Today’s meritocrats still claim to get ahead through talent and effort, using means open to anyone. In practice, however, meritocracy now excludes everyone outside of a narrow elite. – The Atlantic
Author: Douglas McLennan
Ivo Pogorelich Releases His First Recording In 21 Years. So How Did It Go?
“With such a long hiatus — and Pogorelich’s track record — the release demands a certain critical wrestling to the ground, in terms of his once-lauded genius, and of broader questions, including where performers draw the line between artistic freedom and obligation to the composer.” – NPR
Canadian Service Dogs Watch Live Theatre As Part Of Their Training
A polite crowd of about a dozen future service dogs attended an August performance at Ontario’s Stratford Festival as part of their training. While a silent curtain call might disappoint actors, the dogs’ spellbound stillness is a great sign for their future handlers. – CNN
Director Of Napa’s Di Rosa Collection: Sadly, But We Have No Choice But To Sell
“Unfortunately the simple reality is that the organization was never set up with sufficient funds to properly care for the collection and the physical plant long-term much less offer meaningful contributions to our community.” – Artforum
CEO Exit Interview: A Model That No Longer Works
Arti Prashar: “We operate in a climate where we have been asked to grow and grow, following a business model that just doesn’t work for the arts – of seeking bigger turnover and bigger and wider audiences. We need a mixed economy – always have, always will. I hear of many venues and organisations running huge deficits – how are they going to plug those holes?” – Arts Professional
UK Study: Businesses Are Not Investing In The Arts
Fewer than one-third of businesses do. “Most individuals surveyed by the funder wanted more cultural opportunities where they live (55%), but businesses were less enthusiastic: they prioritised other spending, felt local arts groups were “not business minded enough”, and didn’t see how investing in arts and culture would benefit them.” – Arts Professional
The Increasingly Oh-So-Complicated Politics Of The Politics Of Arts Organization Donors
“You don’t want to have either Fox or MSNBC after you. Those are huge distractions of the time of individual board members and senior management.” – The New York Times
Russian Literature And The Meaning Of Truth
“We usually assume that literature exists to depict life, but Russians often speak as if life exists to provide material for literature. Russians, of course, excel in ballet, chess, theater, and mathematics. They invented the periodic table and non-Euclidian geometry. Nevertheless, for Russians literature is in a class by itself. The very phrase “Russian literature” carries a sacramental aura.” – New Criterion
The New Streaming Reality Is Looking More And More Like The Bad Old Days Of TV
The rise of digital video is bringing back more than just bloated bundles and bills. Many companies are returning to TV’s original business model: selling you anything and everything but the television show in front of you. – The New York Times
How “Sesame Street” Revolutionized Teaching Using Music
Since its inception in 1969, the public television show has redefined what it means to teach children through TV, with music as its resounding voice. Before “Sesame Street,” it wasn’t even clear that you could do that; once the series began, as a radical experiment that joined educational research and social idealism with the lunacy of puppets and the buoyancy of advertising jingles, it proved that kids are very receptive to a grammar lesson wrapped in a song. – The New York Times