“One woman is seen posing with a grenade in her hand. A man had his photo taken with a little boy sitting on his lap.” Weirder still is who put the booth there.
Author: Matthew Westphal
Tiny Tuscan Town Spends Decades Battling Over A Piero Della Francesca Fresco
“For decades, [Piero’s Madonna del Parto] has been entangled in the type of distinctly Italian bureaucratic standoff that can bend time as well as logic. The contested issue is how and where the fresco should be displayed. The Roman Catholic Church is involved. So is the Ministry of Culture. There has been litigation. There have been government committees. There have been TV specials.”
Without Warning, Brussels Ends All Funding For European Union Youth Orchestra; Music Community Fights Back
EUYO chief executive Marshall Marcus writes about the extraordinary praise the band has received over its 40 years, the bureaucratic reason for the cutoff of money, and how the likes of the Berlin Philharmonic, the Barbican, and the Salzburg Festival are responding.
Botticelli In Hell: The First-Ever Illustrated Version Of ‘The Divine Comedy’
Yes, that’s exactly what the artist (and his Medici patron) set out to do circa 1490. While he never completed the project (he evidently felt as unequal to the task of depicting Paradise as Dante did), quite a number of his illustrations have survived.
Vail International Dance Festival To Get New York Outpost
“Vail Dance Festival: ReMix NYC, with shows November 3–6, will feature many Vail regulars, including American Ballet Theatre’s Isabella Boylston (the festival’s artist in residence for 2016) and Herman Cornejo; New York City Ballet’s Sara Mearns, Robert Fairchild and Tiler Peck; [and] tapper extraordinaire Michelle Dorrance.”
Curtis Institute Gets $55 Million Gift, Largest In Its History
Nina Baroness von Maltzahn, who steps down at the end of the month as the Curtis Institute of Music’s board chair, has made a grand parting gesture. … On an adjusted-for-inflation basis, [her] donation is the largest single gift Curtis has received since Mary Louise Curtis Bok established the school as tuition-free in 1928.”
A New Complete Version Of Copland’s ‘Appalachian Spring’
Copland originally composed his score for Martha Graham’s dance piece for only 13 instruments, and when he later expanded the music for full symphony orchestra, he abridged it into a suite. Eugene Ormandy once asked the composer to restore the cuts and orchestrate the full-length score, but the project was never finished – until now.
‘Geek Love’ Author Katherine Dunn Dead At 70
“Dunn had two little-known novels to her name, written in the early 1970s, when Geek Love became widely celebrated. … She seemed bemused by her sudden literary fame after years of struggling to earn a living by working freelance for a number of regional and national outlets, including as an advice columnist and as a boxing writer.”
Robert Wilson Stages A Hermès Furnishings Show
“The man with the parrot on his shoulder was preening as he examined necklaces before a vanity’s mirror. The woman in a feathered dress was clutching a crystal on the floor. All around them, under a canopy of suspended couches, chairs and wicker baskets, expensively suited executives of Hermès, the French luxury-goods company, were beaming.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 05.12.16
The deepest power of classical music
I got chills at the end of The Rhinegold (as they called it at the Washington National Opera Ring, though they did the cycle in German). And I cried at the end of The Valkyrie. That’s one way to measure the power of this production, … read more
AJBlog: Sandow Published 2016-05-12
If Antony Tudor Wrote a Novel
Girl Through Glass, Sari Wilson’s debut novel about the 1970s New York ballet world, focuses on the imprint of George Balanchine on the young dancers in the city. … read more
AJBlog: Fresh Pencil Published 2016-05-12
Arhoolie Records (a dozen faves) to Smithsonian
Excellent news on the archival recordings front: Arhoolie Records, the 55-year old treasury of American folk and vernacular musics, has been acquired by … read more
AJBlog: Jazz Beyond Jazz Published 2016-05-12
Are We Still Awake? My Storify on Christie’s Impressionist/Modern Snooze
I don’t know about you, but I’m experiencing severe auction fatigue, which is not nearly as rewarding as museum fatigue. So let’s cut to the chase and get right to my Storify account … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2016-05-12
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