A Danish collective of jazz musicians have perfected their far-right counter-protest strategy. “Free Jazz Against Paludan” follows the far-right politician Rasmus Paludan around the country and plays jazz very loudly and very badly at his events, in a bid to drown out his voice. – Vice
Month: September 2020
That Trump Trip To Paris To Commemorate WWII? (Or Not) He Also Went Art Shopping
Trump fancied several of the pieces in the U.S. ambassador’s historic residence in Paris, where he was staying, and on a whim had them removed and loaded onto Air Force One, according to people familiar with the matter. The works — a portrait, a bust, and a set of silver figurines — were brought back to the White House. – Bloomberg
France’s Culture Of Complaint (Just For The Fun Of It)
In France, there are several words for “to complain”: there’s “se plaindre”, used for regular old complaining; there’s “porter plainte”, for complaining more officially. And then there’s “râler”: complaining just for the fun of it. – BBC
Violinist Suing Former Shanghai Quartet Colleagues Over Dismissal
In March of this year, Yi-Wen Jiang posted a comment on the Chinese social media platform WeChat in response to a post by San Francisco Symphony associate principal viola Yun Jie Liu. Jiang’s comment, which went viral, was denounced by some Chinese media outlets as ’racist’ and led to a parting of the ways between Jiang and his fellow Shanghai Quartet members. – The Strad
Dorothy Parker’s Ashes: An Odyssey From A File Cabinet To Baltimore To The Bronx
The tale of the author’s cremains, which would likely have amused her as much as irked her, includes appearances by Martin Luther King and the NAACP (to whom she left her estate), Lillian Hellman (more than living down to Mary McCarthy’s opinion of her), activist lawyer and one-time New York City Council President Paul O’Dwyer, and (the hero of the story) a professional tour guide named Kevin Fitzpatrick. – The New Yorker
New Startup To Deliver Movies To Theatres Through The Cloud
In the U.S., current theatrical distribution is about 50/50 between hard drives and satellite delivery, according to Jason Brenek. He believes cloud-based tech offers a more efficient alternative. The service was developed to support all out-of-home venues, including cinemas, pop-up drive-ins or outdoor arenas. – The Hollywood Reporter
Houston Ballet Waltzes Into The ‘Bayadère’ Wars
“A Hindu rights activist based in Nevada is accusing the Houston Ballet of cultural insensitivity and is urging it to cancel its upcoming performances of La Bayadère, scheduled for February, saying the ballet set in India ‘trivializes Eastern religious and other traditions.'” (Of course, as the company’s executive director observed, thanks to the coronavirus, it’s still not entirely certain that the run will even happen.) – Houston Press
Revealed: Gehry Plans For Two New Concert Halls Across From Disney Hall
With fundraising for the Colburn School project stalled, Frank Gehry released to The Times images of his concert hall models for the first time. As the architect’s design demonstrates, the two halls could well make or break the promise of the $1-billion Grand. – Los Angeles Times
Pioneering Tuba Virtuoso Constance Weldon Dead At 88
Believed to be the first woman to play tuba in a fully professional orchestra in the U.S., she was hired by the Boston Pops in 1955, after her second time at Tanglewood, and went on to hold positions in the North Carolina Symphony, the Netherlands Ballet Orchestra, and the Kansas City Philharmonic. (For a time, she was acting principal tuba for the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam.) A Florida native, she spent most of her career, more than 30 years, at the University of Miami and the Miami Philharmonic. – The New York Times
Hunter College Laid Off Half Its College Art Assistants. The Other Half Is Threatening Not To Work
With an average enrollment of 125 students, Hunter’s art department is one of the largest in the US. The college assistants are usually given one-year contracts, with benefits, and they are responsible for maintaining and running the department’s facilities, equipment, and supplies, in addition to overseeing the use of studio spaces, tools, and training students. – The Art Newspaper