Matthew Westphal – Page 1838 – ArtsJournal Wayback

Tobias Picker Steps Down As Opera San Antonio’s Artistic Director

Picker, who has been praised for his leadership of the company since its founding five years ago, wants to turn his focus back to his own career as an opera composer – including a commission from the Kennedy Center.

How To Be A Stoic

“As much as I love the Star Trek character of Mr. Spock (which Gene Roddenberry actually modeled after his – mistaken – understanding of Stoicism), those are two of a number of misconceptions about what it means to be a Stoic. In reality, practicing Stoicism is not really that different from, say, practicing Buddhism (or even certain forms of modern Christianity).”

The World’s Biggest Movie Superstar – Most Americans Have Never Heard Of Him

“Given that Bollywood films are watched by a global three billion people, Amitabh Bachchan has a good claim to be the most famous actor in the world. In India, he has long transcended his day job to become a national institution, Brando, Pacino and De Niro rolled into one. Across Asia and the Middle East, [he] gets mobbed in the streets.”

The Thoreau Of The Suburbs

“When Annie Dillard wrote Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, she didn’t think anyone would want to read a memoir by a ‘Virginia housewife.’ So she left her domestic life out of the book – and turned her surroundings into a wilderness.”

Whatever Happened To Henry Winkler (Whom We Won’t Call The Fonz)? He Became A Dyslexia Activist

His own case – undiagnosed at the time – of the learning disability was so severe that he just barely managed to complete high school; he only discovered the reason when his son was diagnosed with the same condition. Since then, he has traveled the world as advocate – and co-written 28 children’s books (so far) about a boy struggling with dyslexia.

How Languages And Genes Evolve Together (Geography Is Destiny)

“The thing we’ve done that no one else has is match worldwide genetic populations to their languages, so that you’re looking at a comparable set, … showing that language and genes do in fact share similar geographic fault lines.”

Five Monets, £55M, One Hour – Just Part Of London’s Richest Art Auction Ever

“The evening auction on Tuesday raised an overall total of £186.44m, almost £50m over Sotheby’s estimate, and broke auction records for five individual works by artists including Seurat and Malevich as bidders from 35 different countries clamoured to get their hands on the many iconic works up for sale.”

Met Museum Curator Walter Liedtke Killed In NY Train Crash

“[He] served for 35 years as a curator of European paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and was a renowned scholar on Vermeer and the Delft School.”

Simon Rattle Talks Sibelius

The Berlin Philharmonic’s chief conductor and Finnish music journalist/Sibelius expert Vesa Sirén spend an hour talking about the composer’s music – and what the Philharmoniker find easy and difficult about it. (video interview in English, web page in Finnish)

Author: Matthew Westphal