"Basinski, who had taken classical violin lessons since childhood, played with the University of Buffalo’s symphony orchestra before embarking on his major league career in 1944." - The New York Times
Harrison, in his writings, "provided a theoretical structure for the Black performing arts, linking works by writers like August Wilson to a deeply rooted structure of African ritual and myth." - The New York Times
Bofill has died at 82. The Catalan outsider architect "spent a lifetime conjuring otherworldly buildings, which now stand like monuments from some future-primitive sci-fi civilisation. Half a century after their construction, his fantastical creations have inspired a whole new generation." - The Guardian (UK)
Poitier "helped reshape that world to such a degree that we’ll never be able to reckon fully with his impact." He was "a man who, with the delivery of a single pointed line or even just a commanding glance, could shift your thinking in small ways or large ones." - Time Magazine
"Terry’s ability to bounce month to month from film noir to the crisis of the symphony orchestra to the talents of Robert Mitchum to the musicality of Nat King Cole to the ever-sticky problem of how and when and whether to separate an artist’s noxious views from his art were the ultimate testament..." - Commentary
While it is mostly made up of classical music, it also includes: an old album of Édith Piaf’s greatest hits; Argentine tango tunes, especially by Astor Piazzolla; and a 25-disc collection of Elvis Presley’s Gospel songs, said Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture. - Catholic Sun
The quarter features an image of Angelou with her arms uplifted, a bird in flight and a rising sun behind her, with a portrait of George Washington on the “heads” side. The US Mint said the image of Angelou was “inspired by her poetry and symbolic of the way she lived”. - The Guardian
As writer Laura Gascoigne puts it here, "Is Gauguin redeemable? By today's standards, no. Would he want to be redeemed? Almost certainly not." - The Spectator (UK)
For four years, ever since his conviction in a case many think was trumped-up, he's been directing theater in Europe via teleconference. Last week he arrived in Hamburg to finish work in person on his staging of Chekhov's Black Monk. (But will Russia let him come home?) - Deutsche Welle
Texts from the Prime Minister's phone indicate that the man paying for renovations to Boris's apartment at 10 Downing Street was pitching him on a new version of the 1851 Crystal Palace Great Exhibition — and getting a favorable hearing. - Artnet
Perhaps best known these days as the mother of Rebecca Hall and the ex-wife of Peter Hall, she had a stellar career in the 1980s and early '90s, admired for singing and acting, and known as the first opera star to finish Salome's Dance of the Seven Veils nude. - BBC
She and husband Alan wrote the words for popular films' songs, including The Way We Were. The New York Times obit adds that "For many years their words were also heard every week over the opening credits to hit television shows like Maude, Good Times and Alice." - Variety
The comedian's deeply raunchy standup was a far cry from his job as "America's dad" on Full House and America's Funniest Home Videos. He did a two-hour show on Saturday night and was found dead in his hotel room on Sunday. - CNN
Julien starred as an ex-convict turned pimp, but he also wrote and co-starred in a feminist western. He didn't like the name "blaxploitation" and wanted every aspect of Black life portrayed on screen. - The New York Times
