“As you descend the Penn Station escalator to Track 3 for New Jersey Transit, your eyes are ambushed by an ad with a blazing headline … And there he is, Philadelphia Orchestra music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, in a raspberry pink vest, baton in hand, and head somewhere in heaven.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Athens Has An Impressive New Cultural Center – But For Now, It’s Sitting Empty
“Backed by the might of private philanthropy, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre was launched at the weekend to a grand fanfare of concerts and fireworks. Except it hasn’t actually opened, nor has an opening date been announced. Both the national library and opera house have been gifted a further €5m to relocate here, but funding beyond that remains up in the air.”
Carnegie Hall’s Pugnacious Ex-Chairman Gives $75 Million For World Trade Center Arts Complex
“Less than a year since he stepped down as the chairman of Carnegie Hall after clashing with its staff, Ronald O. Perelman, the billionaire businessman, announced Wednesday that he was donating $75 million to revive plans to build a performing arts center at the World Trade Center site.”
Violinist Who Stormed Into Woman’s Hotel Room Naked And Tried To Strangle Her Goes Free
“[Stefan] Arzberger, who had faced a charge of attempted murder, instead pleaded guilty to a less serious charge of reckless assault in the third degree, and was given an unconditional discharge. He faces no jail time or fine.”
New York Times Classical Music Editor Says Lincoln Center Should Combine All Its Summer Festivals Because He Can’t Tell Them Apart
Zachary Woolfe: “Even critics paid to know the ins and outs of all the presentations find themselves confused at what belongs in what container – and how, exactly, audiences are served by the clutter of brands. … I propose that all of these be rolled into a single entity called, say, Lincoln Center Summer.”
Andris Nelsons Walks Out On Bayreuth Festival
“The 37-year-old podium star, currently chief conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and soon to take up the baton at Germany’s Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra [as well], had been scheduled to conduct the premiere of a new production of Richard Wagner’s final opera Parsifal this year.”
Alvin Toffler, Author Of ‘Future Shock’ And ‘The Third Wave’, Dead At 87
“Mr. Toffler wrote more than a dozen books charting the cultural shift from manufacturing-based economies to those driven by knowledge and data in the 20th century. Working with his wife, he predicted the unfolding of what he coined ‘the Information Age’ and became a guru of sorts to world statesmen.”
Broadway’s First Live-Stream Hits The Web (Why Did It Take So Long?)
“The fairly new online video service BroadwayHD … [on] Thursday night … offers up the first-ever live stream of a Broadway show, the musical revival She Loves Me. And in the process, the start-up hopes to cement its status as the ‘Netflix of Broadway’.” Jonathan Takiff looks at why the Great White Way is so late to the streaming party.
Shakespeare Was A Social Climber Who Fought For A Coat Of Arms
“Considered with previously known records, [the scholar who found the evidence] argues, the documents suggest both how deeply invested Shakespeare was in gaining that recognition – a rarity for a man from the theater.” And some argue that this evidence proves that William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon really did write those plays.
‘Speak The Speech, I Pray You’ – The Multitudes Of Possibility In Shakespeare’s Great Monologues
Michael Billington: “I thought I’d look at five key Shakespearean speeches and see how various actors have handled them. I stress that there is no right or wrong – simply a wealth of differences.” (includes video links)