In the wake of the #MeToo movement, and a growing consensus that the creators of the 21st century’s cultural artifacts cannot exclusively be white males, some of America’s most prominent ensembles are programming more works by women than ever before.
Author: Douglas McLennan
How Old Is Too Old For Orchestra Musicians?
“We should expect to see an age-related decline in performance after the age of 40,” the study says. “This is borne out by the answers given by the musicians surveyed. On average, 41 percent of orchestral musicians have noticed at least once that their performance has declined due to age-related factors.”
On The Misuse Of Civility
Lewis Lapham: “The operatic protest blowing through the country’s internet portals raises the question as to whether the sound and fury signifies something or nothing, the telling of “mischief-making,” fairy-tale lies that is the life of our good and great consumer economy, or the voicing of competitive truth that is the vitality of a democratic republic. It’s hard to know which is which because over the past forty years we’ve become accustomed to pretending that democracy is a peaceful idea, something civil, orderly, quiet, and safe. It isn’t.”
After A Year (and Major Surgery), A Cellist And His Cello Are Reunited
The accident led to the discovery of other, more insidious problems: Matteo’s three-hundred-year-old insides were collapsing. The top was losing its arch; the cracks were widening. “A domino effect,” Matt Haimovitz said. He visited every two months. Once, he arrived to find cello parts scattered around the room, attended to by different experts, like an intensive-care unit. “For thirty years, it goes everywhere with me, and then, so suddenly, not to have it around? And then to see it—” He broke off, full of emotion.
Ira Sabin, Founder Of JazzTimes Magazine, Dies At 90
In 1962, he bought out a brother-in-law who had a record store, renaming it Sabin’s Discount Records. The store, at Ninth and U streets NW, was in the heart of Washington’s thriving jazz district, within walking distance of two theaters and six jazz clubs. The shop carried one of the country’s largest collections of jazz recordings, and musicians often stopped by to shop and chat.
Another Theatre Critic Gets Laid Off. The Field Of Criticism Has Changed
All of this comes at a time when there’s been an enormous proliferation in the number of other online outlets – whether personal or under umbrella sites – to fill the vacuum. But few do (or can) remunerate their contributors. So we’re rapidly seeing a new model for criticism emerging: one in which only hobbyists and retirees, or those who are financially independent, will be able to pursue a ‘career’ in the field. The arts world constantly talks up diversity as an aspiration; but this will inevitably lead to reduced diversity in the field of arts criticism.
A DC Critic Declares His Favorite Theatre. Perhaps It’s Instructive How He Chose It
A night at the theater can mean everything from parking and dinner, to elbow room in the lobby and in the seats, all on top of the price of a ticket. The city’s entertainment czars know this; that’s what drove the remarkable expansion of theater after theater a decade ago, with boosted capacities and bigger lobbies. Even now, more money is being raised to convert comparatively new complexes into more fully rounded destinations.
How Penguin Has Strengthened Its Publishing Empire
Privately owned, the company has moved deliberately, while publicly traded competitors like HarperCollins (which is owned by News Corp) and Simon & Schuster (CBS) have had to fend off pressures from shareholders. It has not used its gargantuan size—it controls more than half of the traditional literary marketplace according to many estimates—to take back territory from Amazon. Instead, it has focused on building equity and ensuring that it publishes the next generation of bestsellers.
Sistine Chapel Choir Being Investigated For Financial Irregularities
Pope Francis has authorized an investigation into “possible financial irregularities” within the Sistine Chapel Choir, Reuters reports.
So You Think You Own Those Movies And Music You Bought Online? Think Again
As outlined in the Twitter thread, Apple states the content provider of the movies in question removed them from the store. And that removed them from the user’s library, even though he had paid money to buy them. It’s easy to see why that’s frustrating (especially since Apple wasn’t willing to cough up a refund for the purchases he no longer has).