“Administrative tumult, a prominent snub on the Bucharest National Opera’s website and questions over artistic direction have cost the Romanian national ballet company its two biggest stars: Johan Kobborg and Alina Cojocaru.” Michael Cooper gives an English-language recap of the situation as of Tuesday morning.
Author: Matthew Westphal
City Of London Festival Shuts Down
“The three-week summer festival offered around 50 ticketed events and a further 100 free outdoor events in the financial centre, spanning classical and contemporary music, visual arts, film and talks. … The organisers laid the blame on the deteriorating climate for arts funding.”
Kate Soper Wins Virgil Thomson Award; Pulitzer-Winning ‘Life Is A Dream’ Takes Ives Opera Prize
“The composer Kate Soper won the Virgil Thomson Award in Vocal Music, while the composer Lewis Spratlan and librettist James Maraniss won the Charles Ives Opera Prize for their work Life Is a Dream, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, which awards the prizes, announced on Tuesday.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 04.12.16
What Does BKM Mean In The Museum World?
Can you guess? It is another attempt by a museum to be hip to the younger generation. It’s one of the latest changes to the visual identity of the Brooklyn Museum.* I don’t believe … read more
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts Published 2016-04-12
A Farewell To Bryce Rohde
In January, Rifftides reader Donna Shore sent a remembrance of Bryce Rohde, the pianist and music director of the Australian Jazz Quartet. Outside of Australia the talented musician’s achievements received too little notice when … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2016-04-12
Lookback: a visit to suburbia
From 2006: It’s been a long time since I paid an overnight visit to suburbia, and I happily admit to having found it pleasant. I sat on a patio yesterday morning, sipping a drink, basking … read more
AJBlog: About Last Night Published 2016-04-12
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The First-Ever Afghan Muppet Is A Girl With A Mission
“Zari, whose name means ‘shimmering,’ is an eager 6-year-old who will focus on girls’ empowerment, health and emotional well-being” on the Afghan version of Sesame Street, Baghch-e Simsim.
‘Civilization Stylishly Blowing Itself To Pieces’ – Alex Ross On Stéphane Mallarmé
“Upon his death, in 1898, he left behind a body of work so inscrutable that it still causes literature students to fall to their knees in despair” – not least because it’s written in sonnets and alexandrines. “It is, however, precisely this tension between traditional form and radical content that keeps reactivating the shock of his writing.”
This Man Has A Degree In Home Economics, And He’s Conquering The Performance Art World
“In a railway station in St. Petersburg last year, backed by a full orchestra, [Ragnar] Kjartansson sang the words ‘Sorrow will conquer happiness,’ in Russian, for six hours. … [His] brand of performance art, in which Nordic gloom goes hand in hand with non-ironic humor, has made him one of the busiest artists on the planet.”
The Worst Composer Hair Of All Time
Behold and shudder.
Neurasthenia Wasn’t Just Some Bogus 19th-Century Ailment – In Fact Some Of Us Might Have It Right Now
We’d probably call it burnout.
The ‘For Dummies’ Guides At 25 (What Would We Do Without Them?)
“The punch lines write themselves, but so do the checks. According to the publisher, 300 million books are in print, and the brand adds about 200 new titles a year. … Most importantly, a Dummies book assumes the reader is starting with zero knowledge on the topic. This is not a universal quality in the how-to world.”