Respect
I co-led an hour-long seminar this summer on the business side of being a composer. We covered a lot of topics: commissions, publication, recordings – the works. At one point, I mentioned … read more
AJBlog: Infinite Curves Published 2017-08-14
Frank Sinatra Sings Brahms
The Importance of the Familiar You know how it feels when you unexpectedly hear a familiar piece of music—any kind of music? You get that jolt and you say, oh I love that song/piece. Or … read more
AJBlog: The Bright RidePublished 2017-08-13
And Finally, From Ystad
The Ystad Sweden Jazz Festival ran six days and was packed with so much music that there was no chance of hearing it all. Here are brief impressions of a few more … read more
AJBlog: RiffTidesPublished 2017-08-13
The Carsten Dahl Experience, Deborah Brown & Lundgren Twice
At the Ystads Konstmuseum, the Carsten Dahl Experience was, indeed, an experience. After launching his career as a drummer, Dahl taught himself piano in the early 1980s and quickly developed formidable technique … read more
AJBlog: RiffTidesPublished 2017-08-11
Save the Forsaken 40! Protest March Tomorrow by Opponents of Berkshire Museum’s Art Sales
Opponents of the Berkshire Museum’s planned sale of 40 artworks from its collection plan to stage a protest march tomorrow (Saturday), 9 a.m.-noon, on the sidewalk in front of the Berkshire Museum, South Street, Pittsfield, MA. … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrlPublished 2017-08-11
Ystad 2017: Catching Up
Catching up is a noble ambition, but the quantity of music at the Ystad Sweden Jazz Festival and the tight scheduling make it all but impossible to be comprehensive. My notebook is … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2017-08-10
Should Museums Compare and Contrast Cultures?
It seems to be a trend these days for art museums (and some galleries) to mix and match cultures and, sometimes, time periods. Sometimes, this is about breaking down so-called false hierarchies in art history … read more
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts Published 2017-08-09
The Board’s Role in Community Engagement: Part I
The board of directors of a nonprofit arts organization can and should play an important role in planning for and adopting community engagement as a crucial mission strategy. There is a tendency on the part … read more
AJBlog: Engaging Matters Published 2017-08-08
Sunrise, Sunset and Subjective Connections
Can we name a universal aesthetic experience, one that all peoples around the globe have encountered from the beginning of humanity to the present? Probably not. But if we wanted to come close, we could … read more
AJBlog: Infinite Curves Published 2017-08-07
The Artist in His Studio – Matisse: and These are a Few of His Favourite Things
The artist’s studio is different things to different people. I’ve been in quite a few of these (often magical) spaces. The first I can remember is Barbara Hepworth’s in Cornwall, and most of what … read more
AJBlog: Plain English Published 2017-08-07
Backenroth And Fischer, Stenmark & Piatruba
Swedish bassist Hans Backenroth and Danish guitarist Jacob Fischer played in the 11th century Klosterkyrkan, not far from Ystad’s center. Among the most experienced European jazz … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2017-08-07
Milstein vs. Szigeti
My frustrations with a recent performance of Brahms’ Violin Concerto sent me to youtube in search of something different: an act of therapy. … read more
AJBlog: Unanswered Question Published 2017-08-06
A Scientific Cure for Mosquito Bite? Not the Higgs Boson.
Alice (Olivia Williams) and Jenny (Olivia Colman) photograph by Brinkhoff Mögerburg You have to wonder a little why Lucy Kirkwood’s new play (at the Dorfman, National Theatre, directed by the NT’s head honcho, Rufus Norris) … read more
AJBlog: Plain EnglishPublished 2017-08-06
More From Ystad: Bobby Medina
At the Ystad Sweden Jazz Festival, the American trumpeter Bobby Medina led a band in a program that drew on his bebop credentials and his Latin American heritage. Claus Sörenson’s XL Big … read more
AJBlog: RiffTidesPublished 2017-08-05
Home, Where the Heart Is
Kyle Abraham/Abraham.In.Motion at Jacob’s Pillow, August 2 through 6 Jeremy “Jae” Neal (L) and Tamisha Guy in Kyle Abraham’s Dearest Home. Photo: Brooke Trisolini Kyle Abraham has always treated his own life and times as … read more
AJBlog: DancebeatPublished 2017-08-05
Pink Jinx? Sotheby’s Still Awaits Payment for Record-Setting $71.2-Million “Pink Star” Diamond
When the Pink Star—a 59.60-carat, oval, internally flawless diamond—fetched $71.2 million (including buyers premium) at Sotheby’s Hong Kong on Apr. 4, it was touted by the auction house as setting a “New World Auction Record … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrlPublished 2017-08-04
Ystad Jazz Festival: The Opener
The 2017 Ystad Sweden Jazz Festival launched with a tribute to Monica Zetterlund (1937-2005). The singer’s legacy in her homeland seems to steadily expand, and the attendance reflected her continued presence in … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2017-08-03
Who’da Thunk?
I don’t like spending money. I’m leery of signing up for ongoing contracts for service unless I really, really have to (want to). So when we bought a new “pre-owned” car that came with a three-month trial subscription to SiriusXM™ satellite radio I was not overwhelmed with joy. But here’s what happened. … read more
AJBlog: Engaging Matters Published 2017-08-01
Bard SummerScape’s latest operatic resurrection: Dvorak takes Boris Godunov many steps further
Dmitrij is an opera that keeps growing before your very ears. And growing. And growing, until you have some of the most dramatically apt music Dvorak ever wrote for the stage. … read more
AJBlog: Condemned to Music Published 2017-08-01
Bard SummerScape’s latest operatic resurrection: Dvorák’s long, bloody Dmitrij
Dmitrij is an opera that keeps growing before your very ears. And growing. And growing, until you have some of the most dramatically apt music Dvorák ever wrote for the stage. … read more
AJBlog: Condemned to Music Published 2017-08-01
Memo to Berkshire Museum: Homeless National Academy Suspends Its School, Slashes Price for Its Posh Digs
The Berkshire Museum’s self-proclaimed deaccession-or-die desperation measure has triggered traumatic flashbacks to the National Academy’s failed attempt to secure its future by selling off important works by Frederic Edwin Church and Sanford Robinson Gifford … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2017-08-01
Take it from an old friend, Bob, you just gotta see this
Girl from the North Country, which has just opened at the Old Vic, is not easy to describe. Other theatrical events have had strange origins – for example, most of Peter Sellar’s oeuvre, … read more
AJBlog: Plain English Published 2017-08-01
The NYC Influence
Over time, various cities emerge as strongholds of finance: Venice, Zurich, Edinburgh, Singapore, Hong Kong. These cities, though they have many other characteristics, have been known for taking a leadership role at some point in … read more
AJBlog: Infinite Curves Published 2017-07-31
Kurt Weill in 2017
“Wherever I found decency and humanity in the world, it reminded me of America.” That this observation – recorded by Kurt Weill in 1947 – rings hollow in 2017 does not diminish the fascination … read more
AJBlog: Unanswered Question Published 2017-07-30
