“In the first case of its kind, the alleged Malian jihadi leader Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi … is charged by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague with razing nine mausoleums and the 15th-century Sidi Yahia mosque in Timbuktu in northern Mali.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Illegal Trade In Antiquities From Syria Is Not Only ISIS’s Fault
“The black market for smuggled antiquities has been around far longer than ISIS and is not restricted to them now, [one investigative journalist] said. Every armed group in Syria is involved. ‘We focus on ISIS so much because they want us to and also because the US government wants us to as well, because we’re at war; it’s propaganda from both sides.'”
The Original Designs For Wagner’s ‘Ring’ Cycle Just Make Regieoper Look Silly
“Conservative though Hoffmann’s set designs are in their realistic evocation of mountain landscapes and a quaint notion of ‘primitive’ architecture, it’s hard not to see the Morgan show … as a rebuke to the antics that have lately turned this landmark of musical theater into an international freak show.”
What The Original Casting Notice For ‘Hamilton’ Looked Like
“What’s striking about these listings is how fully conceived each character was before it was cast, and how well each eventual cast member embodies each character description.” Our favorite example: King George is “Rufus Wainwright meets King Herod from Jesus Christ Superstar.”
So What Exactly Has The Met Done With The Old Whitney Museum? Here’s A First Look
“On Tuesday, the Metropolitan Museum of Art formally reintroduced the building as the Met Breuer.” According to one of the architects who restored the building, “most of the decisions involved simple, originalist steps backward, to [original architect Marcel] Breuer’s intentions.”
We Have A New ‘World’s Most Expensive Artwork’
As with the previous titleholder, this painting was sold privately rather than at an auction.
Top Posts From AJBlogs 03.01.16
The Arts in the Small Community
Today’s post is by guest, colleague, and dear friend – Maryo Gard Ewell … read more
AJBlog: Engaging Matters Published 2016-03-01
Time has come today
At the Washington Post, Philip Kennicott looks at changes in how people work and play, and implications for cultural organizations, especially museums. I’m not sure all of the claims made by people he cites add up. … read more
AJBlog: For What It’s Worth Published 2016-03-01
Gergiev and the Vienna Philharmonic
Last Sunday afternoon’s Vienna Philharmonic concert at Carnegie Hall began with a Valery Gergiev moment. Mounting the podium, he turned to the concertmaster and shrugged his shoulders to acknowledge that (as sometimes happens to Gergiev in particular) he had arrived a little late … read more
AJBlog: Unanswered Question Published 2016-03-01
Jones-Lewis & Company In The USSR
Svetlana Ilyicheva, our occasional Moscow correspondent, sent photographs made during the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra’s 1972 Russian tour. … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2016-03-01
Lookback: on the power of criticism to make some readers uncomfortable
From 2006: Alas, I’ve found over the years that many people … become uncomfortable whenever they’re confronted with strongly expressed opinions on any subject whatsoever – even positive ones. It took me a long time to figure out the reason why, … read more
AJBlog: About Last Night Published 2016-03-01
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Audience Rebellion At (Believe It Or Not) A Harpsichord Concert
At a Sunday afternoon concert of Baroque and (more or less) contemporary music in Cologne by harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani and the orchestra Concerto Köln, some listeners were evidently not ready for Steve Reich’s Piano Phase (1967). First, as Esfahani gave a spoken introduction in English, some audience members demanded aloud that he speak German; then Reich’s music was greeted with enough whistling, slow clapping, and laughter that Esfahani abandoned the piece halfway through. (in German; Google Translate version here)
‘No Feeling Is Stable’ – Colm Tóibín On James Baldwin’s ‘Giovanni’s Room’
“No feeling is stable in this novel, which attempts by a set of opposing images to find a place where something finally can be said that is true, even if it is too late. Perhaps, oddly enough, this effort at a healing dialectic is all the more necessary, and urgent in its tone, because it will make no difference.”
“A Hypothetical Country” – Edwige Danticat On James Baldwin’s ‘Go Tell It On The Mountain’
“A country where John and his brother and friends wouldn’t always be on the outside looking in, and wouldn’t constantly live with the fear of racialized violence – a country where they, too, would feel powerful, and fully a part of the cities that glowed before them. Incidentally, these are the same things that are repeatedly promised to new generations of John Grimeses in every election cycle, only to lead to some degree of disappointment later on.”