Category: AJBlogs

The most inspiring conference …
… that I’ve ever been at … This was the DePauw School of Music 21Cymposium, held the weekend before last. I gave the keynote talk, but … later for that. What inspired me about this event wasn’t anything I said, … read more
AJBlog: Sandow Published 2016-09-22

Little man, big trouble
Mrs. T and I just watched Conquest, a delicious 1937 movie in which Charles Boyer and Greta Garbo played Napoleon Bonaparte and the Countess Marie Walewska. Seeing Conquest reminded me that I reviewed two books … read more
AJBlog: About Last Night Published 2016-09-22

So you want to see a show?
Here’s my list of recommended Broadway, off-Broadway, and out-of-town shows, updated weekly. In all cases, I gave these shows favorable reviews (if sometimes qualifiedly so) in The Wall Street Journal when they opened. … read more
AJBlog: About Last Night Published 2016-09-22

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Four Forms of Inquiry
In my last post, I shared four forms of speech that define a richer and clearer palette of conversation in meetings (or in life). The two I find most absent or abused … in purposeful conversation are inquiring and framing. So I wanted to dig into each of them in turn. read more
AJBlog: The Artful Manager Published 2016-09-21

As it is? Pinter’s at his best in No Man’s Land
If you’ve ever doubted that Harold Pinter deserved his 2005 Nobel Prize, take yourself to see Sean Mathias’ production of No Man’s Land with the duo of theatrical knights, Sir Ian McKellen (as Spooner) and Sir Patrick Stewart (as Hirst) at Wyndham’s Theatre. … read more
AJBlog: Plain English Published 2016-09-21

“Polemical History Lesson”: Illustrated Companion to my WSJ Piece on Brooklyn’s American Rehang
There’s a difference between displaying political art and politicizing art. As I argue in “A Polemical History Lesson”, my piece in today’s Wall Street Journal, the Brooklyn Museum’s rehang and reinterpretation of its American art collection crosses that line. … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2016-09-21

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Some Of Our Orchestras Seem To Be Thriving – Is This A New Trend?
There’s been a change in the news coming out of symphony orchestras over the past summer. Usually there’s a background drumbeat of struggle as orchestras fight to stay alive. But for months now, the beat has shifted, and we’re hearing about orchestras that are not only surviving but thriving. … read more
AJBlog: diacritical/Douglas McLennan Published 2016-09-20

What Makes A Good Collector? And What Is Craft vs. Art? Two Stories
Usually, the most noteworthy collectors – aside from those, like J. Paul Getty, with the wherewithal to buy anything they want – are the ones that go their own way, that collect a field that’s out-of-fashion but full of worth artworks. … read more
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts Published 2016-09-20

Adulated Adjaye: Acclaimed in DC, Under-the-Radar in NYC (with video)
While there’s been widespread critical acclaim for David Adjaye‘s $540-million National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, few New Yorkers have heard of, let alone visited, his $84.7-million, 13-story Sugar Hill Project in Harlem … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2016-09-20

The Art of Relevance
I purchased my copy of Nina Simon’s The Art of Relevance on the first day it was available. I am only now posting comments about it because, frankly, I know more people are paying attention in September … read more
AJBlog: Engaging Matters Published 2016-09-20

Monday Recommendation: Ken Peplowski
Ken Peplowski, Enrapture (Capri) Despite a playlist that seems to represent a grab bag of music, there is nothing scattershot about Ken Peplowski’s eclecticism. The clarinetist and tenor saxophonist with the capacious tone and imagination … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2016-09-20

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What Neuroscientists Know About The Brain And Creativity: It’s Disruptive, Not Systematic
It appears many of us want a formula for creativity. There are 11,386 books on creativity for sale on Amazon, most of them promising to unlock the secrets of being creative. Scientists studying how the brain works are … read more
AJBlog: diacritical/Douglas McLennanPublished 2016-09-19

Kraftwerk at the Hollywood Bowl
Krautrock has rarely been my cup of ale … But I’ve heard so many good things about the shows Kraftwerk — who all but invented the genre, and scored its first big U.S. hit with “Autobahn” — performed at Disney Hall a few years ago, that their Bowl show was hard to pass up. … read more
AJBlog: CultureCrash Published 2016-09-19

‘Street Gangs of the Lower East Side’
It’s rare that the tireless staff of thousands agrees to post a guest review. But there are exceptions. … read more
AJBlog: Straight|Up Published 2016-09-19

Interim
In 2003-04, I served as Interim Dean at the North Carolina School of the Arts.  It was quite an education, an introduction to the niceties and nastiness of arts administration.  … read more
AJBlog: Infinite Curves Published 2016-09-19

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Michael Hersch, 9/11, and the twin towers of light
The way we now live is increasingly unthinkable, with the daily news over the summer carrying accounts of one mass-killing disaster after another. What do you do with that? One answer was to be had at the the Lower East Side venue known as The Spectrum. a tiny, living-room like place … read more
AJBlog: Condemned to Music Published 2016-09-15

Carmen Herrera, 101-Year-Old Overnight Success, Gets Her Whitney Close-Up (with video)
Given her centenarian status, I was astonished by the Whitney Museum’s decision to schedule its Carmen Herrera show to open more than a year after the Whitney had unveiled its new facility. … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2016-09-15

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Why Music And The Concert Experience Are On The Front Lines Of Virtual Reality
Following on my post from yesterday about anticipating the kinds of experiences people will want from concerts comes this article from Wired about virtual reality and music. Evidently creating content for virtual reality is proving to be a challenge and music is so far the best showcase for VR. … read more
AJBlog: diacritical/Douglas McLennan Published 2016-09-14

Chi jazz fest 2016, details in photos and words
My DownBeat overview of the 38th annual Chicago Jazz Festival, comprehensive as I could make it, didn’t go into depth on any of the couple dozen performances I heard from Sept 1 through 4 … So here are some previously unreported details. … read more
AJBlog: Jazz Beyond Jazz Published 2016-09-14

Snapshot: Isaac Stern appears on The Jack Benny Program
“Isaac Stern Boosts Jack’s Morale,” an episode of The Jack Benny Program originally telecast by CBS on November 6, 1955. Mel Blanc plays Benny’s violin teacher and Isaac Stern plays himself. … read more
AJBlog: About Last Night Published 2016-09-14

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The New York Philharmonic’s New Hall Is An Opportunity To Rethink The Orchestra Experience (And Amplify It)
Last week Michael Cooper made a plea to the New York Philharmonic for some upgrades to the concert amenity experience when the orchestra overhauls Geffen Hall in 2019. … I’d like to second his suggestions and add a few. … read more
AJBlog: diacritical/Douglas McLennan Published 2016-09-13

Reflections on a Symposium
Last week I provided daily summaries of The Robert E. Gard Foundation’s Our Communities: A Symposium on the Arts … With the advantage of a few days distance (and rest) it’s probably worthwhile to lay out a little more of the “sense” of the gathering. … read more
AJBlog: Engaging Matters Published 2016-09-13

Regrets, I’ve had a few
Five things I wish I could do:
• Speak French • Sing really well • Play bridge • Dance • Cook
Five things I wish I had:
• A Morandi etching • A grand piano …read more
AJBlog: About Last Night Published 2016-09-13

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Seeing Autumn In With Cabaret
How often do you see ten dances in under an hour-and-a-half? Had Joe’s Pub not initiated its annual Dance Now Festival eight years ago, you’d have had to think back to the 1920s … read more
AJBlog: Dancebeat Published 2016-09-12

Monday Recommendation: Shirley Horn
Shirley Horn Live at the 4 Queens (Resonance) The Resonance label continues its parade of previously unissued recordings with this jewel by Shirley Horn, a supremely gifted pianist and singer (1934-2005). By the time of … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2016-09-12

Big Brothers
A dreamy child, I was given to extravagant fictions, imaginary journeys that scattered my mind and dimmed my perceptions.  The benefit of these fanciful excursions was that I was never bored: there was always something … read more
AJBlog: Infinite Curves Published 2016-09-12

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This Week In Understanding Audience Stories: America’s Creative Divide Isn’t Where You Think
This Week: There’s a creative divide in America but it’s not where you think… Rethinking the modern concert hall in favor of the audience… Is glamour an ineffective sell for pop music?… A link …read more