Category: people

“Mr. O’Neal was still in his early 20s in 1963 when he, Doris Derby and Gilbert Moses founded the Free Southern Theater, which presented free productions throughout the South. The troupe often performed in small towns to largely black audiences with little access to the theater.” As he told an interviewer, “In the South it has been very hard for a Negro to look at and see anything but a distorted view of himself.” – The New York Times

“[He] was not only among the most charismatic performers of his day, but also enjoyed one of the greatest classical-music lives since Berlioz and Liszt.” David Patrick Stearns surveys an amazing lifetime: Not only were there film scores and Broadway shows, Oscars and Grammys, classical compositions galore, music-director posts at major orchestras and prestigious guest conducting gigs — there were comedy shows, TV appearances, five marriages to glamorous women (including a movie star and a world-famous violinist), and what he called “the divorce that didn’t work.” – The Guardian

“[He] was a musical polymath who began composing for Hollywood at 16 and won a quartet of Oscars, and had additional careers as a jazz piano phenomenon and major symphonic conductor. All the while, he … was considered something of a playboy as he leapt with swaggering allure between Hollywood and the directorship of some of the world’s leading orchestras, often using his celebrity and skillfulness as a raconteur to bring wider attention to classical music.” – The Washington Post

“[His] criticism appeared regularly in publications like DownBeat and JazzTimes. He wrote two books about bebop, the challenging form of modern jazz that emerged in the 1940s. And, along with Leonard Feather and Nat Hentoff, he was among the most prodigious writers of liner notes, annotating more than 700 albums. In 2017 he was named a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts.” – The New York Times

Among his most famous and historic programs were the 1962 Tour of the White House with Jackie Kennedy; Hunger in America (1968), which shocked the public and led to changes in federal policy; The Selling of the Pentagon (1971), which infuriated the Nixon Administration and helped establish important First Amendment protections; the seven-part Of Black America (1968); and You and the Commercial, about television advertising. – The New York Times

The New York Times has communicated with seven former or current members of the Staatskapelle. All highlighted examples of Mr. Barenboim’s behavior that they said was bullying and went beyond what was normal for a conductor. – The New York Times

“His stand-up style was a seemingly contradictory mix of confrontation and self-deprecation. He would often mock the fact that he was not a household name and had managed to land only small parts in television shows and movies [such as the Hangover series]. … He was widely admired by other comedians for his willingness to venture into unsafe territory.” – The New York Times

“She recorded for major labels in the late 1950s and the ’60s; toured Europe with Benny Goodman; performed onstage alongside Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Louis Armstrong; and appeared on television with Duke Ellington [and] Arthur Godfrey. … But she soon grew disillusioned with the demands placed on young divas, and she eschewed national celebrity for a quieter life in her hometown.” – The New York Times

The Turkish-Kurdish painter and journalist was jailed for a watercolor she made depicting a Kurdish town destroyed by the Turkish military. The charge: “spreading terrorist propaganda.” (The painting was made from an official military photograph.) Her cause was taken up by artists in the West, with Banksy putting up a mural in New York counting the days she was imprisoned. – Hyperallergic