Category: AJBlogs

Arnold Schoenberg’s Musical Response to FDR
  What kind of American was Arnold Schoenberg? In Los Angeles, a Jewish refugee from Hitler’s Germany, he adopted English as his primary language. He watched The Lone Ranger on TV. For his children, … read more
AJBlog: Unanswered QuestionPublished 2017-11-18

Anarchy!
Classical music has a mindset. Or I might call it an ideology. Two parts of it are: Classical music is a high, refined, deeply serious art. And so scholarship about its history is greatly important, … read more
AJBlog: SandowPublished 2017-11-17

Seems Like It Was Just Yesterday. . .
Big Dance Theater premieres a new work at the BAM Harvey, November 14 through 18. Big Dance Theater in 17c. L to R: Elizabeth DeMent, Cynthia Hopkins, Paul Lazar, Kourtney Rutherford, and Aaron Mattocks. Photo: … read more
AJBlog: DancebeatPublished 2017-11-17

Concept Test Kitchen, Episode 2
The new episode of my “Concept Test Kitchen” explores the PAEI Code, a framework by Ichak Adizes to explore the four functions/concerns of management and their interplay and implications. Full details on this model are … read more
AJBlog: The Artful ManagerPublished 2017-11-17

Did Ken Griffin Buy the Leonardo (or provide $$$ for Art Institute of Chicago to acquire it)?
While we’re all still coming to terms with the fact that a damaged 26″ x 18″ oil-on-walnut painted panel has just sold for $450.3 million, here’s a potential scoop that is based on some data, … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2017-11-16

“Sotheby’s Drudgery”: My Storify on Contemporary Art Sale Short on Excitement
Last night’s Contemporary Art sale at Christie’s, headlined by a certain very non-contemporary religious painting, was a hard act for Sotheby’s to follow. It did interpose its own anomalous lot to jazz things up – a red Ferrari. … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2017-11-16

 

Another classical music critic is sent into the night … and this time it’s me.
Life in the newspaper world these days can’t help but feel like Russian Roulette. With every wave of layoffs, my position has seemed that much closer to its end. And I’m surprised that I lasted as long as I did. … read more
AJBlog: Condemned to Music Published 2017-11-15

Soft power and the arts (2/3)
The British Council and the University of Edinburgh have teamed up to prepare an empirical analysis of the actual effects of soft power (my introduction on soft power and the arts is here). How does … read more
AJBlog: For What it’s Worth Published 2017-11-15

“Ballsy Bidding”: My Storify on Leonardo’s (& Christie’s) $450-Million Jesus Superstar
That surely wasn’t the Getty or any other public (as opposed to single-collector) museum who plunked down a jaw-dropping $450 million after a dramatic 19-minute bidding war, the likes of which I’ve never seen, … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2017-11-15

 

External Connections
Fundraising, sales, education, and engagement. All are concerned with making connections between an arts organization and individuals (and groups) outside the organization. The first two have long been focused most on people who … read more
AJBlog: Engaging Matters Published 2017-11-14

Strange Interlude: Al Jazeera Interviews Me About the Berkshire Museum (with video)
I was as surprised as you probably are that Al Jazeera, with its focus on international news (particularly as it relates to the Arab world), was interested in talking to me for a segment about … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2017-11-14

Dreams so real
Regular readers of this blog know that Giorgio Morandi is one of the modern artists whose work I love most … and I’ve long dreamed of … read more
AJBlog: About Last Night Published 2017-11-14

 

Long Overdue: Women Artists In 19th Century Paris
The exhibition entitled Her Paris: Women Artists in the Age of Impressionism, which debuted recently at the Denver Art Museum, is long overdue. It has been ten years in the making, the brainchild of independent … read more
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts Published 2017-11-12

Cool Heat
Garth Fagan Dance comes from Rochester to the Joyce Theater, November 7 through 12. … read more
AJBlog: Dancebeat Published 2017-11-12

 

Berkshire Museum’s Deaccession Debacle: Reactions of the Protagonists & Antagonists
In their initial responses to last night’s Massachusetts Appeals Court preliminary injunction, neither the Berkshire Museum nor Sotheby’s has explicitly vowed to continue what could be a self-defeating legal fight in the museum’s misguided attempt … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrlPublished 2017-11-11

News Flash: Massachusetts Appeals Court Delays Berkshire Museum Sales
Score one for Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey. The Massachusetts Appeals Court tonight granted the preliminary injunction that she had sought to delay the controversial sales at Sotheby’s of works from the Berkshire Museum’s collection. The … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrlPublished 2017-11-10

Working Together in Love and in Hate
David Dorfman Dance at BAM Harvey Theater, November 8-11. David Dorfman Dance in Dorfman’s Aroundtown. (L to R): Aya Wilson, Jasmine Hearn, Nik Owens, Jordan Demetrius Lloyd. Simon Thomas-Train, and Kendra Portier. Photo: Julieta Cervantes … read more
AJBlog: DancebeatPublished 2017-11-10

News Flash: Massachusetts Attorney General Files Appeals Court Motion to Enjoin Monday’s Berkshire Museum Sales
Now it gets really interesting. The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office has just filed a motion for an injunction pending its appeal of the Superior Court decision to allow Berkshire Museum’s art sales this Monday at … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrlPublished 2017-11-10

Soft power and the arts (1/3)
This week saw the release of two major studies in the UK on culture and soft power: Soft Power Today from the British Council and the University of Edinburgh, and The Art of Soft Power … read more
AJBlog: For What it’s WorthPublished 2017-11-10

Arts Funding, US vs. UK, and Chamber Music
One of the key issues which underlies this blog and the book which inspired it is the role of public funding in the arts. I hate to give the end away, but … read more
AJBlog: CultureCrash Published 2017-11-09

Who is the greatest living publisher of cookery books? Read on
As I am a regular contributor to The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography,and still earn a bit of my keep by writing obituaries for the British national newspapers, it is a rare delight to … read more
AJBlog: Plain English Published 2017-11-09

 

Trusty Rusty: Powell to Retire from Longtime Gig at National Gallery
It’s entirely in keeping with Rusty Powell‘s self-effacing nature that the National Gallery’s homepage today is all about the art, with no hint of its big news: The museum’s longest-serving director, who assumed that post … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2017-11-08

Camerata Pacifica and Chamber Music in SoCal
Recently I’ve enjoyed a performance by the chamber group Camerata Pacifica and several conversations with its founder, Adrian Spence. I disagree with the cheeky Ulsterman on some points – I am in some ways … read more
AJBlog: CultureCrash Published 2017-11-08

Macron Magic: My Storify of Louvre Abu Dhabi’s Aborted Livestream of Opening Ceremonies
I wasn’t invited to the Louvre Abu Dhabi’s opening ceremonies today (no surprise), but I did get an emailed invitation to watch them livestreamed on the museum’s Facebook page. Below is my tweeted account of … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2017-11-08

 

Community Knowledge
It’s no secret that I advocate for arts organizations addressing community interests. (Well, duh!) And, in order to do that, we have to know what those interests are. (Again, duh!) On my website I address … read more
AJBlog: Engaging Matters Published 2017-11-07

About that Arts Council England economic report
I’ve been away from the blog for a while, but I just can’t keep myself away from economic impact studies of the arts. The latest is from Arts Council England – you can read the … read more
AJBlog: For What It’s Worth Published 2017-11-07

“Tepid Investigation” by the AG: Judge Permits Berkshire Museum Sales
It seems that the Attorney General Office’s intervention in the Berkshire Museum case was too little, too late in the view of Judge John Agostini of Berkshire County Superior Court. He ruled this afternoon … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2017-11-07

 

Take A Look At Folk Art Masterpiece(s) in We The People
It is John James Trumbull Arnold’s Portrait of Mary Mattingly (1850). She is, as many people have told me since Saturday, after reading my piece, just adorably cute and well as beautifully executed. … read more
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts Published 2017-11-06

Ballet Up Close and Personal
New York Theatre Ballet’s Legends and Visionaries series at Danspace Project at St. Mark’s Church. … read more
AJBlog: Dancebeat Published 2017-11-06

Comedian Dick Gregory and The Wallis in Beverly Hills
When I moved back to Los Angeles about a year ago, I was not surprised that the cultural life was rich and wide-ranging. But one spot surprised me: The Wallis Annenberg in Beverly Hills. … read more
AJBlog: CultureCrash Published 2017-11-06

Lost Music
My head is always whirling with music.  For a long time, I assumed that was true for everyone, but it’s really one of those phenomena we can describe to one another without ever being sure we are experiencing the same thing. … read more
AJBlog: Infinite Curves Published 2017-11-06