Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
Canon Fodder: Classical Music’s Difficult Reckoning with Race
"More than anything, the artistic questions facing classical music today go well beyond the simple dualism of keeping or tossing the canon; they revolve...
How Elizabeth Alexander Is Transforming The Mellon Foundation
Alexander came to the organization with a specific mandate, she said, of “sharpening the focus—doing all the work, every penny, through a social justice...
Where The Main Thread Of American Opera Ought To Have Gone: “Porgy”
Joseph Horowitz teaches us to stop hearing “Porgy and Bess” narrowly, as a Black opera, or as some sideline oddity called a folk opera....
Los Angeles Review Of Books Turns Ten
A self-described “cockeyed optimist,” Tom Lutz admitted he underestimated the volume of work required to launch the publication — not to mention the costs...
Why Podcasting Might Be A Passing Fad For Media Companies
For several years, a mixture of denial and deep optimism have kept up the facade. News outlet leaders believe that, since others are perceived...
Hong Kong’s M+ Was Ambitious. But Its Time May Already Have Passed
M+ seemed inevitable, so right. But if you looked closely enough, divisions between the city and its various cultural saviours were starting to emerge. -...
The Problem: A Tech Solution To “Solving” Democracy Is Problematic
Optimization cannot reconcile people’s conflicting world views. Though conflict has always been the meat of politics, political differences today mean that people not only...
Great Books And The Purpose Of College
In the old college system there were lists of books that every student was supposed to study—a canon. The canon was the curriculum. In...
Singers Who Have Found New Creative Life During COVID
As devastating as the pandemic has been to lives and livelihoods, a number of opera singers have found themselves emerging back into live performance...
How Paul Winter Redefined Ambient Music
No one in the music world has been more ambitious or creative in exploring the ways musicians can create soundscapes in dialogue with the...
Studies: More Education = Higher IQ For Longer Time
We consistently see that longer education does raise our cognitive abilities: a person’s IQ gains one to five points for each additional year of...
Australian Artist’s Instagram Account Was @Metaverse. Then Facebook Booted Her Off
Early that morning, when she tried to log in to Instagram, she found that the account had been disabled. A message on the screen...
Propaganda? Let’s Be Clear About What It Is
Although the term is less than 400 years old, the phenomenon of propaganda is far older. The pyramids of Egypt, to take one example, are propagandistic,...
Theatre Numbers: 2020 Was Tough, And Yet…
Not-for-profit theatres contributed nearly $2.1 billion to the U.S. economy and attracted 23 million attendees, according to Theatre Facts 2020. SMU Data Arts
The Making Of Tom Stoppard
The creation of Tom Stoppard, the man as well as the artist, began with a kind of extraordinary disappearing act. - The Nation
Dvorak Predicted Black And Indigenous Music Was the Future Of Classical Music. Why Didn’t...
In a depressingly familiar trope, Joseph Horowitz exposes a deliberateness in denying Black and Indigenous composers and musicians their role in America’s classical-music development. -...
New Yorker Writers Choose Their Favorite Books Of 2021
Nuff said. - The New Yorker
Is The Metaverse Inevitable?
It's said to be a “quasi-successor to the Internet,” with comparable impact and importance, that will give users an individual “presence.” - The Walrus
The Tangled Up Politics Of Post-Modernism
Regardless of whether we call our time “postmodern” or “neoliberal,” the present feels ripe for a more widespread understanding of the dialectical relationship between...
The Politics Of Big Bird (And Sesame Street)
It is political not in a partisan sense but because the way we teach and protect children — and choose which children to teach...
Peloton Wins The Internet With Viral Ad Featuring Mr. Big
Peloton bounced back in a big way: It resurrected Mr. Big for a commercial featuring none other than Peter Noth and Peloton instructor Jessica...
Why Would Vladimir Putin Be A Sponsor Of An Art Show About European Unity?
The message is clear: We are all made up of the same fundamental parts. Biologically, that might be true. Yet, Russia has never quite...
Could You Live A Meaningful Life In A Virtual World?
"I think what happens in virtual worlds can, in principle, be very significant. You can build a meaningful life in a virtual world. We...
Groundbreaking Critic Robert Farris Thompson, 88
He spoke and wrote of African civilizations as infinitely varied ethical, philosophical and aesthetic systems. To grasp their complexity and sophistication, he said, required...
What To See When Geffen Hall Reopens Two Years Early In 2022
Rather than face the unenviable task of enticing post-pandemic audiences to a substandard hall, Lincoln Center and the Philharmonic will unveil an eagerly awaited,...
