“In addition to composing seven symphonies, eight operas” – most notably, The Crucible, which won the 1962 composition Pulitzer – “and a range of instrumental and choral works written in an open, accessible style,” Ward taught at Juilliard, NCSA and Duke.
Author: Matthew Westphal
As The Virgin Mary Plays Broadway, Jesus Appears On The British Stage
Simon Callow writes about how he came to co-create and star in a solo show titled The Man Jesus.
Louvre Curator Named Museum’s New Chief
“[Jean-Luc] Martinez, who starts April 15, runs the museum’s Greek, Etruscan and Roman antiquities department – one of eight Louvre departments which together display a total of some 35,000 works. … Martinez takes over at a critical time: as the Louvre prepares to open its first international offshoot in Abu Dhabi.”
The Science Of Stupidity: Why We All Do Dumb Things
“It turns out that our usual measures of intelligence – particularly IQ – have very little to do with the kind of irrational, illogical behaviours that so enraged Flaubert,” who spent his final years compiling an encyclopedia of stupidity.
How Spain’s Artists Are – Or Aren’t – Responding To Economic Crisis
“Despite Spain’s record unemployment and economic recession, ‘most artists have stuck to their line and there’s been no new movement really linked to the crisis,’ said Antonio Sanz, the director of [Madrid gallery] Ivorypress.”
Is Hong Kong’s Stock Market Under A Cinematic Curse?
“Hong Kong investors call it the Ting Hai effect: When the actor Adam Cheng has a new television show or a new movie, the Hang Seng index often takes a dramatic turn for the worse. And in a city where superstitions can guide daily routines, the financial sector is worried.”
Jane Henson, Co-Creator Of The Muppets, Dead At 78
“As the first partner to the famous Muppeteer, Henson was instrumental in the creation of the earliest characters in the brood of marionette-puppet hybrids. The initial crew of zany foam personalities included Kermit, who made his 1955 debut on the TV show Sam and Friends not as a frog, but as a green-hued lizard made from an old coat belonging to Jim’s mother.”
How Do You Get To Sesame Street? Where Puppeteers Learn To Be Puppeteers
There are a few US schools and universities that offer formalized training, but many puppetmasters are still apprenticed or even self-taught. There’s far more to learn than civilians realize.
What-All Is In The Museum Of Everything?
The traveling exhibition of outsider art, currently en route from Paris to Moscow, features former janitor Henry Darger’s cartoon epics, Dietrich Orth’s imaginary machines, the French duo ACM’s intricate and fantastical temples made from typewriter and electronics parts, … and such-like.
The Dancing Filipino Inmates Star In A Documentary
“Six years and 52 million YouTube hits later, Filipino inmates who danced to ‘Thriller’ inside a prison courtyard are getting their stories told in a movie drama about redemption and corruption behind bars.”