AJBlogs

The Boston Symphony's board didn't fire Andris Nelsons as its music director. Not exactly. They declined to renew his contract because he and the BSO weren't "aligned on future vision" — the board's own words, offered without apology. Not artistic differences. Not budget. Not performance. Future vision. That phrase is

Everything that has led up to every “war to end all wars” is happening right now. What are you going to do?

This recent book is open access, here. And my full review in the International Review of Public Policy is also open access, here. My review begins: There is an old joke: An American tourist is visiting Oxford for the first time, and on his first morning signs up for a guided walking tour. The

Having written a book – The Propaganda of Freedom – exploring the relationship between JFK and the arts, and having finished in manuscript a subsequent study of Leonard Bernstein and cultural leadership, I find myself responding to the Trump-Kennedy Center and kindred developments by looking backward at what might have

An early review of my forthcoming novel “The Disciple: A Wagnerian Tale from the Gilded Age,” by Hans Rudolf Vaget, appears in the current issue of “Wagner Notes” — the journal of the Wagner Society of New York (pp. 11-12). The book is already available for purchase (with a discount)

I wasn’t initially planning to write anything about Wednesday night’s Carnegie Hall concert by the Chicago Symphony under Klaus Makela, their 30-year-old impending music director. I’ve written about Makela quite enough. I have no doubt that he is immensely gifted. I have seen him ignite an orchestra with a rare

Back to the basics, because the message is only going so far. It’s up to you to save the sector from its own worst instincts.

Brink Lindsey takes his title from one of my favourite essays, John Maynard Keynes’s “Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren” (which I wrote about here). Keynes, in 1930, wondered what lives might be like in our present. There are three big predictions in the essay, interrelated, of which I would say he got two right, which

Is the Kennedy Center really closing because of renovations? Or is it to save face from audience and artist protests?

Diana Wyenn, Director, Choreographer & Creative Director of Interlochen’s Imagine US, shares her leadership strategy leading complex creative processes.

Carlos Simon, Composer-in-Residence of the Kennedy Center, shares the ethos behind his composing process that impacts communities.

Neil Barclay, President & CEO of the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, talks the evolving landscape for BIPOC organizations and avenues for sustainability.

Marvin Curtis, Immediate Past Board Chair of the South Bend Symphony shares the purpose and impact behind the documentary, The Invisible Player.

In the midst of a lot of other news in his first 8 days in office….funding for child care for all, reactions to tragedy, responding to threats from the federal government, and more, new New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani made ‘arts for all’ a priority.  On Friday, he joined with the producers of the

Adrian Rodriguez, Director of Community Engagement, Chorus Director and Curriculum Manager of the Music Advancement Program at The Juilliard School, shares how to implement a commitment to young people as they develop in the arts.