“The role is wrenching, vocally and emotionally, and [Andrew Barth Feldman] will be the first teenager to tackle it on Broadway. The character is 17, but adolescent boys are often thought to be too immature to play adolescent boys, and all of his predecessors have been in their 20s.” — The New York Times
Blog
Increasingly, Indigenous Art Is Getting Its Due
That headline may not sound like news, but it is, in one sense. Many occurrences in the world of indigenous art that may not, on their own, make international headlines are adding up to real progress, intensifying a trend that began a few years ago. — Judith H. Dobrzynski
Winston Churchill, Artist
Of course he was better-known as a politician. But he was also a considerably accomplished amateur artist. His artistic work has had relatively little notice next to his political career, but his work is worth examining. – The American Interest
Conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto Faces Storms At Mexico’s National Symphony Orchestra
The 53-year-old Mexico City native, who is also music director of the Louisiana Philharmonic, is accused of paying exorbitant fees to foreign soloists, something both he and his manager insist is a currency conversion mistake. And musicians from the orchestra are reportedly urging Mexican officials to fire Prieto for poor leadership. — The New Orleans Advocate
Five Trends That Will Shape The Visual Art Market In 2019
The rise of Taipei, a realignment in New York, Saudi money… the art world has never been so internationally dispersed… – Artsy
On Balanchine’s ‘Apollo’ (Alastair Macaulay Is Back)
With observations from three New York City Ballet alumni who learned the title role from Mr. B himself, the recently-retired chief dance critic of The New York Times looks at what makes this ballet different from the rest of Balanchine’s oeuvre. — The New York Times
An Existential Threat To The Baltimore Symphony?
Gregory Tucker: “What has long been hailed as Baltimore’s ‘other major league team’ is about to risk losing its major-league status. The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s Board of Directors, of which I was a member until this past June, has decided that Baltimore and Maryland can no longer afford a major league symphony orchestra, given what are real and persistent financial challenges. It is proposing cutting the season by 12 weeks.” – Washington Post
Why The National Theatres In The British Isles Are So Fraught (And Fought Over)
“In London, it is possible to stage a state-of-the-nation play while remaining vague about the nation you mean. Not so elsewhere.” Just ask the folks at the national theatres of Scotland, Wales, and Ireland — the latter two of which are currently caught up in arguments that go right to the heart of their “national” status. — The Guardian
Consider The Lowly Pushbutton – A Challenge To Our Humanity?
And yet, that’s what some thought when push buttons first appeared on machines: “Do you not think that this prodigious diffusion of mechanism is likely to render the world terribly monotonous and fastidious? To deal no longer with men, but to be dependent on things!” Pushing buttons made life too easy, too simplistic, or too rote, when a single finger-action could conjure one’s desires. – Aeon
Critics Talk About The Pleasures And Pains Of Extremely Bad Reviews
“Who are Extremely Bad Reviews written for? What do they hope to accomplish? Are they spiteful acts of vengeance, or more principled demands for justice? Are outright slams more prevalent now, or more effective now, or both, or neither? The answers change with the medium, and the target, and the reviewer in question.” — The Ringer