The musicians’ three-month work stoppage will be over if they ratify the proposed new contract on Wednesday. So what’s in the new deal? Well …
Author: Matthew Westphal
It Can ‘Reach People Who Are Not A Captive Audience’ – Shepard Fairey On The Power Of Street Art
“If you are going to an artist’s gallery or museum show or website, you might find something interesting and new, but it’s not the same as the visceral experience of encountering something unexpected on the street.” A Q&A with correspondent Scott Timberg.
The Tender Side Of Edward Albee (Wait, What? Edward Albee??)
“Here, four people who crossed paths with this famously irascible writer [who died in September] recall him as a friend, a mentor and an inspiration.”
From Raunchy Farces To ‘Cinema Of Women’ To Thrillers (And Back Again): The Evolution Of Pedro Almodóvar
“Under the umbrella of [his production company] El Deseo, Pedro makes whatever movie he wants. A new one comes out every couple of years, as with Woody Allen, but no two Almodóvar movies are alike. His aesthetic has become harder and harder to pin down. Critics regularly announce that he has finally left behind his taste for gender games and melodramatic plots with murdered spouses, only to have his next movie prove them wrong.”
The Problem With Concert Music Reaching For Political And Social Relevance
“What often seems to go unasked is: ‘Who is it for?’ … It’s unlikely that victims of gun violence will draw solace from [a percussion concert], or that grass-roots members of the National Rifle Association will come out of it reconciled with the idea of tighter controls. … [And] how many police commissioners send their law enforcement officials to the opera house for sensitivity training?”
New York Film Critics Circle Continues The Love For ‘Moonlight’ And ‘Manchester By The Sea’ – Except For Best Picture
“[They] gave three apiece to each movie, … But lest we forget that there is a beloved modern-day musical starring charming actors Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling also campaigning vigorously for critical attention, Damien Chazelle’s La La Land snuck in at the tail end of voting to win Best Picture.”
Is Jake Heggie About To Give Opera Houses Their Equivalent Of ‘Nutcracker’?
He and librettist Gene Scheer have adapted one of the most famous, and most daunting, of classic Christmas stories: Frank Capra’s film It’s a Wonderful Life. (Talk about daunting: the lead tenor has to risk comparison to Jimmy Stewart.) (includes audio)
Merriam-Webster Begs: Please Help Us Keep ‘Fascism’ From Being The Word Of The Year
They choose the word by number of searches, and, thanks to this year’s election, “fascism” is now the fourth-most-searched word in merriam-webster.com’s entire history. They sent out a tweet on Tuesday saying, “There’s still time to look something else up.” (One reply: “I’ve searched ‘puppies’ 523 times in the past 30 minutes. Anything change?”)
Dancers Are Fleeing Royal New Zealand Ballet Because Of Artistic Director: Report
“In the last year as many as 12 dancers and other staff have left the national ballet company … Three or four left directly because of the way they were treated by Francesco Ventriglia, sources told RNZ.”
Why Are There No Female Michelangelos, Cézannes, Or Picassos? Well, There Are Now
Sarah Boxer: “There are great women artists. They are not only ‘as good as the men,’ as male critics used to say in the 1950s; some of them have altered the very terms of art, going where no man has gone before. To see what I mean, let’s walk through two starkly different all-women exhibitions.” (Oh, and by the way, “Women sculptors are funnier than men sculptors.”)