Anna Picard: “Precision has never been part of the Gergiev-Mariinsky rough magic package. While not exactly sight-reading, the orchestra played as though rehearsing for the first time, without stopping to correct infelicities of articulation, intonation, blend, balance and ensemble. If authenticity is sounding like a mutinous scratch band in Cherepovets, this performance had plenty of it. You could argue that Prokofiev’s Classical Symphony benefits from a casual approach. But oh, the vinegar! You could souse herrings in chords like these.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Albright-Knox Gallery In Buffalo Raises $100 Million In 12 Weeks
The feat was “spurred in large part by a $42.5 million pledge from billionaire bond-trader and Western New York native Jeffrey Gundlach. … [His] gift was designed to flush out millions in matching donations from Western New York foundations, corporations and individuals as well as state, county and city government. It did just that.”
He Left The Directorship Of The Rijksmuseum To Open This New Institution – And Two Months Later, He’s Quitting
“[Wim] Pijbes left the position of general director of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam over the summer to lead the Voorlinden, a private contemporary art museum in Wassenaar that was founded by the Dutch art collector and businessman Joop van Caldenborgh. ‘We both had the feeling that it was better for both of us and for the museum to stop and to quit,’ Mr. Pijbes said in a telephone interview.”
New Horizons In Merch: Britain’s National Theatre Brands Its Own Line Of Stage Equipment
“National Theatre-approved backstage hardware products will be developed as part of a new relationship with theatrical goods supplier Flints. The tie-up means that props and carpentry departments at the NT will test new products for Flints, including paints and other prop-making tools, which will then be given an NT ‘stamp of approval’ and carried in Flints’ catalogue.”
Ravi Shankar’s Only Opera To Get World Premiere, 4½ Years After His Death
“Days before what was to be his final surgery, Shankar outlined his vision for the complete opera” – titled Sukanya – “to his longtime collaborator David Murphy, who, with the help of Shankar’s daughter Anoushka, has since brought the opera to fruition. ‘He’d written the whole piece in outline – the entire raga structure and almost all the melodies, so it was just a matter of filling in the gaps, which were small,’ explained Murphy.”
The Culture Wars Buffet France, And The Schools Are The Battleground
“Changes to how Joan of Arc and other touchstone historical figures are taught in elementary school, as well as changes to how French, Latin and Greek are introduced, have sparked fierce arguments between right-leaning politicians and intellectuals, who believe schools should foster national pride, and the Socialist education minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem and her defenders, who argue that the curriculum should reflect changes in society.”
Iraq’s Newest Museum Opens – In Saddam’s Former Palace In The City He Tried To Strangle
“The Basrah Museum has been planned for eight years and will join the National Museum in Baghdad as one of the most important institutions in Iraq. For the first time in a generation, the people of southern Iraq will have their own museum – a great achievement under extremely difficult circumstances.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 09.27.16
Arts Congressional Report Card: Why The Arts Have No Political Clout
Americans for the Arts Action Fund PAC has released its 2016 Congressional Arts Report Card rating members of Congress on their support for the arts. Many lobby groups do such rankings as a way of … read more
AJBlog: diacritical | Douglas McLennan Published 2016-09-27
Met Layoffs Today: About Three Dozen People Let Go
Today, the Metropolitan Museum of Art shed more staff – in the form of involuntary layoffs. As we’ve known for a while, the Met’s financial position has deteriorated: … read more
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts Published 2016-09-27
Library Lessons
The transition from books to information as the core mission was something libraries had to address over the last generation. Today, the relevance transformation expands to provision of services and resources. … read more
AJBlog: Engaging Matters Published 2016-09-27
Witnessing
When you think about it, the majority of my practice as an orchestral musician is witnessed. … Lately I’ve been focusing on the thinking part of my practice. It’s the part that wrestles with aesthetic, organizational and social frameworks. … read more
AJBlog: SongWorking Published 2016-09-27
Abstract Expressionism Hits the Bull’s Eye
This is the Tate website glossary’s definition: “Abstract expressionism is the term applied to new forms of abstract art developed by American painters such as Jackson Pollock, … read more
AJBlog: Plain English Published 2016-09-27
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$200K Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award Goes To Sarah Ruhl
“Ruhl, 42, is based in Brooklyn and is the author of plays such as The Clean House, In the Next Room, or the vibrator play, Passion Play and The Oldest Boy. She previously won the MacArthur ‘genius’ grant and is a Tony nominee and finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.”
How To Pay For Finishing Orlando’s New Arts Center? Mayor Calls For Resort Tax
“Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs … revealed a new plan, in a memo to county leaders, that lays out a path to get the arts center the final $45 million in tourist development tax dollars it needs to start the $185 million second phase that includes the 1,700-seat Steinmetz Hall acoustical theater.”