Richard Brody: “Though he didn’t have the most immediately recognizable or ravishing sound at the keyboard, he succeeded in revising, by way of scholarly passion, the very basis for pianistic sound and beauty — and, for that matter, the physical relationship of pianists to their instruments.” – The New Yorker
Author: Matthew Westphal
Searching Through The Myths (Some Of Them Her Own) For Zora Neale Hurston
“On February 4, 1960, the Associated Press ran her obituary. It read, ‘Zora Neale Hurston, author, died in obscurity and poverty.’ And with those words, syndicated in The New York Times and in papers from Jamaica to California, a new set of myths formed. Some listed her age at 57, others 58. After all, depending on what suited her, she told people she was born in 1901, 1902, or 1903 — in Eatonville, Florida. But as it turned out, none of this was true.” – The Bitter Southerner
Jessye Norman’s lost Isolde – and so much else
The process and the permanence of recording never seemed to entirely sit well with her. There are some likely treasures out there somewhere that we’ve never gotten to hear. – David Patrick Stearns
Fashion and Dance Get Married
At the New York City Ballet’s Fashion Gala, premieres by Lauren Lovette (costumed by Zac Posen) and Edwaard Liang (costumed by Anna Sui). – Deborah Jowitt
Propwatch: the gloves in ‘The Watsons’
Does anyone still wear – gloves? A lady’s elegant, elbow-tweaking white gloves? Or a gentleman’s svelte riding gloves? Spot these on stage, my friends, and you can rest assured that you are safely encased in the genteel past. Dickens World. Downton World. Best of all, Austen World. At least, that’s how it seems when The Watsons begins. – David Jays
Hearing is believing
One of my Twitter followers asked over the weekend if I’d post a list of my favorite film scores. This is, needless to say, an impossible task, but I did spend a few minutes drawing up the following roster. – Terry Teachout
Emmanuel Macron’s Plan To Save France’s Declining Villages: 1,000 Cafés
The president’s project, called 1000 Cafés and run by a nonprofit called Groupe SOS, will receive up to €200 million from the French government to open new cafés, or prop up struggling ones, in villages with fewer than 3,500 residents. Nearly a third of France’s population still lives in such villages, and more than half of those no longer have a commercial establishment of any kind. – Slate
Does An Actor Always Need Her Own Voice?
Mind you, this isn’t a question of mime or dance. Chris Jones considers the implications of The King’s Speech, in which Britain’s King George VI learns to use his voice properly, and Lucas Hnath’s recent play Dana H, in which the star (brilliantly) lip-synchs to a recording of the playwright’s own mother recounting a horrific experience and its aftermath. – Chicago Tribune
What American Theater Owes To Uta Hagen
“Beyond her acting, her greatest legacy may be how she influenced generations of actors, teaching at HB Studio and writing two books that are popular with acting students across the globe. Reporter Jeff Lunden speaks with some of those former students and colleagues, including F. Murray Abraham, Mercedes Ruehl and David Hyde Pierce, about what made Hagen such an important figure in the history of American theater.” (audio) – Studio 360
Philadanco Founder Joan Myers Brown Gives Up One Of Her Many Jobs
Brown, at age 87 still the company’s artistic director, will remain at least through next year’s 50th anniversary celebrations, but she has turned over the executive director position, on an interim basis, to administrator, professor, and former company dancer Elgie Gaynell Sherrod. Her main task will be stabilizing the company’s long-precarious financial situation; Brown has, over the years, lent Philadanco hundreds of thousands of dollars of her own money. – The Philadelphia Inquirer