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Mel Bochner, Conceptual Artist Who Played With Language And Imagery, Is Dead At 84

"Bochner was one of the key artists associated with the Conceptualist movement during the 1960s and ’70s. In legendary pieces that hardly looked much like art at all, he offered measurements, numbers, words, and others’ photocopied drawings within galleries. There was often little to admire, and that was intentional." - ARTnews

Boston Conducting Legend Benjamin Zander, Still Going Strong At 85

Zander has been educating musicians and audiences about classical music for five decades. During his master class, Zander interacts with both the audience and aspiring cellists who have signed up to seek guidance from Zander. - WBUR

Maria Teresa Horta, The Last Of Portugal’s ‘Three Marias,’ Has Died At 87

Along with two other writers, Horta helped bring global attention to the dictatorship in Portugal - and to show how all of Portuguese society made women suffer. - The New York Times

How Chiwetel Eijiofor Went, Happily, From Shakespeare To Bridget Jones

Eijiofor: "You can’t hold onto your 30-something self, obviously, but if you still maintain a bit of that quality, it assists you in navigating these waters.” - The New York Times

Theatre Critic Misha Berson Of Seattle, And Much Farther Afield, Has Died

Berson was a theatre critic for the San Francisco Bay Guardian for a while, and then she spent 25 years at the Seattle Times, along with writing books and creating theatre discussions at both regional and national publications. Says an editor, “Her writing was clear, clean, and imaginative.” - Oregon ArtsWatch

Edith Mathis, Soprano Whose Recordings Show Absolute Service To The Text, Has Died At 86

“Edith Mathis a light-voiced Swiss soprano who sparkled in Bach, Mozart and Weber and was the agile-voiced favorite of several of the conducting giants who dominated mid-20th-century concert halls.” - The New York Times

Ken Wydro, Who Helped Create An Enduring Staple Of Off-Broadway Theatre, Has Died At 81

Wydro was "a playwright, director and producer who with his wife, Vy Higginsen, poured their life savings into the Off Broadway gospel musical Mama, I Want to Sing, an enduring work of Black theater that ran for more than 2,800 performances .” - The New York Times

Pianist Maria Tipo Has Died At Age 94

"(She) married technical mastery with charming unpredictability, receiving international acclaim for her sensitive and expressive interpretations of Scarlatti’s sonatas, Bach’s Goldberg Variations and the work of Romantic masters such as Frédéric Chopin." - The Washington Post (MSN)

Filmmaker Lars Von Trier Moves Into Care Center For Parkinson’s Disease

The controversial Danish director announced in 2022 that he'd been diagnosed with the neurological disorder but that he intended to maintain his career. This year he was working on a film about death and the afterlife; it's evidently unclear whether he'll be able to continue the project. - New York Daily News

Soprano Edith Mathis Is Dead At 86

On the opera stage, she was known mainly for Mozart, but she was particularly active as a recitalist and concert soloist, and she built up a very large discography in Lieder and vocal-orchestral works from the 1960s into the '80s. - Presto Music

Hilton Als, Curator (And Critic)

It is unusual for a critic at a major publication to get paid for curating gallery and museum exhibitions, though Als, 64, has cleared his independent hat-switching endeavors with his boss, David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker. And Als says he stays clear of reviewing any institution where he has curated a show. - The New York Times

Jeff Koons: Here’s What Really Motivates Me (It Isn’t Money)

He has been frustrated by suggestions that his art was partly driven by a desire to make a lot of money. “The value in art is in how we transcend. It’s a joy. But that got misrepresented and connected to financial aspects which had nothing to do with my intentions.” - Prospect

“I Was Screaming Because Of The Pain”: Salman Rushdie Testifies In Attempted Murder Trial

"Rushdie, 77, is testifying for the prosecution against Hadi Matar, 27, the man accused of assaulting him with a knife as he was about to address an open-air audience on a theme of shelter and home … (at) the Chautauqua Institution." - The Guardian

Estranged Husband Of Art Dealer Brent Sikkema Charged With Hiring His Murderer

"On Tuesday, Daniel Sikkema was charged in New York for murder-for-hire, passport fraud, and conspiracy to murder a person in a foreign country. … (Brent Sikkema) was found stabbed to death in his Rio de Janeiro apartment in January 2024." - ARTnews

Painter And Critic Walter Robinson, Founding Editor of Artnet Magazine, Is Dead At 74

"(His) art was known to many, ... and (his) writing was at one point read by just about anybody who mattered in the city’s art world. Even though he was not a household name, he quietly shaped the New York art community by chronicling its happenings with pith and élan." - ARTnews

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