Peter S. Onuf: “Every Jefferson biography on the shelf is a polemic, one way or another, but we wanted to get beyond that.” Annette Gordon-Reed: “People read history the way we watch movies, where you have a good guy and a bad guy. What’s the point of even going to the library to do research if you already know what you think?”
Author: Matthew Westphal
And The Next Famous Property Matthew Bourne Will Adapt Is –
“It is some people’s favourite movie but the stage version was one of the biggest disasters in Broadway history. So the choreographer Sir Matthew Bourne admitted he was taking a risk as he announced his next production.”
Why Musicians Turn To Bach In Times Of Public Trauma
“Not every composer writes music with medicinal effects. Mahler’s darker symphonies could make a bad day even worse. Yet Bach … is described by passionate advocates as music for times of modern-day crisis. Says pianist Alexandre Tharaud, “When I play Bach, my hands feel better, my body feels better, and my heart feels better.”
Panama Papers Claim Their First High-Profile Arts-World Scalp
“The Oscar-winning Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar has canceled publicity events linked to Friday’s release of his latest movie, Julieta, after reports that he and his brother, a movie producer, were named in the … leaked documents.”
Half Of Brits Don’t Want To See A Female Hamlet
“When asked about a female Hamlet, 48% did not like the idea. This contrasts with only 15% who were in favour, and 28% who were ‘neutral’. … Of the same sample, nearly a third had positive feelings about a black or minority ethnic Hamlet, compared with 20% who felt negatively about it.”
‘Hamilton’ Is Now A Big Business – Here’s Its CEO
“The producer Jeffrey Seller struck gold with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway hit about the founding fathers. Now he has a new challenge – managing a runaway success.”
Columbia University Students Protest A Sculpture – And P.C. Has Nothing To Do With It
“Unlike many campus outcries of the past year, this one has nothing to do with sexism or racism. [Henry] Moore’s Reclining Figure (1969-70), many students have said, is just ugly and doesn’t fit in with Columbia’s neo-Classical aesthetic.”
Shakespeare First Folio Discovered On Scottish Island
“Emma Smith, professor of Shakespeare studies at Oxford University, said her first reaction on being told the stately home was claiming to have an original First Folio was: ‘Like hell they have.'”
Another Step Forward For Women Conductors At L.A. Philharmonic
“Finnish conductor Susanna Malkki will become only the third person ever appointed principal guest conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.” Her two predecessors are Simon Rattle and Michael Tilson Thomas.
The Whitney Names Its New Building After Donor Who Didn’t Want The Museum To Move
“Leonard A. Lauder, the Whitney Museum of American Art’s chairman emeritus, initially opposed the museum’s move downtown to its new home in the Meatpacking district from the Breuer building on Madison Avenue. Now, that new home will bear his name.”