Robert Alter, who finished a new three-volume translation of the text last year, offers thou-shalts and thou-shalt-nots. For example:
“4. Thou shalt not multiply for thyself synonyms where the Hebrew wisely and pointedly uses repeated terms.” (includes interview podcast) – The American Scholar
Tag: 04.19.19
Resourcefulness, Diversity, Engagement — How Kansas City Is Doing The Arts Right
Organizations such as Artists of Color Alliance, Kansas City Artists Coalition, Charlotte Street Foundation, KC StartUp Village and Foundation, and the Mid-America Arts Alliance are helping new work get created and presented to audiences, while the Nelson-Atkins Museum impresses with its robust curation and community engagement. – The Clyde Fitch Report
How “Go Down Moses” Became Part Of A Passover Tradition
The song is thought to have been written by African-American slaves in about 1800, inspired by the story of Jewish slaves in the Bible. So a double cultural appropriation? – WBUR
Generosity? Noblesse Oblige? Or Reputation-Laundering? The Century-Old Bargain Behind Big-Ticket Philanthropy
The debate has arisen a lot over the past few years: BP, the Koch brothers, the Sacklers, that board member at the Whitney, Notre-Dame. Bob Garfield talks about the issue with Anand Giridharadas, author of Winners Take All: the Elite Charade of Changing the World. (audio) – NPR’s On the Media
‘Fancy Free’ Doesn’t Seem So Delightful After #MeToo — Should It Be Retired?
In 2019, the Bernstein-Robbins ballet about three sailors on shore leave looks rather like “a case study in rape culture,” writes Lea Marshall, who took a group of undergraduate dance student to see it. Most of the audience loved it; the students were aghast. Marshall explains why. – Dance Magazine
Robert Caro On The Revealing Powers Of Biography
“When people say that power corrupts… I don’t happen to believe that. Power reveals. When you’re on your way up, you have to conceal what you intend to do. Once you get power, then you see it, what he really wanted to do.” – The Guardian
Why (And How) Conductors Matter
There are many ways to lead an orchestra, but whatever method you assume — that of a mystical shaman, a sports coach, a traffic cop or some combination of them all — Mark Wigglesworth insists that all conductors need one essential ingredient: confidence. Without that, he writes, “you are like a bird without feathers. As Adlai Stevenson said, ‘It’s hard to lead a cavalry charge if you think you look funny on a horse.’ ” – Washington Post
An Argument Against A Darker Reinterpretation Of “Oklahoma!”
Judith Miller: “It is one thing to emphasize the darkness that lies beneath this iconic musical’s cheery surface. It is another to turn what Rodgers and Hammerstein intended as a celebration of the American spirit into a sanguinary condemnation of it.” – City Journal
Given The Hype: Mueller Report Soars To Top Of Amazon Bestseller List
There’s a solid history of such books — the Starr Report and the 9/11 Commission Report were bestsellers; the latter was a National Book Award Finalist.” – CNN
New China International Piano Competition: $150,000 Prize And The Philadelphia Orchestra
Two of the most admired figures in classical music competitions are in charge: Yoheved Kaplinsky, chair of the piano department at the Juilliard School in New York, is the competition’s artistic director and jury chair; Richard Rodzinski, who has run the Van Cliburn and Tchaikovsky competitions, is general director.Not that either one was particularly excited about the prospect – at first… Chicago Tribune