“Before science had the means to explore that realm, we had to make do with stories that became enshrined in myth and folklore. Those stories aren’t banished as science advances; they are simply reinvented.”
Diana Rigg: ‘I’m Portrayed As This Tough Broad, But I’m Not’
On the other hand, says the 75-year-old, “I think women of my age are still attractive. Men of my age aren’t.”
‘Inherent Dullness’? Pah! How About ‘Soul-Searing Passion’? A Sports Journalist Goes to the Symphony
“I heard drama; I saw drama, great swaying, soaring playing full of determination and vigour, its pace never letting up. (I’m stunned how still the rest of the audience appeared to manage to sit. My head had gone a bit I think.)” Soccer writer Neil Atkinson visits the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic.
The World’s Rarest Jazz 78s Were Found Here
“In the 1940s, the Jazz Record Center became the default clubhouse for a cabal of distinctive gentlemen: exiles, recluses, characters so outsize in their eccentricities that they felt invented, except better. Here there was not a sense—as with the archetypal Outsider—that a choice had been made. Here, the earliest collectors of 78 rpm records found each other.”
What Happened To The Memorials For The Fall Of The Berlin Wall?
“The 25th anniversary the fall of the Berlin Wall is approaching this autumn, and the anniversary is set to be marked by the unveiling of two major memorials in central Leipzig and Berlin. But their ceremonial inauguration is unlikely to happen in the foreseeable future — there are just too many problems with the schedules and the budgets of both.”
Writers Aren’t Required To Envision A Perfect World
“I am so sick of being exhorted, as a writer, to improve the world by representing it in a more hopeful way. And the pressure, I feel, is growing, not just from provincial academics such as Friess but from my own peers, whom I witness daily lacerating themselves – perhaps under the influence of the academics who are the only people now able to give them employment – for their moral failings.”
Oh… So You Thought You Were Supposed To Read Those Books On Your Shelf
“A survey has found that half of an average home’s 138 books go unread. I’m surprised it is as low as a half. Books aren’t meant to be read.”
The New World Trade Center – A Panoramic View From The Top Of The World
“No doubt the new building’s official dedication will open the way to a necessary debate over its merits as architecture and urbanism, its turbulent design history and the compromises made over the long years it took to get the thing built. But in one important respect, One World Trade Center has already succeeded. It has reclaimed the sky. And this is the view from there.”
The Art World’s Most Narcissistic Exercise Is About To Commence (Can’t Wait)
“The Biennial is the most purely narcissistic of all New York art world events, an orgy of navel-gazing that can leave a bad feeling—a sense of unease, if not disgust.”
Why Robert Ashley Was a Great Opera Composer (And Why So Few Americans Knew of Him)
For a start, it’s because his approach to writing opera was, as he wrote, “Put aside intelligibility, put aside urgency of plot. Put in embellishment. Put in Maria Callas and Patsy Cline and Billie Holiday.” Mark Swed explains.
Reports of Kiri Te Kanawa’s Retirement Are Greatly Exaggerated
While she did just make her last opera appearance, she says, “One door closes and another door opens but as to retiring, I’ve never ever had that word in my vocabulary. Only thing is that other people have got it in their vocabulary because they can’t think of anything else to say.”
Whatever Happened To Qatar’s Once-Budding Film Industry?
“In Doha, there was once a buzzing festival and schemes to nurture local talent, but now much of the the money in the Qatari film business goes to projects elsewhere.”
‘Fiddler on the Roof’ Coming to Broadway For Sixth Time
Bartlett Sher will direct the musical’s latest incarnation in the fall of 2015. No casting has been announced, though the director has reportedly talked informally with Broadway stalwart Danny Burstein about playing Tevye.
Ex-Orchestra CEO in Silicon Valley Indicted for Embezzlement
“Stephen Jay Carlton, the former executive director of the Los Altos-based Peninsula Symphony, is facing felony charges for embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from the nonprofit organization, prosecutors said Wednesday.”
See the Dance Films From the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle
“Thanks to a collaboration between Gaumont Pathé archives, La Cinémathèque Française, and sound-recording expert Henri Chamoux, 34 of the original films [shown at the Exposition’s newfangled Phono-Cinéma] have been beautifully restored.” (includes clips)
An African-American ‘Annie’ (Why Didn’t Anyone Think of This Before?)
Columbia Pictures is producing the remake for release this coming holiday season, with stars Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild) and Jamie Foxx. (includes trailer)
Top Posts From AJBlogs 03.06.14
MASS MoCA Expands, With State Funds
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts | Published 2014-03-07
The Case for Cultural Fluency
AJBlog: Field Notes | Published 2014-03-06
Photography on the Web: Getty Images Goes Free
AJBlog: CultureCrash | Published 2014-03-06
Serge Dorny sues Dresden for unfair dismissal
AJBlog: Slipped Disc | Published 2014-03-06
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Broadway Joke: Adele Dazeem Now Substituting For Idina Menzel
“In a social media joke circulating on Twitter, a fake playbill notice for the Broadway musical “If/Then” states that its star, Idina Menzel, will be replaced by her alter-ego, Adele Dazeem.”
Venezuela’s Artists Increasingly Speaking Out Against Government
“From pop culture to high culture, Venezuela’s conflict is leading actors, artists, athletes and fashion designers to voice their support for the antigovernment protesters, with a minority backing President Nicolás Maduro.”
The Power Of Music: For Good AND For Bad
Music is power. In his 2010 book on noise and silence, George Prochnik asked a series of provocative questions that began with this one: “Is it really true that all our reactions to sound are dictated by simple equations: loud, low sounds equal something powerful, so be scared or be prepared to mate; soft, little sounds equals something small, so be calm, be prepared to mate, or both?”
11th Century Indian Sculpture In Toledo Museum May Have Been Stolen
“The Toledo Museum of Art said it saw no signs of trouble when it bought the small bronze statue of a Hindu deity in 2006 from a New York dealer now charged in India. The statue resembles an idol now listed as stolen in India.”
Russian Court Reduces Sentence Of Man Convicted In Bolshoi Acid Attack
“Pavel Dmitrichenko, a Bolshoi soloist, was convicted in December of organizing the attack and sentenced to six years in prison. The Moscow City Court on Thursday reduced his sentence by six months to 5½ years.”
Big Concerns About The Scale Of Massive Picasso Restorations In Paris
“What comes as a truly horrible surprise is that all of Picasso’s 5,000 works have been “cleaned, restored and reframed” for the opening. It beggars belief that some urgent “conservation” necessity should have struck all of these modern works at the same time.”
Canadian Theatres Have Their Own Pipelines (Or Do They?)
“Has the theatre pipeline that supplies Canada’s regionals really sprung a leak? One piece of good news is that, this season, for the first time in recent memory, the most-seen new play in the country hasn’t been a recent Broadway or West End hit, but one born in Toronto.”
This Year’s PEN/Faulkner Fiction Prize Finalists
This year’s judges were Madison Smartt Bell, Manuel Muñoz and Achy Obejas. They considered more than 400 titles published by American authors in 2013.