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Rachmaninoff Uncorked — Take Two: RCA, Ormandy, and the Cork
Charles O’Connell, who commanded “artists and repertoire” for RCA Victor from 1930 to 1944, left a book of reminiscences – The Other Side of the Record (1947) – documenting an astute, querulous intellect and ... read more
AJBlog: Unanswered QuestionPublished 2018-09-21
Museum Musical Chairs (again): Frick to Sublease Building That the Met Leases from Whitney
My 2011 Museum Musical Chairs post now has an unexpected sequel—the “Frick Breuer.” As foreshadowed in my recent interviews with Ian Wardropper and Max Hollein, their respective directors, the Frick Collection and the Metropolitan Museum ... read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrlPublished 2018-09-21
Van Gogh goes to the mall
In my latest “Sightings” column, which appears in the online edition of today’s Wall Street Journal, I pay a visit to a new kind of art exhibition. Here’s an excerpt. * * * What would ... read more
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2018-09-21
Replay: Gregor Piatigorsky plays Walton’s Cello Concerto
Gregor Piatigorsky plays William Walton’s Cello Concerto, a work that he commissioned in 1956. He is accompanied by Malcolm Sargent and the BBC Symphony. This performance, the work’s British premiere, was originally telecast live by ... read more
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2018-09-21
Almanac: Ayn Rand on privacy
“Civilization is the progress toward a society of privacy. The savage’s whole existence is public, ruled by the laws of his tribe. Civilization is the process of setting man free from men.” Ayn Rand, The ... read more
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2018-09-21
Whatever Happened To Mr. P.C.?
Mr. P.C., the musical and digital counterpart of the print world’s Dear Abby, continues to dispense wisdom on the web by way of Facebook. On occasion, we steal from him. So far, ... read more
AJBlog: RiffTidesPublished 2018-09-20
Technical Corrections: Metropolitan Museum Zaps Its App; SFMOMA Cans App’s Claptrap
In preparing for my recent interview with Max Hollein, the Metropolitan Museum’s tech-savvy new director, I decided to revisit the museum’s app, much ballyhooed four years ago, but disappointing when I recently app-lied it in ... read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrlPublished 2018-09-20
Remembering Monica Z
This is the birthday of Monica Zetterlund (1937-2005). It may have been too long since you have seen the Swedish singer performing one of Bill Evans’ most beloved songs. We can help. ... read more
AJBlog: RiffTidesPublished 2018-09-20
So you want to see a show?
Here’s my list of recommended Broadway, off-Broadway, and out-of-town shows, updated weekly. In all cases, I gave these shows favorable reviews (if sometimes qualifiedly so) in The Wall Street Journal when they opened. For more ... read more
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2018-09-20
Almanac: Thomas Sowell on politicians and their enablers
“The fact that so many successful politicians are such shameless liars is not only a reflection on them, it is also a reflection on us. When the people want the impossible, only liars can satisfy.” ... read more
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2018-09-20
Snapshot: Otto Preminger appears on To Tell the Truth
Otto Preminger is the celebrity guest on To Tell the Truth. The panelists are Orson Bean, Peggy Cass, Kitty Carlisle, and Tom Poston, and Bud Collyer is the host. This episode was originally telecast by ... read more
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2018-09-19
Almanac: Peter Berger on the function of religion
“Put differently, religion is the audacious attempt to conceive of the entire universe as being humanly significant.” Peter Berger, The Sacred Canopy: Elements of a Sociological Theory of Religion ... read more
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2018-09-19
ICYMI: Announcing
This was posted in July. Summer is a time when many of us are slightly less focused on things professional, so, in case you missed it, here is a repeat: It’s official. As predicted ... read more
AJBlog: Engaging MattersPublished 2018-09-18
Rachmaninoff Uncorked
Today’s “Wall Street Journal” includes my review of “one of the most searing listening experiences in the history of recorded sound” — the new Marston Records 3-CD set: “Rachmaninoff Plays Symphonic Dances” — which ... read more
AJBlog: Unanswered QuestionPublished 2018-09-18
Here’s a contrast
A contrast between the meaning of some classical pieces — as suggested by a group performing them — and what pop songs can mean. Here’s the classical statement: We offer our performances of quartets by ... read more
AJBlog: SandowPublished 2018-09-18
Lookback: Richard M. Sudhalter, R.I.P.
From 2008: In private life Dick was as dapper as his playing, and old-fashioned in all the best ways. He liked Chicago-style jazz, British tailoring, black-and-white movies, Marmite, and The New Yorker before Tina Brown ... read more
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2018-09-18
Almanac: John Kenneth Galbraith on pessimism
“Man, at least when educated, is a pessimist. He believes it safer not to reflect on his achievements; Jove is known to strike such people down.” John Kenneth Galbraith, The Age of Uncertainty ... read more
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2018-09-18
Ten Years After: Remembering The Recession
A GREAT number of Americans have “moved on.” Their lives are fine, and the Great Recession is just a bad, dimly recalled memory, like a really bad winter flu from years ago. But for ... read more
AJBlog: CultureCrashPublished 2018-09-17
#metoo: ‘The No Holes Bard’
A bit of bawdy verse-and-drawing by Heathcote Williams.With thanks to Jay Jeff Jones, who sent it along. ... read more
AJBlog: Straight|UpPublished 2018-09-17
Hear me talking to you (cont’d)
Titus Techera, who hosts a podcast for the American Cinema Foundation on which he and his guests discuss important films of the past and present, invited me back to talk about Nicholas Ray’s On Dangerous ... read more
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2018-09-17

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