Wendy Law uses the same bow, in the same room with the same microphone, to play the opening of Bach’s First Cello Suite on a contemporary instrument by Jay Haide, a 19th-century English cello by Thomas Kennedy, and an early 18th-century instrument by Alessandro Gagliano, the first great luthier in Naples. – Digg (YouTube)
It Seems We Do Know What Shakespeare Looked Like — ‘A Self-Satisfied Pork Butcher’
That choice phrase from a 20th-century critic was about the effigy installed above Shakespeare’s grave in Stratford-upon-Avon. The general presumption had been that the painted limestone statue had been made after the writer’s death and was not necessarily modeled on the actual man. Now one scholar’s research indicates that the piece was done by a professional tomb-maker who almost certainly knew Shakespeare — who, more likely than not, commissioned and approved the memorial himself. – The Guardian
Two New York Times Critics Discuss Whether They Dare Go To An Indoor Play Yet
Laura Collins-Hughes: Alexis, when you saw the invitation, what went through your mind?
Alexis Soloski: Panic, basically. … I won’t be vaccinated for months and I don’t feel ready to make this moral/professional/hygienic calculus. You?” – The New York Times
Reports Of James Levine’s Death Are Telling
Josh Kosman: “When a composer pleads for a more sympathetic view of Levine because of his advocacy for new music, or when an opera buff clings to Levine’s recordings of the standard repertoire, that’s a tell. It says that wrongs inflicted on others don’t merit a full moral standing, at least not when weighed against the benefits to oneself. And if that sort of reckoning is helpful for assessing the priorities of individuals, it’s even more critical in judging the institutions that make artistic careers possible — or refuse to do so.” – San Francisco Chronicle
What A Post-COVID UK Classical Music World Might Look Like (Muddled)
“The unevenness of response across the London halls, from the vagueness and uncertainty of the SBC to the Wigmore Hall’s dauntless ongoing programme of streamed recitals, with audiences to be readmitted as soon as possible, has been mirrored across the country.” – The Guardian
Good Luck Watching The Oscar Contenders In The UK
How “democratic” are these streaming Oscars when they’re almost impossible to find, and expensive to subscribe to, in the UK? The coronavirus, and attendant openings and lockdowns, is mostly to blame, of course, but also: “Streaming infrastructure in the UK is less well-established than in the US, so outside major players such as Netflix, Amazon, Disney+ and Apple, distributors do not have the deals in place for straightforward online premieres.” – The Guardian (UK)
Museum Directors Are Still Divided Over Selling Art During The Pandemic
Things aren’t necessarily getting easier for museum directors thinking about what to do with their collections, and whether they should rely on their boards for money – or sell some art. “The debate has grown heated in recent weeks, pitting museum against museum, and forcing the [Association of of Art Museum Directors] — which serves as the industry’s referee and moral watchdog — to postpone talks about extending the change indefinitely.” – The New York Times
The Push For Ever More Content For Shondaland
At Netflix, Bridgerton (at least the first season) succeeded beyond executives’ wildest dreams. But the Shondaland production team wants a lot more than just Netflix success. No surprise, they need a lot more content, at all times. Podcasts, articles, behind the scenes snippets, TikToks, Instagram Stories, rebranded books (since the series comes from a book series). Welcome to 2021.- Variety
Equity Actors Would Very Much Like To Go Back To Work
And they’re not shy about asking the union to move up the timeline – please. “We feel unheard, we feel left out, and we feel way farther behind than any other industry when it comes to putting in place practical protocols that would get us back to work.” – The New York Times
Henry Darrow, Who Fought For Roles For Latinos And Was The First Latino Zorro On TV, 87
Darrow was “best known as Manolito Montoya in the hit Western The High Chaparral,” but he was also “an activist who worked to expand the roles offered to Latinos on screen. In 1972, Darrow, Ricardo Montalban, Carmen Zapata and Edith Diaz founded the Screen Actors Guild Ethnic Minority Committee. Darrow was also a vice president of Nostros, the organization founded by Montalban to help Latino actors be cast in non-stereotypical roles.” – Los Angeles Times
Trying To Scout Locations During A Pandemic
It’s not easy for film and TV production location scouts at the moment. There’s a lot of digital photography, and a lot of after-the-big-Zoom-meetings adaptation. One location manager “wonders if she’ll soon be using her new iPhone 12, which has Lidar light detection and ranging capability, to scout locations.” – Variety
The Outsize Impact Of Celebrity Documentaries
The intense responses to the R. Kelly, Britney Spears (who, unlike the others on the list, is not portrayed a predator but rather a woman much preyed upon), Michael Jackson, and Woody Allen documentaries have surprised filmmakers – after all, most of the info was already part of the public record. One producer: “The loudest and most impactful documentaries … [have] something that can connect to the viewer on a personal level, which makes all the difference.” – Washington Post
How Libraries Are Dealing With, And Helping Solve, Digital Inequity
Pandemic-related shutdowns mean that the people who need help printing, filling out, and scanning documents – “There are lots of forms, which demand lots of one-on-one help from library staff to find and complete” – can’t get it directly, but there’s still Wi-Fi in the parking lots … and long lines of people each time the libraries re-open. – The Atlantic
Cepillin, Clown Beloved Across Latin America, Has Died At 75
Cepillín, whose non-performing name was Ricardo González Gutiérrez, was a Mexican clown with a half-century-long career. He “hosted TV shows broadcast from Mexico, sold millions of copies of his albums of children’s songs, and later drew millions of viewers to his videos on TikTok and YouTube. And he toured Mexico and the United States with circus companies including his own and Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey.” – The New York Times
Producers, Actors, And Publicists Are Keeping Pressure On The HFPA
Even weeks after the Golden Globes, Hollywood isn’t relenting; this reckoning has been a long time coming. “Now, with the very survival of the Globes hanging in the balance, some in Hollywood remain unconvinced that the insular and notoriously fractious group has the capacity, or perhaps even the self-awareness, to undertake the sort of transformational reforms it has vowed.” – Los Angeles Times
We Know Amazon Is A Danger To Workers And Retail, But Do We Care?
Well, that’s … a good question. “We know how Amazon treats its workers, how it squeezes its sellers, how it devastates small businesses, and how it extorts money out of state and local governments (and let’s not even start talking about privacy). We know that our elected officials play along. We aren’t happy about it, yet we keep on buying.” – Washington Post
A Return To Episodic TV
Is the binge better? Or is it OK to let episodes marinate for a week before returning to a story? When Netflix first dropped entire seasons, it blew everyone’s mind. But now, perhaps, the choices are simply “one more set of storytelling tools — like shooting in front of a studio audience, or not — creatively suited to different kinds of stories.” – The New York Times
The Guy Who Possibly Found The Author Of Shakespeare’s Source Material For Hamlet
And other plays too. This isn’t a “Shakespeare didn’t write his own plays” theory; it’s a theory about an Elizabethan playwright named Thomas North – and Thomas North’s cousin George. – Boston Globe
Beloved New York Bookstore The Strand Has Become A Union Busting Stereotype
This is not great. “The past year … has laid bare just how perilous a job you like, or even love, can be when you’re working without the most basic of safety nets. This fragility is something that Strand employees have always known — they work in retail, after all. Before, though, the job had just enough perks, just enough meaning, to make it worth the struggle.” Now, it’s one long arbitration struggle, and certainly not enough money for the workers. (Or, perhaps, the ownership.) – Vulture
The New Rules Of Moviegoing
Start with an “electrostatic disinfectant sprayer,” add in a seat buffering system, and don’t forget prepackaged condiments for your popcorn. (But … what about air flow and vaccine requirements? Hm.) – Variety
A Paris Ballet Star Dances With Memories, And Anselm Kiefer Paintings
Hugo Marchand’s new memoir speaks of feelings that seem to beset nearly every dancer – of not belonging, of self-doubt, and of stage fright. And his newest pandemic project brought him into close contact with artist Anselm Kiefer. “I like the way [Steve Reich’s’Duet’] loops and matches Kiefer’s work which uses recycled and repeating materials. We were lucky to meet Anselm Kiefer, and I was very touched and moved by the paintings.” – The New York Times
Marianne Carus, Founder Of Cricket Magazine, 92
Carus believed that children should read – and see – high-quality short stories, poetry, and art. In 1982, she said in an interview, “So many people talk down to children, but you have to respect their intelligence. … Parents give them the best clothes, the best food, the best toys, when what they should be giving them is food for their little brains.” – The New York Times
Computers V. Humans – What’s Possible?
The greatest imaginative challenge seems to be foreseeing which changes will arrive sooner than expected (computers outplaying chess grandmasters), and which will be surprisingly slow (flying cars). The tech-world saying is that people chronically overestimate what technology can do in a year, and underestimate what it can do in a decade and beyond. – The New York Times
Small Independent Opera Companies Are Saving Opera
Across Canada, indie opera companies are making the art form cool again; daring and provocative again. Pre-pandemic, the collective mass of these companies was on the verge of something truly special: making opera mainstream, something to be wafted over a crowded pub, or poured out freely in church basements and makeshift venues coast to coast. – CBC
Museums Battle Over The Ethics Of Selling Art To Survive
The debate has grown heated in recent weeks, pitting museum against museum, and forcing the association — which serves as the industry’s referee and moral watchdog — to postpone talks about extending the change indefinitely. – The New York Times