‘Classical includes a range of new artists and sounds: from the minimalism of Steve Reich to the percussion of Inuksuit Ensemble. Contemporary artists like Maya Beiser, who transforms our expectations of the soloist by using technology to layer her own playing of different parts on the cello, and Max Richter, who merges violin, orchestra and synthesiser, should be considered no different to the Stravinskys and Schuberts of eras past. Such artists create a valuable entry point for new listeners, whatever their age.”
“So You Think You Can Dance” Will Probably Get Another Season (But With Changes)
“Will the show take a page from the success of the expansion of Fox’s MasterChef with MasterChef Junior and switch to younger dancers?”
100 Years Ago, American Women Competed In Venus De Milo Lookalike Contests
Wellesley and Swarthmore Colleges had a serious rivalry over it. A Harvard professor collected measurements from female students all over the Northeast. Every few years a big-city newspaper announced a new Venus. There was even a full competitive event at Madison Square Garden.
Public Domain-As-Moral-Issue
The public domain is robust because people on the Internet—in this case, Project Gutenberg’s volunteer corps, led by the late Hart—willed this freedom into being.
Seven Fierce Fistfights From Art History, From Michelangelo To Julian Schnabel
“When we think of creative people getting into fights, writers usually are the first that come to mind – Ernest Hemingway, Norman Mailer, Jack London, etc.” Hyperallergic stands up for visual artists, with examples from Caravaggio beating a pimp to death to two of Picasso’s mistresses wrestling to two examples of painters punching out art critics.
Scientists Are Exploring A Strange Link Between Autism And Genius
“Once thought to be rare in people with autism, found in no more than 1 out of 10 individuals, research over the past few years suggests savantism may be more common: As many as one in three people with autism may possess exceptional abilities.”
Louvre To Start Restoring Another Leonardo Da Vinci Painting
The restoration, of St. John the Baptist, “is scheduled to begin later this month despite past criticism that earlier makeovers of two other paintings by Leonardo overly brightened them.”
French Movie About Jihadis Won’t Be Released in Theaters After Cinema Chains Balk
“From the start, the subject hit too close to home. Out of security concerns in a country still in shock after the November terrorist attacks, Made in France, a French film about homegrown jihadists plotting strikes on downtown Paris, will head straight to video-on-demand this month and forgo release in cinemas.”
Is Our Old Notion Of What An “Artist” Is Dead? Here’s What’s Replacing It
“A new paradigm is emerging, and has been since about the turn of the millennium, one that’s in the process of reshaping what artists are: how they work, train, trade, collaborate, think of themselves and are thought of—even what art is—just as the solitary-genius model did two centuries ago. The new paradigm may finally destroy the very notion of “art” as such—that sacred spiritual substance—which the older one created.”
Hartford Symphony Music Director Says She’ll Accept Pay Cut Similar To Musicians’
Carolyn Kuan: “Given the urgency of the situation, I want to personally recognize the substantial cuts being asked of the musicians of the HSO and offer publicly to share their sacrifice by reducing my salary commensurately.”
Crowdsourcing The Discovery Of A Rare Map
Or at least starting with Reddit … and then moving back to the library: “So what was a rare turn-of-the-19th-century Ottoman atlas doing unnoticed in the vaults of the National Library of Norway? Fortunately, there was a reference librarian on hand to track down the details.”
German Officials Say Few Owners Found For Art From Nazi-era Dealer’s Treasure Trove
“After a two-year, nearly $2 million investigation, a German government task force set up to determine ownership of an art collection amassed by a Nazi-era dealer announced Thursday that it had identified the rightful owners of just five of the works whose provenance was in doubt.”
Will Surprising Oscar Nominations Get People In To See An Intense Film?
“Despite the fact that it was showered with accolades at film festivals last year and garnered early Oscar buzz (especially for Larson), ‘Room’ is one of the lowest-grossing movies to ever be nominated for best picture.”
Ronald Perelman Apparently Resigned From The Carnegie Hall Board Earlier This Month
“His departure came less than a year after Mr. Perelman was tapped to be the chairman of Carnegie’s board, beginning a rocky era in which he clashed with Clive Gillinson (who has been the hall’s executive and artistic director for a decade) and other board members.”
So, Seriously, Academy? #OscarsSoWhite Is Trending Again
“‘Diversity,’ the lack of it and need for it, has been discussed and debated ad nauseam. But diversity isn’t a civic duty, it’s an artistic necessity. For any art form to remain relevant, it must grow with the society it explores, questions, criticizes and represents.”
How Did The Co-Founder And Drummer Of The Police Move From Rock To Opera?
Stewart Copeland: “My father raised me to be a big band white jazz drummer. He raised me to be Buddy Rich; he had me in lessons from the start, which cured me of jazz, but in fact, the Stravinsky and the Debussy stuck. … That music of the big orchestra doing dramatic things, very powerful, very rhythmic [things], really stuck.”
Composer Performs Marathon Improv Session To LACMA’s Silent Movies
“Silent pictures didn’t come with scores attached — which leaves the composer plenty of room for interpretation. ‘That’s where it can get really revealing,’ [Michael Mortilla] says. ‘Something I see as tender or passionate, others might see as cruel.'”
What Does The Classical Music World Think Of ‘Mozart In The Jungle’?
“The producers have hired New York musicians as on-screen extras, making for a fun peer-spotting exercise. The second season is studded with classical-world celebrity cameos, including musicians like Joshua Bell and Lang Lang, and the Grammy-winning pianist Emanuel Ax, who played the interactive video game ‘Dance Dance Revolution’ at a dive bar during one episode. Gustavo Dudamel, the wunderkind Venezuelan conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, makes an appearance as a backstage handler.”
A Campaign To Remove Cecil Rhodes Statue At Oxford Gains Support
More than a third of all Oxford University students – and nearly half of its black and minority ethnic (BAME) students – believe the statue of British imperialist Cecil Rhodes should be removed from the building of Oriel college.
This Year’s Oscar Best-Picture Nominees Are Different (They’re Popular)
Leading nominees The Revenant (12 noms), Mad Max: Fury Road (10) and The Martian (seven) are popcorn pictures, adventure genre films that put mass entertainment ahead of making artistic statements — although there’s a lot of art behind all three.
Tate Modern Gets A New Director
“Francis Morris becomes the fourth director of Tate Modern after the Swede Lars Nittve, the Spaniard Vicenti Todoli, and Dercon, who is Belgian. Some observers had expected Tate to once again recruit from elsewhere in Europe or from the US – instead it chose an insider, someone steeped in Tate culture and someone well known and respected in the art world.”
Major Shift In Canada Council Arts Funding Raises Big Diversity Questions
“If the administration or backstage crew at your opera or ballet company, or the audience for your symphony or theatre company, or the board of directors of your art gallery, does not demonstrate a “commitment to reflecting the diversity of your organization’s geographic community or region,” this will now affect the size of grant received from the federal arts council.”