The key result: Compared to working in silence, listening to the uplifting Vivaldi was “associated with an increase in divergent thinking.” Convergent thinking, on the other hand, was not significantly affected by background music. The researchers argue that this suggests the music inspired higher levels of “fluency and flexibility,” which are needed to come up with original ideas, but are less important in the paring-down process.
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What Factors Keep Some World Musical Traditions Healthy As Others Wither Away?
The director and curator of the Smithsonian Folkways record label consulted with colleagues to identify five clusters of forces that affect the health and sustainability of various musical cultures. “[Then] nine international research teams carefully examined traditions ranging from Mexican mariachi to Korean samulnori; from Indian ragas to West African ewe dance-percussion; and from Aboriginal women’s songs in Central Australia to Western opera.”
Want To Make Dance Appealing To Millennials? Here’s How
“Dance is a physical manifestation of abstract thought, and I can’t think of a better way to demonstrate this than by making work inspired by independent thought, by self-starting businesses. Using dance as a device for work advancement and learning also taps into something that Millennials increasingly desire in their work experience, something not only fun outside of work, but something applicable to professional growth.”
Why One Critic Hates ‘Macbeth’ (But Will Keep Seeing It Anyway)
“There is little in the way of a narrative arc – just a steadily growing pile of bodies. … There is no one to root for, but there is little to root against, and the play just gets subsumed in a not particularly interesting form of misery. … And yet however much I scorn Macbeth, I’ll keep going back.” Jane Howard explains why (and, in the process, gives a critic’s credo).
Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes: Hollywood Blames Review Website For Its Rotten Summer
Rotten Tomatoes has become the enemy for many studio bosses, writes Brooks Barnes: “Over lunch last month, the chief executive of a major movie company looked me in the eye and declared flatly that his mission was to destroy the review-aggregation site.” The site’s editors claim they love movies and movie fans and just want to help them. “How did a clunky website that has been around for 19 years amass such power?” Barnes explains how.
How Three Great Choreographers Set Work To Beethoven’s ‘Grosse Fuge’
Lucinda Childs, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker and Maguy Marin talk about their approaches to Beethoven’s strangest music.
This Out-Of-The-Way Keith Haring Mural Wasn’t Meant To Last 30 Years, But It Has
Haring painted We the Youth on the side of a South Philadelphia row house in 1987 after his first plan – to paint a city garbage truck – didn’t pan out. The mural faced a vacant lot, and both Haring and his sponsors always expected another house to be built on it eventually. Then, of course, Haring became famous, and the mural is still there.
Comparing The Costs Of Being An Emerging Artist In New York, Los Angeles, And Berlin
“To better understand how to get by as an emerging artist, Artsy spoke to 11 of them from New York, Los Angeles, and Berlin about their overhead costs, the tradeoffs they make, and the financial strategies they employ to stay afloat at the pivotal early stage of their careers.”
Opera And Symphony Audiences Used To Make Lots Of Noise – What Made Them Get So Quiet?
“When the first public opera houses were founded in the mid-17th century, they were designed more as venues for social interaction than as sites of aesthetic experience. … [Audiences] might perhaps listen to an aria, or watch the ballet (if there was one), but no more; and, if they did not like what they heard, they would make their displeasure known.” When and why did they quiet down? Historian Alexander Lee explains.
How A Little Indiana Company Town Became A Mecca Of Modernist Architecture
“Located 50 miles south of Indianapolis, Columbus owns dozens of architectural masterworks by internationally renowned designers from the era. Eliel and Eero Saarinen, and more than a handful of Pritzker Prize Laureates, including I.M. Pei, Richard Meier, and Robert Venturi, began developing projects there with sudden regularity in the mid-1950s.” Why were all these heavyweight architects making buildings there? Because of the owner of this company town’s company.