“For those curious to see some of his best work outside the mob confines of northern New Jersey, here are 10 of Gandolfini’s most memorable roles.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Alice Munro Says She Has Retired From Writing
Says the 81-year-old author of her decision, “I’m delighted. Not that I didn’t love writing, but I think you do get to a stage when you sort of think about your life in a different way. And perhaps, when you’re my age, you don’t wish to alone as much as a writer has to be. It’s like, at the wrong end of life, becoming very sociable.”
‘Orphaned’ Cézanne Turns Up In Ottawa
“The count of the known dispersed holdings of the French dealer and collector Ambroise Vollard (1866-1939) has just increased by one. Group of Trees, 1890, a watercolour by Paul Cézanne, has surfaced at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa.”
ABT Star Appointed Director Of Ballet San Jose
The California company, now on the rebound after a year of upheaval in 2012 that saw both financial struggles and the acrimonious departure of longtime artistic director Dennis Nahat, will be led by former Royal Ballet and American Ballet Theatre principal dancer José Manuel Carreño, effective immediately.
Post-Recession, U.S. Arts Philanthropy Is Inching Up
“Total 2012 giving to charities was $316.23 billion, up by 3.5 percent over 2011, according to estimates … Adjusted for inflation, that represents just a 1.5 percent increase in donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations.”
Seattle Opera Names Successor To Speight Jenkins
Speight Jenkins will be a tough act to follow, having led Seattle Opera to a prominence – especially in Wagner – well beyond its size over his 30 years at the company’s helm. The man who has landed this challenging job is 56-year-old Aidan Lang, who currently runs New Zealand Opera.
Why Pedro Almodóvar Returned To Sex-Filled Screwball Comedy
“My films developed into something more dark and somber in the last years. I don’t know why. I guess I’m growing, aging. It’s life. But this film has a tone that was very familiar to me in the 1980s. And when I was writing it, I almost forgot that I’m an older man. It was a good feeling, feeling younger. But it’s not the same as it was, because I’m not the same, and the world’s not the same.”
Slim Whitman, 90, Country Music Star
“The singer, whose tenor falsetto and ebony moustache and sideburns became global trademarks, recorded more than 65 albums and sold millions of records. His 1955 version of ‘Rose Marie’, the title song from the venerable operetta that spawned ‘Indian Love Call’, was No 1 for 11 weeks in Britain, where he was particularly popular.”
YouTube Is Not Destroying Classical Music (Despite What Krystian Zimerman Thinks)
Zimerman may complain that all those free videos on the Web have cost him recording contracts, but Valentina Lisitsa’s career has skyrocketed thanks to the following her videos developed. “The moral of the story … Treat YouTube with hostility and you risk missing the party you so desperately need to attend.”
Kafka Tales For Kiddies
“Matthue Roth, a thirty-four-year-old writer and video-game designer, is usually met with befuddlement when he tells people he has written a children’s book of re-told Kafka stories.”