.

Max Von Sydow: Extremely Quiet and Incredibly Personable

The Oscar-nominated star on saying nothing in Stephen Daldry's new film

He played chess with Death in Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal, was crucified as Jesus in George Stevens’s The Greatest Story Ever Told and diced with the devil in William Friedkin’s The Exorcist. There’s something magnicent and elemental about the life and work of Max Von Sydow. Born in 1929, he has looked like a craggy old monument for at least 30 years.