Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco’s Campbell Gamble: Tom & Max Hollein Improbably Trade Places

AJBlogs Posted: October 30, 2018 11:56 am

My first reaction when the press release hit my inbox today was: “This has got to be a hoax!” Reading the first sentence of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco’s announcement made me even more incredulous.

The season of Seán O’Casey
In today’s Wall Street Journal drama column, I review an important off-Broadway revival of Seán O’Casey’s The Shadow of a Gunman. Here’s an excerpt. * * * In Ireland, Seán O’Casey ... [read more]
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2019-02-21
The real Don Shirley
When I wrote about Peter Farrelly’s Green Book for The Wall Street Journal in December, I mentioned in passing that Don Shirley, the pianist who is played in the ... [read more]
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2019-02-21
Replay: Jack Benny appears on What’s My Line?
Jack Benny appears as the mystery guest on What’s My Line? John Daly is the host and the panelists are Steve Allen, Hal Block, Arlene Francis, and Dorothy Kilgallen. (Benny’s ... [read more]
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2019-02-21
Almanac: Malcolm Muggeridge on free will
“Free will, in my experience, is tactical rather than strategic; in all the larger shaping of a life, there is a plan already, into which one has no choice ... [read more]
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2019-02-21
Renaissance polyphony as the eternal frontier of self revelation
New York Polyphony’s latest concert on Feb. 16 gave listeners many excellent things to agree upon – even though reactions were probably as numerous as the ears that heard ... [read more]
AJBlog: Condemned to MusicPublished 2019-02-21
Could diversity get us more attention?
The answer to the question in the title — I think it’s yes. My thesis here: That classical music should be more diverse not just because of social justice. And ... [read more]
AJBlog: SandowPublished 2019-02-21
So you want to see a show?
Here’s my list of recommended Broadway, off-Broadway, and out-of-town shows, updated weekly. In all cases, I gave these shows favorable reviews (if sometimes qualifiedly so) in The Wall Street Journal ... [read more]
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2019-02-21
Almanac: Malcolm Muggeridge on man’s dreams
“The really terrible thing about life is not that our dreams are unrealised but that they come true.” Malcolm Muggeridge, Chronicles of Wasted Time ... [read more]
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2019-02-21
J.P. Morgan’s Fixer-Upper: Conserving His Library, “A Building Unlike Any Other in New York” (video)
Having reviewed (here, here and here) the Morgan Library & Museum’s extensive 2010 renovation, I didn’t expect to be writing about another major Morgan re-do any time soon. But ... [read more]
AJBlog: CultureGrrlPublished 2019-02-20
The man who wasn’t Gershwin
My latest essay for Commentary, in which I discuss the complicated career and unhappy life of Oscar Levant, is now on line. Here’s an excerpt. * * * Oscar Levant vanished into the ... [read more]
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2019-02-20
Snapshot: Hugh Hefner is interviewed by William F. Buckley, Jr.
Hugh Hefner is interviewed by William F. Buckley, Jr. on Firing Line. This episode was taped on September 12, 1966, for later syndicated telecast: (This is the latest in ... [read more]
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2019-02-20
Almanac: Malcolm Muggeridge on hypocrisy and the reformer
“He represented, indeed, to a superlative degree, the great moral fallacy of our time—that collective virtue may be pursued without reference to personal behaviour.” Malcolm Muggeridge, Chronicles of Wasted Time ... [read more]
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2019-02-20
Creative Placemaking
Recently I had the pleasure of reconnecting with a friend and colleague. The Community Engagement Network hosted a conversation with Lyz Crane addressing the topic of creative placemaking and ... [read more]
AJBlog: Engaging MattersPublished 2019-02-19
Recent Listening: Dave Young And Friends
Dave Young, Lotus Blossom (Modica Music) Young, the bassist praised by Oscar Peterson for his “harmonic simpatico and unerring sense of time” when he was a member of Peterson’s trio, ... [read more]
AJBlog: RiffTidesPublished 2019-02-19
Beckett’s ‘Rockaby’ Set by William Osborne
For singing actress and tape of voice, four trombones and piano; text of Samuel Beckett. (25 minutes) Premiere: Staatstheater Kassel, April 25, 1986 In Rockaby we hear the whispered thoughts of ... [read more]
AJBlog: Straight|UpPublished 2019-02-19
Lookback: rediscovering Joe Mooney
From 2009: Of all the countless newspaper and magazine pieces that I’ve written over the years, one of the most immediately consequential was “Too Cool to Cash In, Favorite ... [read more]
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2019-02-19
“Telegraph” Gaffe: Louvre Affirms Its Hope to Display the Elusive Leonardo “Salvator Mundi”
Contrary to what the Telegraph pretends, the Musée du Louvre did ask for the loan of the “Salvator Mundi” and wishes to present it in its October exhibition. So wrote ... [read more]
AJBlog: CultureGrrlPublished 2019-02-18
Buddy DeFranco’s Birthday
What is your favorite key? Assuming that it’s not Z-minor, you will find it in the introduction. Vibraharpist (vibraphonist, if you prefer) Terry Gibbs explains in his introduction. Gibbs’s companions ... [read more]
AJBlog: RiffTidesPublished 2019-02-17
Kahlo: It’s Fridalandia in Brooklyn
I enjoyed seeing the Brooklyn Museum’s Frida Kahlo: Appearances Can Be Deceiving, but as regular readers of this blog know, it’s always all about the art for me. And while ... [read more]
AJBlog: Real Clear ArtsPublished 2019-02-11