“Plans for the first opera house in the country’s second city, Jeddah, are already under way.”
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Top Posts From AJBlogs 04.09.18
Rehabilitating Stockhausen with a KLANG: Does less mystique enhance his stature?
Karlheinz Stockhausen has only been gone a little over ten years, but the infamous, trailblazing composer (1928-2007) seems like a name from the past, provoking as much suspicion as awe … read more
AJBlog: Condemned to Music Published 2018-04-09>
Celebrating a 40-Year Career
In 1978, Jane Comfort and I were both forty years younger. Not a surprise? I guess not. But that sentence may prove a snappier lead than my starting off by recounting what Comfort has accomplished over those forty years and how many dances of hers I’ve seen. … read more
AJBlog: Dancebeat Published 2018-04-09
Picking on the Frick: Is It Shortchanged by Its Significantly Downsized Expansion Plan?
“We’re able to achieve everything we need,” Ian Wardropper, the Frick Collection’s browbeaten director, told Robin Pogrebin of the NY Times about his institution’s revised renovation and expansion plans. Not exactly. … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2018-04-08
“The Art and Alchemy of Conducting” — and Mahler’s Fourth
As all Mahlerites know, the opening of the Fourth Symphony is both magical and mutable. A preamble of chiming sleigh bells and flutes dissipates to a cheerful violin ditty that coyly … read more
AJBlog: Unanswered Question Published 2018-04-08
Monday Recommendation: Oscar Peterson Plays 10 Composers
Oscar Peterson Plays (Verve)
In this five-CD reissue, the formidable pianist plays pieces by ten composers who dominated American popular music for decades. … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2018-04-09
What Does It Mean That Three Iconic 20th Century Gay Plays Are Currently On Broadway
This retrospective meetup in the commercial O.K. Corral of American theater suggests that for at least some parts of the gay community, the canonization of milestone works is taking deeper root in the culture. Not that this signals any end to the struggles of gay, lesbian and transgender people, not by a long shot, or that the works of female and trans writers, particularly those of color, are as yet receiving the same level of prominent treatment as those of these white men. But, as Kushner noted in a telephone interview, the tide of history might be playing a part in this intersection of gay plays.
The “Hamilton” Tickets Problem. Kennedy Center Is The Latest To Be Overwhelmed
Most of the tickets to the blockbuster musical about Alexander Hamilton have been sold, but the Kennedy Center’s handling of sales has been marked by confusion and complaints, with many patrons struggling to buy tickets to the 14-week run, which opens June 12.
Nobel Literature Judges Resign Over Misconduct Allegations
Three members of the secretive committee that selects the winner of the Nobel prize for literature have resigned from the jury in protest at how it has handled the sexual harassment allegations made against a man with close links to the board.
Video Can Now Be Convincingly Faked. Seeing Is No Longer Believing (Now What?)
Manipulated video will ultimately destroy faith in our strongest remaining tether to the idea of common reality. As Ian Goodfellow, a scientist at Google, told MIT Technology Review, “It’s been a little bit of a fluke, historically, that we’re able to rely on videos as evidence that something really happened.”
“Hamilton” Wins Seven Awards At London’s Oliviers
The West End production of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s show about US founding father Alexander Hamilton won best new musical and outstanding achievement in music.
English Theatre’s Olivier Awards Broadcast Sees A 40 Percent Ratings Drop
It attracted an average of 600,000 viewers over the two-hour programme, down 40% on the average of one million people who tuned in last year when the show was moved to a prime-time slot (8pm-10pm) two days after the ceremony.
What Data Teaches About The Differences Between Disruptive And Radical Innovation
While disruptive innovation is inextricably linked to variations of business models and low-end market encroachment, radical innovation is reliant on organizational capabilities and individual and organizational human capital. Whereas incremental innovation — e.g. a razor company’s fifth razor blade — helps firms to stay competitive in the short-term, radical innovation focuses on long-term impact and may involve displacing current products, altering the relationship between customers and suppliers, and creating completely new product categories.
Why It’s So Difficult To Grapple With Consciousness
I have discovered that most people, including any number of scientists, remain cloudy on the issues involved in struggles over consciousness. Another analytical philosopher, John Searle, has referred to the consciousness “scandal.” The “scandal” is that no one agrees either on a definition of consciousness or how it comes about.