Three months ago I blogged about Min Xiao-fen’s exceptional new recording, White Lotus, in which her pipa is mated with Rez Abbasi’s guitar in music from her soundtrack to a classic Chinese silent film. NPR has now done a seven-minute feature on the disc. – Joseph Horowitz

My first visit to the kind of concert that could’ve happened before March of 2020: the bold pianist Beth Levin at Bargemusic in Brooklyn. – David Patrick Stearns

The Executive Director of Cleo Parker Robinson Dance and Chair of the Board of DanceUSA speaks about the place of the art form in our ever-changing world. – Aaron Dworkin

In the U.S. there are limited public data on the demographics of leadership and staff (as opposed to artists and participants) at arts organizations. Absent these statistics, one of our analysts turned to the Annual Business Survey (ABS), a collaboration between the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Science Foundation. – Sunil Iyengar

The Medici: Portraits and Politics, at the Metropolitan Museum to Oct. 11, is a curatorial tour de force that only a scholar like Keith Christiansen could pull off. With his retirement today today after 43 years at the Met, this show is his swansong at the museum. – Lee Rosenbaum

The 2021 winner of the Pulitzer Prize for music composition has not often been interviewed in the popular press, so here’s a Q&A I conducted with her as published in 1989 by Ear magazine. – Howard Mandel

I like to pay special tribute on CultureGrrl to art professionals who took time from their busy lives to deepen my limited understanding of art and the artworld, back when I was beginning my own professional journey. Martha Baer was one always reliable, unfailingly gracious source of help and knowledge. – Lee Rosenbaum

It is my privilege to partner a new Myrios Classics CD: Mozart’s two most important four-hand piano sonatas, importantly performed by Kirill Gerstein and Ferenc Rados. – Joseph Horowitz

The Chair & Associate Director of Juilliard Jazz talks about effective racial equity work in the arts and his sources of strength and inspiration. – Aaron Dworkin

Music as Care by Sarah Adams Hoover is a book devoted to “arts in health.” The topic is light years from my area of expertise so I was surprised when Sarah asked me to take a look at it. I am extremely glad she did. – Doug Borwick

For this entry, I’m sharing the latest episode of the NEA’s research podcast (Quick Study). This month, we look at promising study results from Boston’s public schools, where arts education has been linked to better attendance and overall school engagement. – Sunil Iyengar

As a loyal New Jerseyan, I’m trying to squelch my own customary skepticism about such international museum undertakings, but the pronouncements about this project have been high on hype, low on specifics. My efforts to extract more details about what’s planned have been mostly met by: “It’s too early to say.” – Lee Rosenbaum

The President & CEO of the New Jersey Symphony talks about the orchestra’s new “Artistic Catalyst” role and the importance of serving community. – Aaron Dworkin

In May and June the Community Engagement Network hosted Conversations addressing the topic Benchmarking Equity. While we did not take the advisability of benchmarking as a given, the premise of the discussions was that without some form of accountability, statements committing to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion can easily be as toothless as “thoughts and prayers” about gun violence. – Doug Borwick

That’s the name of a variation on “America the Beautiful” that I wrote for Min Kwon’s America/Beautiful project.
But wait … what IS that? – Greg Sandow

On many days lately, the last places I’ve wanted to be are 2020 and 2021. I’ve been retreating to the 1950s, creating in my apartment a musical time capsule. That’s thanks to Brooklynites who have been clearing out their closets while stuck at home, finding all manner of LP records and depositing them in second-hand stores, where I’ve stumbled upon them at giveaway prices. Those neighbors have allowed their past to be my present. – David Patrick Stearns

The President & CEO of the Music Institute of Chicago shares about the evolving responsibility of preparing youth for society through music education. – Aaron Dworkin

Stuck like a plum in a pound cake for a decade at The Philadelphia Inquirer, I wondered where to eat. A colleague knew I needed a spot to eat that would make me feel like myself, so he took me — so I recall, maybe he recommended it — to Judy’s Cafe, on South 3rd and Bainbridge in, yes, Queen Village. – Jeff Weinstein

In research terms, a convenience sample is a group of folks who feature in a study because — well, they happened to be there. And yet, under the right conditions — especially in program design and development — access to study subjects “in the right place at the right time” can prove extraordinarily helpful. Also, let’s face it: COVID-19 has upended our notions of “convenience” altogether. Amid these challenges, YR Media has made admirable progress. – Sunil Iyengar

I hope that officials of the Newark Museum of Art felt at least a twinge of seller’s remorse (if not a rush of shame) after reading the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s lavish praise of the painting that Linda Harrison, Newark’s director, had deemed expendable. – Lee Rosenbaum

I’m not sure how smart it is to attack the premise of the session you’ve been asked to be part of, but I was asked for a provocation, so here goes. – Douglas McLennan

As CultureGrrl readers will remember, my first post-pandemic visit to a museum — the Metropolitan — did not end well. Happily, things went more smoothly for me at the Whitney ten days later. – Lee Rosenbaum

My introduction of Emanuel Ax in May in Boston, as he received an honorary doctorate from New England Conservatory. – Bruce Brubaker

The President and CEO of the New World Symphony discusses the impact of digital environments on our art and audiences. – Aaron Dworkin

I’m thrilled to announce the publication of The Artful Manager: Field Notes on the Business of Arts and Culture in paperback and eBook formats. This book gathers 50 posts from the first 18 years of The Artful Manager blog – edited, updated, complemented with opening quotes, and sorted into three themes. – Andrew Taylor