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Creel’s Reel: Travelin’ Like Gavin in the Met’s Reinstalled European Paintings Galleries (& my take on that rehang)

Sometimes it can be fun to wander around an unfamiliar art museum with no clear plan, relying on aimless

David Lang’s Christmas Crossing gift: A simply-told message for a world at war with itself

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...

From Backgrounds to Foregrounds with Wilson Chin

Katie checks in with set designer (Cost of Living, Pass Over, Next Fall on Broadway; Drama Desk and Lortel nominations), Wilson Chin.

Taking Big Swings, with Alan Harrison and His New Book, Scene Change

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.

American Orchestras Could Learn Something from South Dakota

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 […]

The Armenian National Philharmonic makes a magical stealth appearance at Carnegie Hall

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...

Eno Piano

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...

Economic impact / Job creation arguments for public policy are terrible, episode 647.

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...

On elites, and public subsidies for the high arts

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

America Slow Dance

That’s the name of a variation on “America the Beautiful” that I wrote for Min Kwon’s America/Beautiful project.But wait … what IS that? - Greg Sandow

Hello, Toscanini. And Hello, Doris Day — Hiding out from 2021 in the 1950s

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...

Mark George prepares youth through music education

The President & CEO of the Music Institute of Chicago shares about the evolving responsibility of preparing youth for society through music education. - Aaron Dworkin

Queer Cutlets at Judy’s Cafe

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,...

Sampling Beats and Youth Research Participants – in Real Time

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...

From “Cole Toll” to Turnpike Toll: Newark’s “Arch of Nero” Relocates 87 Miles South to Philly

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

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