October 2010 Archives

Happy Halloween

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Louis Armstrong sings and plays "Skeleton in the Closet."
"The Scottsboro Boys" reviewed.

Almanac

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Today's entry: George Orwell on writing a book.
We Should Root For Big Prices For Two Other Works At Sotheby's This Week; Here's Why
Finding critical connections --
Gail Pettis is an orthodontist turned singer (you may supply your own puns) who has commanded considerable notice in her brief new career.
Roundup of three great cultural happenings in SF
A young jazz artist manages to break through to audiences who ordinarily prefer music that requires less attention.
The Chronicle Of Philanthropy Makes A List -- With No Arts Groups. So: My Museum Sampling
On superfluous supertitles and the art of the cocktail
"Me and Orson Welles" successfully reconstructs one of the most important theatrical productions of the century.
"Angels in America" reviewed.

Me and Candace

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Candace Bushnell and I join forces next Monday to talk about Elaine Dundy.

Almanac

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Today's entry: Henry James on literary taste.
Pianist Randy Weston, 84, writes life story & performs Uhuru Afrika suite

Sneaker Medici

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What Happened When Kelvingrove Art Gallery Resurrected The Glasgow Boys? It Was SRO
Here's my weekly theater guide.

Almanac

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Today's entry: Henry James on being an American.
If you wonder about his 84-year-old chops, listen to Bennett leap up an interval of a seventh to the concluding A.

One Man Down

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A small, a cappella vocal ensemble copes marvelously with the unexpected absence of one of its members

Let it be

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Are we obsessed with commenting on commentary?

Darkness Palpable

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Name Crystal Pite and most of the dance enthusiasts I know still say "Who?" Maybe it's just America that doesn't know her. Yet. Pite's had a solid career as a dancer--

The Parrish Art Museum Launches A Fleet Of Magic Buses...Start The Chase
The Honeymooners has its "Lost Episodes." Bob Dylan has his "Bootlegs." The 1960 World Series has the Bing Crosby kinescopes.
Some of the best new work of prominent American jazz artists is not on US labels, and not all of it is easy to find.

Snapshot

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This week's video: a rare sound film of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes.

Almanac

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Today's entry: the Goncourts on critics.

Publicity On My Mind

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More And Better Press: Learn How In Thursday's IMLS Webinar, Wherein I Play A Supporting Role
Will history repeat itself: as sports gets cut, wither the arts in schools?
Anne Akiko Meyers drops a cool $3.6 mil for a violin and Keith Olbermann wants to know how it sounds.
Are you on the bus or off the bus? Off it, sadly.

Friendly and dignified

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How high-class ensembles, who maintain a lot of dignity, can be friendly to their audience.

Mea Culpa

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It's True: Sometimes, What The Media Says Fosters The Wrong Measures Of Museum Success...An Example
"Driving Miss Daisy" reviewed.

Almanac

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Today's entry: The Goncourts on the art of pleasing.
A sprawling cycle of plays from the UK about Afghanistan regurgitates rather than innovates
Some ways to make your audience feel welcome.

Almanac

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Today's entry: John Buchan on happiness.
Or rather, how shamefully little?
What Happened In The Portland Press When A Tiny, One-Painting Show Went Up
Lessons for an arts sector guy
a tricky business.
Watch and listen to one trombonist playing improvisation in four-part harmony
Or Lack Thereof. Penn State's Palmer Museum Takes On American Financial Panics

Making it work

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How to create excitement about your classical music institution (first in a series).

Guilty Pleasure

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On the joy of indulging in a film about singing puppets when there's so much else of more imposing cultural significance to experience on a Thursday night in SF

Guilty Pleasure

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On the joy of indulging in a film about singing puppets when there's so much else of more imposing cultural significance to experience on a Thursday night in SF
WNYC caught up with me halfway around world when AAMD lifted National Academy sanctions. Read and hear my comments.

One for the guys

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On Broadway, "Lombardi" reviewed.

Almanac

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Today's entry: the Goncourts on beauty.

The Art of the Sell

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It's a world of deliberately uninformed citizenry out there, people. How would you get this guy to put down his cereal spoon
What went down when Media Theatre's artistic director attacked me, and why that's not the problem.
Do His High Ambitions For Today's Art Exceed Its Grasp? A Campaign For More?

Doing Jackson

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Why people in a small city don't go to concerts by the local orchestra -- and an approach to fixing that. Details coming!

Mistaken Identity

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On the embarrassment of being mistaken for a Grammy Award-winning composer
Got a better one, Pierre?
Here's my weekly theater guide.

Almanac

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Today's entry: Walker Percy on eye contact.
Sports analogies get boring after a while when you're meant to be discussing art
Atomic Live performs on the NYC subway on instruments all emulated by their iPhones...
There's A Connection, Yes, And It Relates To Admission Prices. A Solution, Too

Something new

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The composer in residence at the Jackson (MI) Symphony will present his commissioned piece as a work in progress at each of the orchestra's concerts this year.
The biggest losers in Britain's spending cuts
Why did Duke Ellington hold the sheet music for Johnny Hodges?

Bourne Again

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Once upon a time, as Matthew Bourne tells us, there was a crown prince, a supersensitive fellow with an emotionally frozen mother (see Freud). Naturally, he gets himself entrapped

Snapshot

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This week's video: Dmitri Shostakovich plays an excerpt from his First Piano Concerto in 1940

Almanac

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Today's entry: Walker Percy on seriousness and despair.
Five oscillators, two effects units, a step sequencer, a joystick controller, a coil touch controller, an amp

Wunderkind

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3 year old conducts Beethoven, picks nose

A Discovery Gallery

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Where Can One See A Dozen New, World-Class, Old Master Sculptures, Rediscovered?
Arts bloggers may end up maintaining a more flexible approach to communicating facts and ideas than other parts of the blogging community
Join Chuck Close, Margo Lion, George Stevens, Jr., and Damien Woetzel for a live chat in recognition of Arts and Humanities Month.

Success in Maryland

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Students working in my project at the U of Maryland start the year by -- yes! -- finding a new audience.
In spite of most of the paintings and nealy all the sculptures, MoMA's Ab Ex NY is a must see.

The silence of Dame Liz

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She took emergency calls from Callas

Just because

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See Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli play the slow movement of the Ravel G Major Piano Concerto.

Almanac

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Today's entry: Walker Percy on academic achievement.

This Just In

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The AAMD "Suspends" Sanctions On The National Academy Museum For Its Deaccessioning Sins
All-stars line up for Jazz Foundation loft party; newcomers shine bright underground

Gubernatorial Arts

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A New, Non-Partisan Group In California Tries To Inject The Arts Into The 2010 Campaign

Marshall Plan

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Kapell, Cliburn, Gould ... in the 1950s these American-trained, fresh faces went into the world to reread Classical music

Quotation of the day

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An arts center CEO: "The basic economic model of presentations, tickets sales and fund-raising is beginning to break down."

What I said in Amsterdam

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The future of classical music, as I currently see it.

Cutting Edge Reading

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Paul Levy catches up after surgery
A drummer jumps in to save the day—and then some

The Ruhl thing

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"The Language Archive" reviewed.

Traveling light

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Why I no longer want to own the complete recorded performances of...anybody.

Almanac

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Today's entry: Henry James on art and economy.
Does administrative design impact artistic output?

Travel Agenda?

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A New List, From A New Source, Of Global Heritage Sites "On The Verge" Of Irreparable Damage
It ain't easy attracting $500,000 over five years from a non-profit arts funder
The Mayor, top schools administrator, and kids. What could be better?

Adventurous conservatory

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The Royal Conservatory in The Hague takes impressive steps forward.

New baton in Vienna

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but not of the BBC
It's decision day in the Welsh test case
Here's a performance from last summer that will blow you away.
If You Can't Go To London, Try These Videos For A Taste Of What's On
"Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson" and "La Bête" reviewed.
On Nat Cole and other artists who can do more than one thing really, really well.

Almanac

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Today's entry: Woody Allen on the significance of escapism.
The Recession Has Brought Down Some Museums, But Here's One That's Opening
It's a loud, loud, loud, loud, world. Escape it.
The goal is to bring a practioner's perspective on arts and education issues to an audience that is not primarily from the arts and arts education field.
And I can't get no satisfaction
Here's my weekly theater guide.

Almanac

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Today's entry: Marcel Proust on the elasticity of time.
Following four days of computer problems, Rifftides summarizes the first five days of The Seasons Fall Festival.
Has A Message For The Arts, Too: It Is The Duty Of Museum Directors And Patrons
A few terrible choir quips before I take off on vacation for a few days

Connoisseurship

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Does every artist need to be a scholar of art? Maybe some artists are not artistic connoisseurs?
"A Life in the Theatre" reviewed.

Snapshot

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This week's video: Carl Sandburg appears as the mystery guest on "What's My Line?"

Almanac

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Today's entry: Marcel Proust on choosing a partner.
Literally.

The Trustee Problem

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A Trip To The Brooklyn Museum Yields A Side Benefit: Thoughts Prompted By Email Outtakes
Hamlet on The Rock.
And it's not just the cultural coverage
People in Holland think there's a crisis in classical music.
AAMD has no leverage over Fisk. It should target the institution that does care about museum directors' approval---Crystal Bridges.

Stölen Scënes

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This seven-part melodrama was secretly shot (except for when they got caught) at an IKEA in Burbank, California

BBC man disses Dame Joan

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Aaron Sorkin on contemporary classical music.

A recent National Endowment for the Arts survey shows that per capita attendance at the ballet in Oregon is fourth in the nation; in Washington State it is even higher. Could this be because

Has the time come for a serious revival of Neil Simon's "The Sunshine Boys"?

Almanac

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Today's entry: Marcel Proust on suffering.
Rye Rye lets loose a video in advance of the release of her album on MIA's N.E.E.T. label
In Florence, Bronzino Gets His First Solo Painting Show
Never mind the solemn hyperbole of the "leaked memo" that comes via MoveOn.org. It does tell the real story.
Holland Cotter should stick to reviewing, not crowd estimation. His own astute commentary will boost Guggenheim show's already robust attendance.

Not Enough Distance

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When a production of a classic play is too obvious about bringing out the political parallels between then and now
One last chance for symphony orchestras?
"One is to give work to artists, which is very necessary. And the second is to try and replenish and refill..."
More on the diva's life and death

Pitting Arts Versus Sports

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Not exactly coalition building...
and other thoughts sparked by the beginning of the New York dance scene.

Suddenly Celebrities

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Congratulations. You've already won! No. Wait. Really!

Not unlike

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See Mark Twain, Dwight Eisenhower, Nikita Khrushchev, Fred Astaire, and Howdy Doody--all in living color.

Almanac

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Today's entry: Marcel Proust on the power of art.

Down On The Bowery

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Kudos To The New Museum For Paying Tribute To Old Artists

Get Over It

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It's time to stop lamenting the loss of arts coverage in the media and move on
Electricity zaps between two parallel but sharply contrasting NYC shows. Guggenheim's tour de force wins on intellectual and historical heft,
Continuing the survey of recent recordings that we began last week, here are four more worth your attention

Suspicious minds

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The Great Lakes Theater Festival's "Othello" and "An Ideal Husband" reviewed.

Almanac

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Today's entry: Tom Stoppard on tabloid journalism.

Modern History

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A Short Tale On Video About A Red-headed Press Agent Who Helped Create Museum Publicity.

The Middle Child

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Once again, my view of a play seems to be out of synch with the rest of the world.
Here's my weekly theater guide.

Almanac

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Today's entry: Tom Stoppard on political jargon.

Happy birthday, who?

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label fires pianist, then says hi
A Primer Tells How, With One Bald Admission: The Arts Can Be Less Than Desirable
We still can't surf the crests of this undulating earthwork until grass gets greener. Come join me in the troughs!

Deep Throat

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What singers can learn from videostroboscopies of their vocal folds
Just don't give up. That's the message of Godot. It's also the human condition. We must be our own messiahs in this struggle.
"NBC: a week for education; 51 weeks for incarceration."
as senior conductor recovers
In the right hands, "I Got Rhythm" changes never grow old.

An Art Jarvinen Portrait

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I post seven recordings by the late great Art Jarvinen.

Snapshot

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This week's video: a 1966 TV interview with Bill Evans.

Almanac

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Today's entry: Tom Stoppard on junk journalism.
Seattle Art Museum Promotes Its Picasso Show: On Not Crossing The Thin Line

Apology to Cal Shakes

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On my previous inability to see the value of the upgrades recently made to an outdoor performance venue

The pigeon and classical music

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How a pigeon -- in a terrific series of children's books -- shows once more how classical music has lost contact with our culture.

Almanac

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Tom Stoppard on the value of a free press.
While the Dutch go slash and burn
Musicians in the bath (part 4)
Regents' promised deaccessions transparency would be refreshing change from recent flip-flop. New law's donor-trashing stays under the radar.
Bonus: It's not nearly as annoying to listen to as a stubborn second grader with a half-sized violin.
Conversation With Richard Koshalek Yielded Back-Channel Comments, Mostly Con

A Blessed Relief

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Finally -- a homegrown production that ACT can be proud of
One of the craziest rock-classical musical personalities of my generation has passed away all too young.
Good News: A terrible K-12 bill, that would have created a de facto caste system, was terminated by Gov. Schwarzenegger.
More unpublished pictures

Eschenbach Eschewed

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Does anyone care that Christoph Eschenbach is the new music director of the National Symphony Orchestra?
Artists win as execs scotch big merger
It's October, And That Means Mural Arts Month. A Claim Too Broad To Be True?

Full Cleveland

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Mrs. T and I are in Cleveland, holed up in a Frank Lloyd Wright house and seeing shows.
The Broadway revival of "Mrs. Warren's Profession" reviewed.

Almanac

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Tom Stoppard on foreign correspondents.

Cakes for Oneself

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A novelist aptly emphasizes that we write for others, not for ourselves.

The Rest Is Sometimes Silence

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Alex Ross writes about John Cage, reveals new info.

Every now and then I steal time from dance, my regular beat, to indulge another passion: old things--vintage fashion, vintage films, vintage photography, and, yes, even vintage housewares. So of course I scurried over to the Museum of Modern Art to ogle

After 32 years in Soho, a multi-arts presenter gambles on relocating and expanding
Henry Butler, the jazz and blues pianist, composer, and singer from New Orleans, gave an energetic and uplifting performance.
Watch MoMA's curator discuss the importance of the "collective" for the Abstract Expressionist movement. Calls Pollock "the equvialent of Michelangelo."
1. Opera choruses should have a greater web presence, and 2. How can one get one's hands on a copy of the new Minnesota choral singing documentary out of state?
Questioning my assumptions...
If you want insight into the art of teaching, not to the tests, but teaching of actual human beings...
The NEA And The NEH Reach Middle Age: Statistics And A History Lesson

Diversion: Johnny Wittwer

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In the division between boppers and moldy figs, most boppers regarded him as hopelessly moldy. Too bad for them

About this Archive

This page is an archive of entries from October 2010 listed from newest to oldest.

September 2010 is the previous archive.

November 2010 is the next archive.

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