Choral writing has become the soul of David Lang’s output – in a highly personal manner that’s firmly based on texts, has a strong sense of its purpose, and has perhaps hit a new level of directness in the world premiere of poor hymnal. The evening-length piece occupied the whole of the December 17th “The Crossing at Christmas” concert...
Katie explores the thesis of Alan Harrison's new book, Scene Change: Why Today's Non-Profit Arts Organizations Have to Stop Producing Art and Start Producing Impact.
Infinite choice of music in a few clicks sounds like a dream. In reality it can dull your desire and lead to what the social psychologist Barry Schwartz calls the “paradox of choice,” a kind of paralysis in decision-making that causes many of us to disengage altogether. Culture is like relationships; you get more out […]
Why – I ask myself – was I so drawn to the Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra at Carnegie Hall on Wednesday (Nov. 15)? Tangible reasons include the presence of violinist Sergey Khachatryan – one of the best out there – as well as the commercial recordings that have fitfully emerged from that mountainous former-Soviet country. Then there’s the...
The album Eno Piano will be released by InFiné on November 10, 2023. Additional tracks will be released in 2024.
My new album got started with a question: Is it possible to play Music for Airports on the piano? Brian Eno’s original studio recording contains a lot of piano sounds, but they are manipulated, redistributed, dehumanized, or rehumanized. And then there are long, long sustained...
Reasonable people can disagree on the amount of military support the US ought to give to Ukraine. But no reasonable person can think that the costs of this are actually benefits in terms of spending and US job creation.
The benefit to the public of the arts is the arts, not the money that we spend on the arts. The...
We had a lively and sometimes contentious discussion earlier today – it will appear on YouTube at some point, I will post it then.
In the meantime, a condensed version…
https://youtube.com/watch?v=zvNw0P5ZMbA&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent
On many days lately, the last places I've wanted to be are 2020 and 2021. I've been retreating to the 1950s, creating in my apartment a musical time capsule. That's thanks to Brooklynites who have been clearing out their closets while stuck at home, finding all manner of LP records and depositing them in second-hand stores, where I’ve stumbled...
The President & CEO of the Music Institute of Chicago shares about the evolving responsibility of preparing youth for society through music education. - Aaron Dworkin
Stuck like a plum in a pound cake for a decade at The Philadelphia Inquirer, I wondered where to eat. A colleague knew I needed a spot to eat that would make me feel like myself, so he took me — so I recall, maybe he recommended it — to Judy’s Cafe, on South 3rd and Bainbridge in, yes,...
In research terms, a convenience sample is a group of folks who feature in a study because — well, they happened to be there. And yet, under the right conditions — especially in program design and development — access to study subjects “in the right place at the right time” can prove extraordinarily helpful. Also, let’s face it: COVID-19...
I hope that officials of the Newark Museum of Art felt at least a twinge of seller’s remorse (if not a rush of shame) after reading the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s lavish praise of the painting that Linda Harrison, Newark’s director, had deemed expendable. - Lee Rosenbaum