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Were The 20th Century Modernists Really So Radical?

In fairness, Schoenberg never pretended that he was out to smash the system — maintaining, to the end of his life, that art was a question of evolution, not revolution, and that he wrote from an inner creative impulse as heartfelt as that of Brahms or Schumann. - The Critic

In Praise Of Long, Complicated Sentences (Take That, Strunk And White!)

"Within a long sentence — clause upon clause, the commas and semicolons, em-dashes and colons, parentheticals and appositions piling up — there can be a veritable maze of imagery, … simultaneously an archive of consciousness at its most caffeinated and a dream of new worlds from words alone." - Literary Hub

The Value Of “Splendid Uselessness”

The real project of humanity – of understanding ourselves as human beings, making a good world to live in, and striving together toward mutual flourishing – depends paradoxically upon the continued pursuit of what Hitz calls ‘splendid uselessness’. - Psyche

The Revival Of Cambodia’s Arts Capital (Which Is Not Phnom Penh)

"The wealth from (agriculture provided) plentiful funds to carve the most beautiful Buddhist temples, craft the finest musical instruments and produce high-quality motion pictures. As a result, Cambodia's greatest singers, painters, dancers and musicians all came from Battambang" — until the Khmer Rouge. - BBC

The Next Step In Broadening The Classical Music Canon

Something critical is getting overlooked amid the fervor with which classical music claims its new sense of conscience: the artistic value of the works being unearthed. - Philadelphia Inquirer

The World’s Oldest Piece Of Tartan Is Found In A Scottish Peat Bog

"The (16th-century) textile was found in the 1980s in Glen Affric, a region in the Scottish Highlands about 19 miles west of Loch Ness. Measuring about 21 by 17 inches, the wool fabric is woven with multiple horizontal and vertical bands of variating colors." - Artnet

Why Williamstown Theatre Festival Is Throttling Back Its Productions This Summer

The reason for the absence of theater amounts to what is essentially a public atonement for how the festival treated interns, apprentices and other staff for decades and a commitment to finding a new model for producing a season of world-class summer theater. - Albany Times-Union

Radio Stations’ Struggle To Stop US Automakers From Dropping The AM Band From In-Car Radios

"Facing an existential moment in the 100-year history of the medium, AM broadcasters are banding together, calling on allies in Congress, and enlisting listener support … to slow or stop the removal of AM radio from the dashboard." - Inside Radio

UNESCO Chief Pledges To Help Rebuild Ukraine Culture

“in order to rebuild but also to redress the situation, it will be necessary to invest $6.9bn in the cultural sector in Ukraine over the next ten years”, a Unesco statement says. - The Art Newspaper

Anna Netrebko’s Husband And Frequent Stage Partner Is Now Running A National Opera House

TThe tenor Yusif Eyvazov has been appointed director of the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater in his hometown, Baku. (The couple has seen many of their engagements in Europe and North America disappear in the wake of Putin's invasion of Ukraine.) - OperaWire

Another Thing TikTok Has Changed About Dance: Earning A Living

"TikTok creators, professional dancers, choreographers, and dance companies … said the app had changed the way they choreographed, helped them earn more money, and given them access to career opportunities they otherwise wouldn't have had." - Insider

Canadian Gets Trapped Inside Outdoor Sculpture

A 26-year-old man (acting against his girlfriend's advice) climbed on top of a public artwork called Talus Dome and made of stacks of stainless steel globes. Then he saw an opening and slid himself inside. Police charged him with a count of criminal mischief after they rescued him. - CBC

Florida School Removes Anne Frank Book After Complaint That It Minimizes The Holocaust

"Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Adaptation was removed from a library at Vero Beach High School after a leader of Moms for Liberty in Indian River County raised an objection. … The book at one point shows the protagonist walking in a park, enchanted by female nude statues." - AP

Choreographer Jennifer Muller Is Dead At 78

"Her choreographic career, which spanned more than five decades and produced more than 125 dances, set her apart from her postmodern contemporaries. 'I'm not an abstractionist,' she (once said). ' great deal of my work has a sense of celebration.'" - The New York Times

Al Jaffee, Legendary “Mad” Magazine Cartoonist Who Retired At 99, Has Died At 102

"Few of the magazine's self-billed 'Usual Gang of Idiots' contributed as much — and as dependably — as the impish, bearded cartoonist. For decades, virtually every issue featured new material by Jaffee," most famously his Fold-Ins and Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions. - AP

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