“Although the story of Apple’s design success is often presented in purely aesthetic or technological terms, the company’s innovations in that area had political and cultural dimensions, too: they were, among other things, an attempt to pry computer technology out of the hands of a particular group of men.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Court Orders Closure Of Foundry That Has Been Casting Degas Bronzes (Which Degas Would Have Hated)
“The Valsuani foundry, whose bronze sculptures by Edgar Degas have roiled the art market for more than a decade, is closing, by order of a French judge … Degas sculpted in wax and clay but only as an intellectual exercise. He hated the idea of casting his sculptures in bronze.”
Another Major Opera Company Makes The Move Into Chamber Opera
“A combination of factors has fed the trend for smaller-scale productions: Many large houses are struggling to fill their seats, while some of the most creative work recently has been in chamber opera, which has attracted new composers and new audiences.”
16-Foot, 50-Pound Contrabassoon Stolen From Concert Hall
Buffalo Philharmonic musician Martha Malkiewicz returned from a weeklong break to find that her instrument had been taken from atop a row of lockers backstage at Kleinhans Music Hall.
Terry Gilliam Gets One More Try At Seemingly Cursed ‘Don Quixote’ Film
“The Man Who Killed Don Quixote will begin filming in September … The budget has been set at €16m (£12.8m), and the film will feature John Hurt and Unbroken‘s Jack O’Connell in roles originally occupied by Jean Rochefort and Johnny Depp.”
Julio Bocca Steps Down Temporarily From Helm Of National Ballet Of Uruguay
The former ABT star “has announced his decision to take ‘a temporary break as artistic director’ of the National Ballet of Uruguay, a post he has held since 2010.”
St. Petersburg Arts Journalist Found Murdered In Apartment
“[Dmitri] Tsilikin was a well-known culture and arts critic, working on TV and radio as well as for print media such as Kommersant, Vogue and Elle. … [He] was found with multiple knife wounds and it is believed he may have been dead for at least two days.”
$50,000 Richard Tucker Prize To Soprano Tamara Wilson
“Ms. Wilson, 34, made a noteworthy debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 2014 singing the title role in Verdi’s Aida, and was nominated for a 2016 Olivier Award for her highly praised performance in Verdi’s Force of Destiny at English National Opera.”
Kathleen Battle Returning To Met, 22 Years After Being Fired
“It may be the biggest unfiring in opera since Maria Callas’s New York comeback: Kathleen Battle, a prima donna whose dismissal by the Metropolitan Opera more than two decades ago made front-page news, will return to the Met next season to sing a recital of spirituals.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 04.04.16
Monday Recommendation: A Duke Ellington Book
Steven Brower & Mercedes Ellington: Duke Ellington: An American Composer and Icon (Rizzoli). 224 pages. $35.48 The scores of photos, illustrations and reproductions of documents make this book a valuable supplement to the growing stack … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2016-04-04
Local DC jazz apart from NEA Jazz Masters events
In Washington DC for events surrounding the investiture of vibist Gary Burton, saxophonists Pharoah Sanders and Archie Shepp, and Jazz Foundation of America‘s executive director Wendy Oxenhorn as NEA Jazz Masters, I visited a new grassroots venue that shows where the deep heart of jazz support lies. … read more
AJBlog: Jazz Beyond Jazz Published 2016-04-04
Just because: George Bernard Shaw talks about the filming of Pygmalion
George Bernard Shaw talks about the filming of Pygmalion in a 1939 British Movietone newsreel. … read more
AJBlog: About Last Night Published 2016-04-04
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