Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden’s master plan involves a makeover of the main building, including its beloved Great Hall and Main Reading Room, to add exhibition space. But some staffers and observers worry that the extra activity and foot traffic will change the nature of the place — as the leader of the staff union local put it, “All of us are interested in having people in the library. We don’t want to see it turned into an events center just because it’s beautiful.” – The Washington Post
Author: Matthew Westphal
Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Ideas For Fixing What Ails Orchestras
“The good thing is that the actual material we are dealing with on a daily basis is fantastic — [some of] the best things humankind has ever produced.” So what are the problems? Two, Salonen says: “the grid” (the week-in-week-out subscription format) and the messaging. – The New York Times
‘I Thought It Was One Of The Most Profound Experiences I’ve Ever Been Through’: Sergei Polunin Talks About His Most Recent Meltdown
Last week, ballet’s perpetual problem child had his manager summon a non-dance journalist to hear him “explain his recent activity on social media” — a series of Instagram posts that basically wrecked his career. Simon Hattenstone went, and Polunin explained — in his way. And no, he doesn’t regret anything. – The Guardian
Creating A Ballet For The Met Museum Galleries
“As his work for seven dancers moves from darkness (the staid and somber Assyrian Court) to tranquility (the meditative Chinese Garden Court) and finally lightness (a bright court in the American Wing), [he] takes the audience on a journey laced with history and spirituality.” Gia Kourlas talks with New York City Ballet corps member Silas Farley about his new piece, Songs from the Spirit. – The New York Times
‘I’d Write Another Opera In A Minute. Just Not This Minute,’ Says Nico Muhly
David Patrick Stearns talks with the youthful 37-year-old composer about his new organ concerto (titled Register), the operas he’s written already, the massive amounts of music he’s churned out, and what he’s learned about his mental health. – The Philadelphia Inquirer
Can You Use The Arts To Combat Air Pollution? In A Nairobi Slum, This Group Is Trying
A pair of British professors write about the AIR Network, a program they set up with colleagues to work with residents of Mukuru, a poor neighborhood in the Kenyan capital, using theatre, photography, drawing, and storytelling, to find ways to improve local air quality — and to push politicians to help. – The Conversation
Despite Putin Crackdown, Russian Stage Directors Are Putting Up Audacious Productions
“Directors with whom AFP spoke describe a paradoxical atmosphere in Russian theatre, in which pressure from authorities co-exists with a burgeoning of opportunities. Actress and director Marina Brusnikina says that despite a push by conservatives for ‘going back to tradition’, Moscow’s contemporary theatres are ‘teeming with life. … You can get access, you can experiment. Even with this terrible situation with Kirill [Serebrennikov], we are still working normally.'” – Yahoo! (AFP)
From House Arrest, With No Internet, Kirill Serebrennikov Is Still Directing Operas
“Serebrennikov, the enfant terrible of Russian theatre, cinema and ballet, has been shuttered in his apartment for two years, accused of embezzlement in what his followers consider politically motivated charges.” But he’s now finishing his third opera staging under these conditions — an updated Verdi Nabucco in Hamburg. Thank heaven for USB sticks. – Yahoo! (AFP)
‘Thought Experiments In F# Minor’ — A Virtual Interactive Tour Of Walt Disney Concert Hall, Led By A Cat-Woman
“Created by Canadian artists Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller, with original music by Ellen Reid and curation by Yuval Sharon, the tour reveals little of the Concert Hall’s history, instead zig-zagging between philosophical musings such as on Schroedinger’s Cat (the theoretical paradox of a cat inside a box being both alive and dead), footage of intimate performances from the Philharmonic, and whimsical vignettes.” Writer Matt Stromberg gives it a try. – Hyperallergic
The Latest From Ed Partyka
The power and imagination in his composing and arranging have made Ed Partyka a major contributor to the European big band scene. The Ed Partyka Jazz Orchestra’s two most recent albums reflect a distinct musical personality and, often, his relaxed and refreshing approach to serious music. – Doug Ramsey