The “Santa Cecilia” violin — so named because it was developed in the instrument-making program at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome — makes its debut on Thursday at a conference in Lisbon. Its main differences from a standard violin are an asymmetrical shape at the top of the body (to provide more room for fingering) and additional harmonic holes and soundpost (better acoustic projection). – The Strad
Opera-Ballet-Concert House Flooded By Sprinkler System, Closed Indefinitely
The municipal theater in Duisburg, a city in Germany’s industrial Ruhr Valley, saw 80,000 liters of water pour over the stage, the floors, and crucial building infrastructure following a mishap during sprinkler system testing. (No answer yet as to whether the cause was mechanical or human.) The venue is home to the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, the Ballett am Rhein, the Schauspiel (spoken theater) and the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra. (in German; for Google Translate version, click here) – WDR (Cologne)
Dan Robbins, Inventor Of Paint-By-Number Kits, Dead At 93
“Mr. Robbins, whose creations adorned millions of American homes in their heyday, was a self-described ‘right guy at the right time in the right place.’ The time was the prosperous lull after World War II, when Americans had newfound time for recreation. The place was Detroit, birthplace of the assembly line, where Mr. Robbins, then in his 20s, worked for Palmer Paint.” – The Washington Post
Contemporary Poetry Has Devolved Into Banality And Navel-Gazing
Brooke Clark: “Much of contemporary poetry has become something of an assembly line, turning out verbal representations of minor occurrences in the poet’s daily life. Most formulaic are the lyric poets, who often come across like oversensitive souls wandering the world logging every detail of every impression that strikes them … The lyric is, in a sense, the selfie of the poetry world: it provides a perfectly contrived snapshot of the poet at a moment in time.” – The Walrus
National Children’s Museum In DC Finally Has Opening Date
“The National Children’s Museum’s anticipated new home opens Nov. 1 in the Ronald Reagan Building in downtown Washington, signaling a new chapter for a beloved institution that has been closed for more than four years.” – The Washington Post
Online Art Market Still Growing, Though More Slowly
“Online art sales value continued to grow in 2018, albeit at a slower rate than in previous years, totaling $4.64 billion … The online art market grew just 9.8% in 2018, a drop from 12% in 2017, continuing a slowdown in growth that dates back to at least 2015, when it grew at a breakneck rate of 24%.” – Artsy
Can The Shed Save The Soul Of Hudson Yards?
Zachary Small: “The answer is a thumping no. The cultural keystone of the Far West Side development is a haughty hybrid-performance venue in a city already overflowing with them at places like the Whitney Museum of American Art, the New Museum, Performance Space New York, the Museum of Modern Art, and MoMA PS1.” – Hyperallergic
The New Faces Of Classical Music?
Many of the best young players coming out of music conservatories aren’t headed for orchestra jobs (there aren’t many of those). Instead they’re forming ensembles with hip names, and exploring music of our time. – San Francisco Classical Voice
The Music Genre Wars: Does It Matter How You Label It?
In the 1920s, with the creation of the record industry that followed the development of recording technology and the pre-Depression economic boom, genre began to shift from function to demographics of consumption. Genre became, in music industry parlance, format: defined by who was buying and listening to the record. Immediately, this demographic slotting took on explicitly racial dimensions. – Pacific Standard
What Teaching Dance In Prisons Accomplishes
Dance to Be Free offers classes in women’s prisons in 13 states, and it even trains them to be dance teachers after they get out. But it’s not just because dance is nice or because teaching could be a career. Instead, says its founder, “Almost every single woman in prison is suffering from some sort of trauma. I knew that the physical movement would help them heal.” – Dance Magazine
Can The Berkshire Museum’s New Director Repair Some Of The Rifts?
Hm. After lawsuits and countersuits and a lot of bad publicity, the museum deaccessioned and sold 40 pieces of art from its collection, including some Norman Rockwells, to fund a “New Vision.” The new director says, “‘It didn’t scare me, obviously. I’m here. … You’ve got to find a way to pick up on the other side of that and move an institution forward.” – The Berkshire Eagle (Massachusetts)
City Of New York Places Artists-In-Residence At Social Service Agencies To Develop Art Around Social Issues
One, for instance, will be “working on a project that deals with unequal birth outcomes and maternal mortality for pregnant and parenting black people in the Bronx.” Says an assistant commissioner, “Artists can be creative problem-solvers.” Indeed. – The New York Times
A New York Club Founded In The 1970s By The Child Of Sharecroppers Is Still Going Strong
At the Sugar Hill Restaurant & Supper Club, owner Eddie Freeman and his family have seen every kind of music and dancing from disco to house music to whatever the white hipsters now gentrifying Bedford-Stuyvesant are into. “One thing has remained consistent throughout all of the renovations and changes in clientele: ‘The music makes you want to dance.'” – The New York Times
The Latin American Movie-Makers Rejecting Machismo
At Madrid’s Film for Women Festival, three directors agree that quotas aren’t ideal, but they might be necessary right now. “At least until there is some equality. ‘Or better, let’s talk about equity,’ says [Argentinean director] Lorena Muñoz.” – El País (Spain)
As Movie Studios Keep Churning Out Superheroes, Who Is Shazam, Again?
Other than a fun lunkhead, Shazam – who, let’s just go for maximum confusing here, used to be called Captain Marvel – is one of comic books’ most important superheroes, historically speaking: “In his prime, he regularly outsold Superman and Batman. And he was the first comic book superhero to appear on film.” – The New York Times
Scott Robinson’s ‘Tenormore’
Whoa: “An out-and-out plug on Rifftides is rare.” – Doug Ramsey
Dan Robbins’ Painting By Numbers Revolutionized Art
Robbins – who just died at 93 – changed the relationship of the average, at-home painter to abstract art through his homely scenes that, reduced down to color shapes with numbers in them, influenced (and delighted) Andy Warhol. Robbins’ clever idea did more, though – “its secret influence can be seen right through 60s American art.” – The Guardian (UK)
If You Judged By TV Shows, You’d Think Most Bisexual People Were Psychopaths
What’s up with the terrible representation, TV? Of course, “the sexually manipulative bi character is not so unique,” but Villanelle, Frank Underwood, and Annalise Keating’s characters shade more into the diabolical. – BuzzFeed
The Man Who Was Called ‘Mr. Followspot’
Linford Hudson worked at London’s Palladium Theatre for more than 50 years, and he just got a special Olivier award for his skill. “I was born to do the followspot,” he says. ‘A lot of people try and fail. It takes a lot of finesse and feeling. I don’t use sights.” And he has stories. Ask him about the time Bette Midler flashed him, but don’t ask him about the parties Sammy Davis Jr. threw for cast and crew alike. – The Stage (UK)
The TV Show That Revived Musicals Comes To An End
After four seasons, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is ending, but it began at a time when critics declared the TV musical utterly moribund after the decline and fall of Glee (and, earlier, Smash). But more than a little show that could, the wild plot and edgy comedy of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend got around certain issues with musicals and musical theatre by framing all of the music (150 original songs so far) as an imaginary therapeutic device for the main character, allowing her “to escape from her overwhelming emotions and her unfeeling family.” – The Atlantic
Groundbreaking Writer Vonda McIntyre Has Died At 70
The Nebula and Hugo-award winning McIntyre was a good friend of Ursula LeGuin’s, and founder of the Clarion West writers’ workshop in Seattle. She wrote feminist science fiction, including about issues of birth control and consent in the future, and she long advocated for other women in the genre (oh, and she wrote five Star Trek novels, including The Wrath of Khan). She pushed to finish one final novel before her death of pancreatic cancer. – The New York Times
Instagram Seduces Booklovers With The ‘Seven Day Cover Challenge’
Bookstagram – that is, reviewers and other book people on Instagram – are addicted to book covers, and book cover posting challenges. One fashionista/book lover: “I got out all the books I had in closets. … I got the boxes out and found myself surrounded by books and thinking about all the feelings I have around books, that visceral connection to them, and not listening to Rachel Maddow for a change.” – The New York Times
LA County Museum’s $750M Contraction (Yes, You Read Right) Is A Travesty
Joseph Giovannini: “What we are witnessing is the systematic destruction of an institution whose history has been chaotic, whose architecture has been less than perfect, but that was at the same time on the verge of greatness, had a proper director been chosen to lead its rebirth,” said one prominent Los Angeles museum figure, who like virtually everyone I interviewed asked for anonymity. – LA Review of Books
American Theatre Leadership Is Diversifying. Will It Help Diversify Audiences?
Recent turnover in some of America’s most important theatres has helped diversify leadership. And there’s work to diversify boards and staff. But there’s a long way to go to expand the audience. – The Stage
Washington State Bans Sending Used Books To Prisoners
A non-profit had been doing so, in part because the state’s library is under-resourced. But the state says it doesn’t have the ability to check all the books that come in. Now Books to Prisoners has mounted a campaign… – Seattle Times