Could anyone in Dundee have imagined how the V&A project would have helped transform perceptions of the city? It has been hard to keep pace with the plaudits and accolades that have been heaped on Dundee in the last couple of years and, somewhat remarkably, there is no sign of them slowing down. – The Scotsman
Pianist Jörg Demus Dead At 90
While he tended to keep his performing career fairly close to home (especially in his later years), Demus became widely known through his more than 100 recordings. He’s especially remembered for his ahead-of-his-time interest in historic pianos and his work in chamber music, particularly with such great singers as Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. (in German; Google Translate version here) – Der Standard (Austria)
La Jolla Playhouse And Goodman Theatre Co-Commission Plays By And For Artists With Disabilities
“National Disability Theatre has announced a partnership with La Jolla Playhouse and Goodman Theatre to commission two new works written, directed, and designed by artists with disabilities for casts featuring only actors with disabilities. The selected playwrights are Gregg Mozgala … and Christopher Shinn.” – American Theatre
Katy Waldman Was Reviewing A Novel. Then She Found Herself In It. And On It Goes From There.
Well, she’s pretty sure she found herself — more specifically, an essay she wrote about herself and her twin sister — but the novel’s author differs. And the author of another book claims she found more of it in Waldman’s essay than Waldman credited her for. (Waldman differs, as does her editor, who was her twin sister.) Waldman digs into all this here, in a very meta essay. – The New Yorker
Essential Reading: Forty Years Ago George Trow Wrote That TV Had Killed Intellectual Life. Now To Social Media…
Trow argued that the rise of television decimated the elite American intellectual community to which he had belonged as the far descendant of printing magnates, a Harvard graduate, and a magazine writer. It cut out what he posed as society’s heart: the reading, debating, literary demographic that consumed his work. – The Nation
A Very Bad Idea: Broadcasting ‘Saturday Night Live’ Direct From New Orleans Mardi Gras
Yes, they tried it once, back in 1977. And not on Saturday night at 11:30, but on Sunday evening at 8:30. “Vulture recently spoke to many of those involved, including Lorne Michaels, Randy Newman, Anne Beatts, and Paul Shaffer,” about this utterly doomed endeavor. – Vulture
Arkansas Replaces Confederate Statue In US Capitol Building With… Johnny Cash
Actually, two statues are being replaced. Governor Asa Hutchinson says
they are not being removed because of their controversial past, but rather because of a decision by the state “to update the statues with representatives of our more recent history.” – Washington Post
Are Trigger Warnings At Theatres Useful Context Or…
As part of his PhD research on theatre spectatorship at the University of Toronto, Scott Mealey interviews many audience members and says he’s “shocked” by the level of anxiety many of them “seem to feel as they encounter theatre, especially if it seems unfamiliar in some way. The more I talk about it the more stories people offer me.” – Toronto Star
Alexa! Play HAPPY Music! (And Why That’s A Challenge)
Using your smart speaker to play music is the top use for them. But making music choices useful has been a challenge. “Using voice to sift through and access music may be a relatively new idea, but it’s brought with it an immense technological challenge that streaming companies, record labels and machine-learning start-ups are all reckoning with. Proper use of this new interface and underlying metadata can mean the difference between sinking and staying afloat on the smart speaker medium.” – BBC
Off-Label Brand: Why Do Some Writers Look Down On Science Fiction?
Even some writers writing science fiction get a bit cranky when you label is such… – The Guardian
Canadian Government Initiates A Review Of Museum Policies On Indigenous Culture
Canadian museums have not done a good job including indigenous culture in their collections or on their walls. Now a new federal government initiative aims to make a review of museum policies across the country to “ensure they line up with the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP) and to make recommendations for best practices going forward.” – CBC
Miami – Crossroads Of The Americas (And Increasingly, Theatre, Too)
Miami is a curious place, one of the world’s most international cities. Everyone seems to be from someplace else. And in recent years that has translated into a lively theatre scene, with more than 80 theatres operating in South Florida. Here you can find a stew of international theatre… – American Theatre
Ugly Spending Battle And Insubordination Mean Another State Public TV Network May Split With Its Supporting Nonprofit
A legal dispute between Oklahoma’s network of PBS affiliates and the foundation through which viewers support it just ended (and so did the foundation). Similar discord in Arkansas is even worse: the CEO of both the network and the foundation spent foundation money on a payment the board explicitly forbid her to make, she fired the COO/development director when the latter told the board about it, so the foundation board fired the CEO (who remains in place at the network). – Current
Notre Dame’s Organ Survived. Hear The Last Recording Before The Fire
Organist organist Olivier Latry made the recording in January. This week he posted an update on the instrument on Facebook: “Despite all the damage in the Cathedral, the organ miraculously escaped the flames, as well as the water supposed to extinguish them. It is very dusty, but will continue to enjoy us as soon as the building will be restored. When? No one knows yet.” – CBC
Turns Out Walt Whitman Was Pretty Racist — Should He Be #Cancelled? (No, Here’s A Better Idea)
“Like many white intellectuals, Whitman seems to have been seduced by the proliferation of racist pseudo-science in the post-Civil War era, … [and his] racism was not limited to black people, but also extended to Native Americans, Hispanics, and Asians.” So should we put Whitman’s writing back on the shelf? Lavelle Porter argues that “there is no better place to look for nuanced critical engagement with Whitman’s complicated legacy than in the work of black intellectuals who have talked back to Whitman.” – JSTOR Daily
Canadian Court Rules That Art By Foreign Artists Can Be Deemed Of National Importance And Prevented From Being Sold Outside Canada
On Tuesday, the appeals court restored a decision by the Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board preventing a Canadian auction house from shipping a painting by French artist Gustave Caillebotte to a buyer in London, England. – CBC
Who’s Funding Culture In The EU? Eastern European Nations (And The UK Is Way Behind)
Overall, the report finds total government expenditure in 2017 across the 28 EU member states was 38% higher in 2017 than in 2004 (using current prices), driven by the 11 post-communist countries. As part of this group’s increase in overall expenditure, spending on culture rose from €1.8bn in 2004 to €4.4bn in 2017. – Arts Professional
Nobel’s Science Prizes Don’t Reflect The Ways Research Is Done Today
“The Nobel committee seems not to recognise how collaborative science is today; their paradigm remains the lone genius, or a duet or troika at most. Year after year, they perform their arbitrary and often cruel calculus, leaving deserving physicists shivering in the pool without any medal to show for it.” – Aeon
London’s Royal Opera Loses Appeal Over Damage To Violist’s Hearing
Christopher Goldscheider sued the London opera house, claiming damages for acoustic shock – a condition with symptoms including tinnitus, hyperacusis and dizziness – after being exposed to noise levels exceeding 130 decibels during a Walkure rehearsal in 2012. – BBC
Warning: AI Research Is Being Compromised
The lack of diversity within artificial intelligence is pushing the field to a dangerous “tipping point,” according to new research from the AI Now Institute. – Engadget
If AI Composes Music, Does That Make It An Artist?
Music is based on influences of music that has come before. So music created by artificial intelligence is composed based on the data and algorithms provided to it. So if AI-made music sounds like say, Beyonce, does that mean Beyonce is owed something? – The Verge
Helvetica Gets An Update
Is there any more ubiquitous font than Helvetica? It’s everywhere. Except it’s not. In recent years more and more publishers have eschewed it for other, newer typefaces. And there are some basic problems with the design. So now a refresh… – Wired
The Occupational Hazards Of Theatre Criticism (It Can Get Messy)
Peter Marks recounts such difficulties as having a seat mate (an aging comedy star, no less) unable to contain his enthusiasm, having another seat mate unable to contain his dinner, and having your own seat refuse to hold you. – The Washington Post
After 45 Years, San Francisco’s Beloved ‘Beach Blanket Babylon’ To Close
The musical revue, known for its campy local humor and stupendously extravagant hats, will have its last performance on New Year’s Eve — and the reason is not financial. – San Francisco Chronicle
Berkeley Symphony’s New Music Director Is A Conductor They Met By Chance Three Months Ago
Joseph Young, a former assistant conductor at the Atlanta Symphony and currently Director of Ensembles at the Peabody Institute, was called in as a last-minute substitute for a Berkeley Symphony program at the end of January, and the chemistry was — well, we know that story. Young will now replace Joana Carneiro in a post that was held for decades by Kent Nagano. – San Francisco Chronicle