“‘I have always wanted to be an entertainer rather than an actor,’ McCowen once wrote, but the truth is he was both: he could immerse himself in a character but also hold an audience spellbound, as in his celebrated one-man performance of St Mark’s Gospel.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Spoleto Festival Director Makes The Arts’ Case Against The Travel Ban
Nigel Redden, in an op-ed in South Carolina’s largest newspaper: “Whether presenting an opera by Antonio Vivaldi or a play by Samuel Beckett, the Festival depends on works created by artists from many parts of the world. … [Their] varied outlooks come from lives and personal histories that differ from many in the audience who flock each year to the Festival. And this is why they flock: they come looking for the kind of personal connection that the performing arts provide especially well. … To limit these possibilities limits us as human beings.”
Why Art-World Resistance To Trump Probably Won’t Accomplish Much
Tom Rachman, writing from the Verbier Art Summit (a would-be Davos for artsy types), is not encouraged: “Politics in the arts often looks more like group bonding than anything that might effect change.”
Here’s How The Seattle Symphony Is Protesting Trump’s Travel Ban
Tonight (Wed., Feb. 8), orchestra musicians are performing music drawn from the seven countries singled out in the executive order. The concert is sold out, but it will be streamed live at 7:30 pm Pacific Time on the SSO’s Facebook page.
Right-Wing Protesters Disrupt Syrian Artist’s Installation In Dresden
The piece by Manaf Halbouni, described as a “Monument” to Aleppo and its people, consists of three buses stood on end in front of Dresden’s restored Frauenkirche. The city is the home base of the anti-immigration group Pegida.
Sting And Wayne Shorter Win 2017 Polar Music Prize
The rock star and jazz saxophonist “are no stranger to awards: they have 26 Grammys between them.”
Philadelphia Orchestra Renews Stéphane Denève As Principal Guest Conductor
Among the things he’d like to do in his next three-year term is include one contemporary work on each program, as he does with his concerts in Europe. (Jennifer Higdon, who lives just down the street from the orchestra’s hall, was mentioned as a possibility.)
Svend Asmussen, Beloved Jazz Violinist, Dead At 100
“If [Stéphane] Grappelli was a flashy diamond, Mr. Asmussen was a hidden gem. He found a devoted following of jazz critics and discerning listeners who admired his facility as a multi-instrumentalist (vibraphone, flute and conga), sometime crooner and occasional clown in the mold of a fellow Dane, the pianist and satirist Victor Borge.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 02.07.17
Universality/Particularity
A view of the universality of an art (or any element of culture) is at odds with the reality of different cultures and different forms of cultural expression. … read more
AJBlog: Engaging Matters Published 2017-02-07
From London to New Jersey
The Richard Alston Dance Company at Montclair State University’s Peak Performances, February 2 through 5. … read more
AJBlog: Dancebeat Published 2017-02-07
‘Lurid Gimmicks’: How Lillian Hellman Achieved Success And Fell Short Of Greatness
“She imagined herself a woman of stern integrity: a playwright who would speak truth to audiences who would pay attention because the magic of the theatre would draw them in. But to attract audiences, she resorted to the kinds of tactics that could make critics shudder.” Alice Kessler-Harris looks at where Hellman pulled the balancing act off and where (and why) she failed.