“It’s just emptiness. How great must a composer be to allow himself to write about nothing?” The pianist has a go at persuading Joshua Barone. – The New York Times
Reconsidering The Benefits Of Hierarchies
“Similar to the related terms of bureaucracy and meritocracy, hierarchy is a concept rife with negative connotations. Common sense might suggest that it is the elimination of hierarchies, from race and gender to those found in our political systems, that should be our common goal. Bell and Wang argue that hierarchies exist everywhere and rather than trying to stamp them out—an impossible task, in any case—we should be examining how they function in terms of efficiency and the greater good.” – New Ramble Review
How Governments Around The World Are Supporting The Arts To Survive COVID
Governments across Europe, as well as in Canada, Australia and some Asian countries, have held back the wave so far by moving fast at the beginning of the coronavirus crisis to stave off mass unemployment and prevent a financial meltdown. – The Hollywood Reporter
Some Good News From A Bad Year: US Book Sales Well Up In 2020
“With all major categories posting increases, unit sales of print books rose 8.2% in 2020 over 2019 at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. For the year ended Jan. 2, 2021, units hit 750.9 million, up from 693.7 million the year before. BookScan said the 8.2% gain was the largest annual increase since 2010.” – Publishers Weekly
The Black Photographers Who Changed The World’s Understanding Of Black Life
The Kamoinge Workshop was “a collective of black photographers who formed in 1963 to document black culture in Harlem, and beyond, from live jazz concerts to portraits of Malcolm X, Miles Davis and Grace Jones, as well as the civil rights movement and anti-war protests.” – The Guardian (UK)
The Depopulated Paris Of Young Edward Hopper Feels Like A Mirror Of Our Pandemic Times
It’s desolate, empty streets; bridges with no tourists; the sidewalks near the Seine silent. What wouldn’t we give now for the American diners of Hopper’s later career, even if they’re dysfunctional – at least there are multiple people in them. – Washington Post
The Damages To Art In The Capitol Building
Insurrectionists’ “time in the building is now represented by the damage they left behind. A 19th-century marble bust of former President Zachary Taylor was flecked with what appeared to be blood. A picture frame was left lying on the floor, the image gone. The photos and videos, some of them taken inside by the rioters themselves, were startling.” – The New York Times
A New “Arts Worker” Movement
Built on the concept of the “arts worker” — an immense labor category representing 8.8 million Americans doing everything from designing clothing to sweeping museum floors — this movement asserts that the arts are as foundational as farming or manufacturing. And its focus is not so much public relations as it is survival, an aim reinforced daily by the financial devastation the coronavirus pandemic has spread throughout the nation’s creative economy. – Washington Post
‘Star Wars’ Fan Fiction Video Is All Over The Place — And Disney Is Fine With It
“Such films have existed almost as long as the franchise itself. Early examples were spoofs, like the 1978 short Hardware Wars and a 1997 Stormtrooper-centric sendup of Cops called Troops. Lucasfilm held annual fan-movie contests in the decade before Disney acquired the company in 2012. But Disney’s stewardship, coupled with the wide availability of higher-quality moviemaking tools, has inaugurated a new era of fan creativity.” – The New York Times
Medieval Silver Hoard Unearthed In Polish Village
Archaeologists from the Polish Academy of Sciences discovered a ceramic vessel containing well over 6,000 coins and rings as well as silver bullion near a village in central Poland, not far from the site of the country’s largest-ever treasure find in 1935. Researchers believe that this hoard may have been the dowry of a 12th-century Kievan princess who married an important Polish noble. – New York Observer
Venice’s Mayor Wants Museums To Stay Closed, And Half The Town is Furious
“The decision by Luigi Brugnaro, the mayor of Venice, to extend the closure of the city’s 11 civic museums — including the Doge’s Palace, the Museo Correr, Ca’ Rezzonico, Ca’ Pesaro and Palazzo Fortuny — until 1 April, the beginning of the tourist season, has provoked a culture war in Venice and beyond. Italy’s museums have been closed since 5 November under national government restrictions, which are currently due to lift on 15 January” — unless, of course, COVID cases spike yet again. – The Art Newspaper
France’s Cultural Venues Will Be Closed All Month
“Prime Minister Jean Castex confirmed … [that] museums, cinemas, theaters, concert halls and gyms ‘will not [reopen] in the weeks to come’.” Venues had opened in the late summer with safety measures but closed again on Oct. 30 as COVID’s second wave swelled; planned reopenings announced for Dec. 15 and then Jan. 7 were called off as new cases of the disease kept rising. – Variety
Consider The Word ‘Sedition’
“Sedition — Merriam-Webster defines it as ‘incitement of resistance to or insurrection against lawful authority’ — is a word that echoes across American history, archaic yet familiar. Historically, charges of sedition have just as often been used to quash dissent … as they have to punish actual threats to government stability or functioning. But to many scholars and historians, the use of the word on Wednesday — and the force of condemnation it conjured — was not misplaced.” – The New York Times
Simon & Schuster Cancels Sen. Josh Hawley’s Book In Wake Of Capitol Riot
From the company’s announcement: “We did not come to this decision lightly. As a publisher it will always be our mission to amplify a variety of voices and viewpoints: at the same time we take seriously our larger public responsibility as citizens, and cannot support Senator Hawley after his role in what became a dangerous threat to our democracy and freedom.” – AP
Montreal Symphony’s Next Music Director Is Rafael Payare
A graduate of Venezuela’s El Sistema, the 40-year-old music director of the San Diego Symphony begins a five-year term at the Maison symphonique in the fall of 2022. Payare’s San Diego contract currently runs through 2025-26; he says he plans to keep both jobs, with 14 to 16 weeks per season in Montreal and 10 per season in San Diego. – AP
Nina Ananiashvili Sent To Siberia (For Her New Job)
Once one of the biggest stars at both the Bolshoi and ABT, she returned to her native Georgia in 2004 (at President Saakashvili’s personal invitation) to take charge of the national ballet company. On the condition that she can remain in that job as well, Ananiashvili has now accepted the dance directorship at the opera and ballet theater in Novosibirsk, Russia’s third-largest city. – Agenda.ge
After A Year Away, Boston Symphony’s Music Director Is Back
Andris Nelsons, who has been in Europe since before the pandemic started, returned to Symphony Hall to record three programs pairing Beethoven symphonies with contemporary music for the BSO’s season of streamed concerts. – The Boston Globe
The Stage 100 For 2021 Honors British Theatre’s Response To COVID
“Arts workers in the NHS, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, actor Michael Balogun and theatre company 20 Stories High are among those recognised in this year’s The Stage 100 list, which has been reimagined to celebrate the industry’s response to the pandemic.” – The Stage