A look at the Art Institute of Chicago’s major summer exhibition, John Singer Sargent and Chicago’s Gilded Age.
Author: Matthew Westphal
Bernstein the Educator
Joseph Horowitz writes about the program he devised for the Brevard Music Festival about the second of the Leonard Bernstein-New York Philharmonic Young People’s Concerts: “What Makes Music American?”
Monday Recommendation: Karrin Allyson
Karrin Allyson, Some Of That Sunshine (kasrecords)
She wrote all 13 songs on this album, and it sounds as if she had the time of her life recording them.
Recent Listening: JD Allen
JD Allen, Lovestone (Savant)
Allen is a successor to the great tenor saxophonist Ben Webster in terms of adoring both the melody and the lyric. He never strays far the songs’ spirits, keeping them alive with allusions to the melodies during his improvisations.
A Linguistic Analysis Of Looney Tunes
In a Lexicon Valley episode titled “Wabbit Twacks,” Columbia University linguist John McWhorter applies the analytical tools of his discipline to Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Porky Pig, and their fellows. (podcast)
Ballerina Jocelyn Vollmar, America’s First Snow Queen, Dead At 92
She took that role in the first U.S. version of Nutcracker, in 1944 at San Francisco Ballet. She was a founding member of that company, and she led her fellow dancers in raising the cash to save it from bankruptcy in 1974; she later spent 20 years teaching at the company school.
Deepfakes: A.I. And Editing Software Have Made Convincing Counterfeit Video Unnervingly Possible
“Pandora’s box is now open — and what’s inside is a lot more than fake sex tapes. New technology is often adopted for prurient purposes, but the prospect of fake war crimes, fake political scandals, and maybe even a fake apocalypse now feels like an inevitability. Let’s take a deep, terrifying dive.”
The Internet’s Dancing Dads Are Just What We Need Right Now, Says Pulitzer-Winning Dance Critic
Sarah Kaufman: “It is a truth universally acknowledged that one of the dorkiest things a dad can do is dance, especially in public. … Therein lies the coolness of the real-life dancing dad. He’s the opposite of embarrassing! … Through his dance, he forges a spontaneous, healing bond with his youngster whose power can be felt by millions of onlookers.”
Now Even The Biggest Pop Stars Go To Songwriting Camp, Or At Least Sing Songs Written There
“Songwriting camps have convened since the early ’90s, when Police manager and I.R.S. Records chief Miles Copeland invited heavy hitters such as Cher and Squeeze’s Glenn Tilbrook to his French château.” They’ve become something of an industry since then, and they, “or at least the collaborative songwriting process, have fundamentally changed the way pop music sounds.”
Baltimore Center Stage’s New Artistic Director Is Public Theater’s Stephanie Ybarra
“Stephanie Ybarra, director of special artistic projects at New York’s Public Theater, has been named the artistic director of Baltimore Center Stage. Ybarra will succeed Kwame Kwei-Armah, who wound up his seven-year tenure with the company in January and became artistic director of London’s Young Vic Theater.”