Organists are not happy not to have seen pipes in the renderings of the remodeled Geffen Hall. They see it “as a chance to right a historical wrong, especially at a time when many of the world’s most glamorous new halls — including Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the Philharmonie in Paris and the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg — have installed mammoth new pipe organs.” But, as is so often the case, New York is a little different. – The New York Times
Author: ArtsJournal2
The Justice Department Is Preparing A Lawsuit Against Live Nation For Ticketing Practices
And literally no one who has ever bought a ticket through them is sad. But more seriously: “The impending civil action… is expected to claim that Live Nation violated terms of its 2010 settlement with the government that allowed it to complete its controversial, $889-million merger with Ticketmaster.” – Los Angeles Times
The Black Ballerina Who Was Told To Wear Blackface For ‘La Bayadere’
When she was an 11-year-old performing as a local dancer filling in at a Mariinsky Ballet performance in LA, Dana Nichols didn’t know she would be asked to perform in blackface until just before the dress rehearsal. “All I could manage to say was, ‘Do I need this?’ I became that thing in the room that no one had ever had to confront. Our chaperones exchanged glances and finally responded with an uncomfortable ‘Yes.’ One woman laughed nervously as she indicated that I still had to wear the makeup because my brown skin was many shades lighter than the color of the bodysuit and the paint selected to cover our skin.” – Dance Magazine
The Lie At The Heart Of ‘Richard Jewell,’ And The Bizarre Attempt To Pretend It’s Not That Bad
The movie (which had the worst opening weekend of any Clint Eastwood-directed film) is Eastwood in chair-ranting mode, and then there’s the issue of the lie that a reporter from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution slept with a source to get info. Outrage abounds online, but”Billy Ray, the screenwriter of Richard Jewell, and Warner Bros., the studio distributing it, have defended the movie by taking a page from the current political moment. They’ve doubled down on their misrepresentation, attacking their accusers without addressing, in any detail, the falsehood that they’re accused of telling.” Oof. – Variety
Aboriginal Artists In Australia Ask Governments To End Their Communities’ ‘Enslavement And Exploitation’
The past year has been shocking and a reversion to old, terrible ways, say the artists, galleries, and other prominent people in the Australian art scene. For instance: “‘We have called police to extricate dialysis patients from painting sheds where they have been locked into premises, and dealt with the stress caused for people in debt to unethical dealers through loans given to them or their family members,’ the director of the Purple House dialysis clinic in Alice Springs, Sarah Brown, wrote.” – The Guardian (UK)
Let The Racist Tradition Continue, Says Bolshoi
Despite – or perhaps emboldened further by – Misty Copeland’s criticism of the Bolshoi’s use of blackface, the theatre’s general director says, “La Bayadere ballet has been performed in this way thousands of times in Russia and abroad and the Bolshoi Theater will not engage in such a discussion.” The last time it was performed in NY, however, the Bolshoi chose to clad dancers in black clothes instead. – Radio Free Europe
Anna Karina, Author, Singer, And Star Of New Wave Cinema, Has Died At 79
Karina became a star of French New Wave films as a teenager starring in Jean Luc Godard’s The Little Soldier and went on to star in more of Godard’s movies (and to marry him). She was a Renaissance woman who also directed films, had a singing career, and wrote four novels. – The New York Times
How To Write A Memoir With Candor And, Well, ‘Nakedness’
Not nudity (though that may, of course, be involved), but naked emotional truth. “Authenticity can’t exist without artistry. Truth in life doesn’t automatically morph into truth on the page. And living people don’t necessarily come to life in print. It takes creativity.” – The Guardian (UK)
Traditional Music Theory Teaches Inequality As A Matter Of Course
The majority of music students in the US don’t listen to classical or “Western art” music at all, except in classes. For those who teach music theory, questions emerge: “How can we justify our near-exclusive reliance on traditional pedagogy, especially in situations where it isn’t necessary to do so? What biases do we create in our students when we declare Western art music to be mandatory knowledge for anyone pursuing formal studies in music? What biases does this reveal in us?” – New Music Box
How Technology Is Transforming Everything, Including Romance Novels
Sure, for those who love the Regency era, nothing has changed (though the politics certainly have). But for contemporary books, writers must figure how to navigate the ever-changing technological landscape. “What keeps people so separate IRL is providing endless possibilities for connection — even in a hellscape littered with dating apps, ghosting and unsolicited you-know-what pics.” – The Washington Post