Template:Did you know nominations/Zoltán Peskó

The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by Yoninah (talk) 20:57, 4 June 2020 (UTC)

Zoltán Peskó

Zoltán Peskó in 2006
Zoltán Peskó in 2006
  • Reviewed: to come

5x expanded by Gerda Arendt (talk). Self-nominated at 21:05, 3 April 2020 (UTC).

General: Article is new enough and long enough
Policy: Article is sourced, neutral, and free of copyright problems

Hook eligibility:

Image: Image is freely licensed, used in the article, and clear at 100px.

QPQ: No - TBD
Overall: The picture doesn't have a great exposure, but it meets the technical requirements. I am not sure that the hook would interest a general audience however, most people don't know what La Scala is or why it's noteworthy to promote contemporary opera there. buidhe 01:46, 6 April 2020 (UTC)

The readers who don't know that La Scala is one of few best-known opera houses in the world, but tremendously traditional (and mostly Italian), will not care about the biography of this man. Can we please attract those who do, + those who at least know what Bluebeard refers to? --Gerda Arendt (talk) 07:27, 6 April 2020 (UTC)
Wikipedia is an encyclopedia for general readers, not just for classical music enthusiasts. The hook needs to be appealing even to those unfamiliar with the subject, and right now I agree with Buidhe that the current hook does not do that. Having the attitude of "please accept this hook because it is written specifically for a niche audience" goes against the spirit of DYK, which really requires the opposite (meaning that the hook needs to be interesting to more people, not to less). Narutolovehinata5 tccsdnew 11:07, 6 April 2020 (UTC)
Repeating: Bluebeard should appeal to a large audience, and then even two of those, it's even quirky. Imagine the person was your grandfather. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 11:37, 6 April 2020 (UTC)
So far, we presented just his name, and almost 10k people were interested. Here, we had the chance to even reach those who may have missed it. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 11:40, 6 April 2020 (UTC)
Gerda, I hate to keep breaking this to you, but I think you are overestimating how well-known these operas you mention are among general audiences. Most people could probably only name a handful of operas if any at all, and I don't think Bluebird is one of those typical examples that would come to mind. Narutolovehinata5 tccsdnew 11:45, 6 April 2020 (UTC)
I am sorry to tell you (again?) that you completely misunderstood me, because I didn't mean the operas, but the bloody character. - I can also clearly tell you that I will not take much more of this kind of not wanting to accept the greatest achievements of a subject, only to please our public's ignorance and sensationalism. I can work for ITN 100% of my time, and still have too little. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 12:15, 6 April 2020 (UTC)
N=1, but I've never heard of Bluebeard before now. Your articles are great, but in my opinion, DYK has a specific function and is not necessarily suitable for all new articles that are created. buidhe 13:10, 6 April 2020 (UTC)
So you have not heard of Bluebeard, someone else may not have heard of Faust, someone else not of Romeo and Juliette, Undine, Macbeth, ... and why can't we teach the audience that cultural things exist, and if they are not interested, so what? Instead of this discussion, I could have created a stub article. How long did we discuss Jessye Norman, and in the end the stats were due just to her smile? I get tired of DYK, did you know. In the old days, we ran 4 sets a day, and had no time for such discussions. If a hook is not for a reader, OMG, there are so many others. Sorry for getting wordy, just explaining that I understand that the normal answer to DYK should be "no" and not "yes": - present what is not yet known. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 13:48, 6 April 2020 (UTC)
  • Might a hook be made of Peskó conducting the three Stravinsky works at La Scala for the composer's centenary in 1982, with stage direction by actor Peter Ustinov? Both Stravinsky and Ustinov are names that are more easily recognizable than Togni. BlueMoonset (talk) 04:02, 12 April 2020 (UTC)
    Good idea, thank you. I duplicated the ref. My idea was not Togni, but I was sure that the bloody Bluebeard story was well-known and attractive. Learning. In a way I'd prefer the Hungarian work to Stavinsky, but I think I said before that I'm tired of arguing. Bartók alone would be possible but seems not sufficiently "contemporary". --Gerda Arendt (talk) 19:35, 29 April 2020 (UTC)
  • I didn't realize I was supposed to write out the hook! Here's basically what I wrote above, only in hook form:
Pinging Gerda Arendt to make sure this is okay, and buidhe to review it. I checked the information against the La Scala source (via Google translation), which confirms the information. Thanks. BlueMoonset (talk) 01:39, 23 May 2020 (UTC)
Thank you for the offer. I'd drop that "all" because I understand it's three short works one night, usually staged by the same person. Needless to say, I'd prefer to mention the substantial Hungarian work to three unnamed rarities. - I tried "attraction by mentioning a prominent director" in another hook, but that failed, with a reviewer ;) --Gerda Arendt (talk) 07:22, 23 May 2020 (UTC)
I changed my mind when looking closer at the "operas". They all have short names, are not really operas, and are too little known, so they could actually be named, which would also reduce readers' disappointment (they might expect the big names), and would be a little hidden tribut to Dmitri Smirnov, who wrote one of the articles (Renard):
ALT2: ... that Zoltán Peskó (pictured) conducted stage works by Stravinsky at La Scala for the composer's centenary in 1982, The Flood, Renard and Mavra, directed by Peter Ustinov? --Gerda Arendt (talk) 08:32, 23 May 2020 (UTC)
Sorry, Gerda, but ALT2 is too close to saying "A was in X, Y, and Z" - this isn't the kind of thing that gets a hook. ALT1 is a little interesting to me, but I think perhaps the original idea could be revisited? I think the original hook was missing out saying what to Gerda is probably obvious, but isn't to most, and is what makes it hooky: that Zoltán Peskó promoted contemporary opera at La Scala, a notably traditional performance hall. You could propose a hook including that bit of information, provided it gets cited somewhere in the article. Kingsif (talk) 23:18, 25 May 2020 (UTC)
ALT2 is written as BlueMoonset suggested. You can accept it (or the original), or we call for a different reviewer. Dmitri Smirnov will be pictured DYK later today, and a little tribute, mentioning his Wikipedia work, would be what I'd prefer. DYK should be about the things people don't know yet, imho, and the greatest opera house + a composer who caused a scandal in 1913 + a famous (not usually for opera) director be hooky enough, not just A B C facts. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 09:09, 26 May 2020 (UTC)
Actually, Gerda Arendt, I deliberately omitted the opera titles when I wrote ALT1 because I felt they were a distraction, an unnecessary clause, that stopped the hook in its tracks. I'm not at all worried about readers being disappointed if they get to the article and discover that these aren't Stravinsky's "big names" because they will have read most of the article by then, doubtless with interest, and the hook will have succeeded in getting them there. I included "actor" for Ustinov to both help people place him, but also because if people didn't know/remember him, there is the potential curiosity about a regular actor directing opera. The hidden tribute is so well hidden that it shouldn't be a consideration, especially not when it lessens the hook interest. BlueMoonset (talk) 15:21, 26 May 2020 (UTC)
I didn't strike ALT1, seeing all that. The tribute is more open right now, pictured today. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 15:25, 26 May 2020 (UTC)
  • Another reviewer's opinion needed on the remaining proposed hooks and whether they are adequately interesting, so this review can proceed. Thank you very much. BlueMoonset (talk) 14:33, 29 May 2020 (UTC)
    I'll do a review, soon. starship.paint (talk) 06:34, 30 May 2020 (UTC)
    We do a beauty contest. All hooks hava La Scala, for many The opera house, where he did something unusual: contemporary, not Verdi and Puccini. All hooks try to establish that by an example (or more). The original is built on his home country, Hungarian commposer's great and rather well-known opera with the bloody title (once you know Bluebeard). ALT1 is built on people rather knowing Stravinsky and Ustinov, and ALT2 plays with it, saying that once we have these attractions, we have the chance to mention three works with really short titles which would never been mentioned on the Main page otherwise. I believe that people will either know Ustinov and be attracted, or be told that he is an actor (among many things which can not be also mentioned) will not attract them any further. The conductor's article has not much to do with Ustinov doing something unusua, but with him conducting rarely played "operas". --Gerda Arendt (talk) 09:47, 30 May 2020 (UTC)

Right, as is customary, I'll review the entire article, and update the issues below. Still ongoing and I'll ping when I'm done. starship.paint (talk) 03:49, 31 May 2020 (UTC)

  • Can you get a source on the bold part He graduated from the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in 1962, having studied with Goffredo Petrassi and Franco Ferrara. [2] mentions Ferrara but doesn't say when or where.
    I just found an Italian source for the two people, but not location - seems more likely in Italy than Budapest. We have feast days today and tomorrow, - he'll have to wait for more - patience please. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 11:32, 31 May 2020 (UTC)
    @Gerda Arendt: - I've fully reviewed the article, take your time, I'll wait. starship.paint (talk) 04:40, 1 June 2020 (UTC)
  • Peskó first conducted at La Scala in Milan in 1970: Dallapiccola's Ulisse and Prokofiev's L'angelo di fuoco, directed by Antonello Madau-Diaz. He conducted the first performance in Milan of Mozart's La finta giardiniera at Piccola Scala, directed by Filippo Crivelli. There he promoted original programming including contemporary stage works such as operas composers of the Second Viennese School, Kurt Weill with Milva singing, and music by Aldo Clementi, Azio Corghi and Franco Donatoni, among others. In 1974, he conducted the Italian premiere of Schoenberg's Kol Nidre. - is this really sourced to [3]?
    No, oops, sorry. Scala of course. --GA
  • Source for the year of conversation? A 1972 conversation of Peskó and Pierre Boulez about "Musical Aspects in Today's Musical Theatre" was published in 1978 in the journal Tempo
    Sigh, saw it somewhere but where? this says "first published 1973". - And then I found something, added. --GA
  • coupled with Camillo Togni's Blaubart, staged by Maria Francesca Siciliani - does the source say Blaubart? [4]
    The source says "doppio Barbablù", will check. The article (not by me) was possibly at least partly translated from German. --GA
    I checked the composer's English article, which says Blaubart without a source. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 21:12, 2 June 2020 (UTC)
    Starship.paint, Camillo Togni: Blaubart in: Italian Opera Since 1945- here is a detailed source on that work, which is based on a poem of the same name by Trakl. It could be added, but isn't relevant for the conductor, no? --Gerda Arendt (talk) 08:34, 3 June 2020 (UTC)
    Actually I think that's fine. I've added it. I missed the 'double' at first reading.
  • Giorgio Battistelli's Prova d’Orchestra [5] source said Orchesterprobe. [6] Is it the same?
    Similar, German Orchesterprobe is Italian Prova d’Orchestra, and the performance was in Düsseldorf, Germany. --GA
  • He served as chief conductor of the Orquestra Sinfónica Portuguesa [pt], the orchestra of the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos in Lisbon, from 2001 to 2004 - I don't think the source [7] said the bold part.
    I added another ref. See also the pt article on the orchestra. --GA
  • Among the highlights of this role was the theatre's performance of Tchaikovsky's rarely performed opera The Enchantress with the Mariinsky Ballet - the source says ... in a co-production with the Maryinsky Theater (Kirov), directed by David Pountney and with Maryinsky singers in the leading roles - are classical ballet dancers also singers? I'm surprised if they are.
    You need singers for the opera, and possibly also a ballet, - many operas have dance scenes. Let's ask Amakuru who added that. --GA
    Starship.paint, I looked myself now, and found no mentioning of ballet in the review. The article about the opera, btw, was written by Dmitri Smirnov, who died a few days after Pésko. RIP. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 15:56, 4 June 2020 (UTC)
  • When did Pesko leave Carlos? [8] says 2004 but [9] says 2005.
    I don't really care enough to make a footnote that sources disagree. Opera goes by seasons, 2004/05. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 21:08, 2 June 2020 (UTC)
    [10] seems as if he stopped responding to them in 2004, so I'll let this slide.
  • Image is okay.
  • I'd approve ALT2 but could you use "Teatro alla Scala" instead of "La Scala"?
  • NOTE, I placed a question mark in front of the review comment to make it apparent to others that a review has been completed and in progress. Flibirigit (talk) 14:56, 1 June 2020 (UTC)
@Flibirigit: - thank you! :) I forgot about that, my bad. starship.paint (talk) 00:17, 2 June 2020 (UTC)
  • Starship.paint, I don't understand why the preferred name in the Wikipedia article for the opera house, "La Scala", should be changed to the far less well-known "Teatro alla Scala". We want people to have touchstones so they're more likely to click on a hook; using the official name rather than the common one seems yet another unnecessary detail to make the hook less interesting (which, in my opinion, ALT2 already is as compared to ALT1). BlueMoonset (talk) 15:36, 1 June 2020 (UTC)
    @BlueMoonset: - okay, got your point. Struck that. starship.paint (talk) 00:14, 2 June 2020 (UTC)
  • I'm not sure if a consensus has been reached regarding the hook, or if it's appropriate for me to make wording suggestions (I'm new to DYK), but I think ALT1 is more interesting than ALT2. I also think the original hook could be made more "hook-y" by rewording to give more context and less detail:
Could we say "highly traditional" or even "conservative" of La Scala and have that be appropriate NPOV? (Genuinely not sure, I had never heard of La Scala.) I slightly prefer my ALT3 to ALT1 since I feel it explains more why the information might be interesting, but as I said I also think ALT1 works. ~ oulfis 🌸(talk) 02:06, 2 June 2020 (UTC)
Thank you for the offers, but I see two problems. 1) The "traditional" aspect is not part of the conductor's article (nor should it be), - I believe it's kind of implied in "promoted contemporary". 2) Bartók's work is well known (and so is he, no given name needed), but by now already almost a classic, - the other is much more "contemporary". --Gerda Arendt (talk) 08:50, 2 June 2020 (UTC)

- Gerda Arendt - all good now, ALT2 it is. Good job! :) starship.paint (talk) 16:00, 4 June 2020 (UTC)

  • Right. Thank you. Yoninah (talk) 20:55, 4 June 2020 (UTC)