ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

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What The Post-Plague Years In Medieval Europe Can Teach Us About Post-COVID

As we move toward a new, post-pandemic era, the tensions in the labor market of the 14th century may have something to teach us about turmoil to come. - The New York Times

Viacom and CBS Change Name to Paramount

CBS is a foundational name in broadcasting — the Columbia Broadcasting System launch dates back to 1927 and the early days of commercial radio. The Eye name will endure on the broadcast network and other existing assets. - Variety

What Jonathan Larson Taught Me About My Relationship With Theatre

Every time I encounter his work, it forces me to confront head-on the most futile labor that defines my occupation: finding language to describe art. As an artist, I hope my work will exceed definition, but as a critic, I need to do just that to the best of my ability. - The New York Times

After 80 Years, An Opera Composed By A Holocaust Victim Takes The Stage

"Grete Minde, a late-Romantic opera of 1920s jazz-inspired melodies and large orchestral sounds, was the work of Eugen Engel, a Berlin-based Jewish textile tradesman in his day job, who gave his handwritten sheet music to his daughter for safekeeping when she escaped to the United States in 1941." - The Guardian

Peter Oundjian Named Principal Conductor Of Colorado Symphony

The former music director of the Toronto Symphony and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (and, before that, longtime first violinist of the Tokyo String Quartet) was this orchestra's principal guest conductor from 2003-2006. He and the CSO have some changes planned. - Colorado Public Radio

What Does The Data Tell Us About Where Arts Attendance Will Be By This June?

The researchers at SMU Data Arts have updated their numbers, incorporating information about ticket sales, prices, COVID case rates, vaccination rates, etc.; they have new projections based on two scenarios. The key factor: higher vaccination rates aren't making the same difference in attendance they had earlier. - SMU Data Arts

The Theatre Wisdom Of Stephen Sondheim

I learned all of these compositional principles from Babbitt. What it amounts to is, music exists in time, so how do you make it cohere? And that’s just as true with a three-minute song as it is with an hour-and-a-half opera, you know? - The New Yorker

Why Is Canada’s CBC Moving Away From Classical Music?

The orchestras and concerts have disappeared and so has most of the critical commentary associated with them. To be blunt about it, from a musical point of view, CBC English-language radio has dumbed down. - Toronto Star

The Spotify Backlash Offers A Rare Glimpse Into The Struggles Of Working Musicians

When the Joe Rogan controversy broke with Neil Young removing his music from Spotify, other musicians decided that enough was enough: They didn't want Spotify's incredibly meager paychecks anyway. But most musicians, unlike Young, don't own and can't remove their own music. - Washington Post

The End Of Mass Market Products

Mobility, consumer expectations, and technology are evolving exponentially, and there is huge appetite for low-friction user experiences, on-demand delivery, and personalized manufacturing. These are the technologies that are completely reshaping this century’s consumer behavior. - Shelly Palmer

“What If John Lennon Was A World-Class Intellectual With An Insatiable Curiosity For Third World Literature?”

A long, loving profile of Caetano Veloso, who has transformed Brazilian music more than once, was a famous exile during the dictatorship, and has become a leading voice of opposition to Jair Bolsonaro. - The New Yorker

Remember Ski Ballet?

"On social media, it's easy to get lost in videos of this bygone athletic art. Clips from its Olympic appearances as a demonstration sport — at Calgary in 1988 and Albertville in 1992 — surface frequently on YouTube and TikTok, to the fascination of dance and sports enthusiasts." - The New York Times

Unesco: A Worldwide Cultural Crisis Because Of The Pandemic – 10 Million Culture Jobs Lost

“What was already a precarious situation for many artists has become unsustainable, threatening creative diversity.” - The Guardian

Why Joe Rogan Matters

He channels his audience into extended conversations with famously smart people who are willing to give them hours of attention. Through him, they feel like the world is a little bit less incomprehensible and their lives are a little bit less uncontrollable. - Post Alley

What Makes The Architecture Of LA’s New Stadium (and Home Of This Week’s Superbowl) So Interesting

“Thinking about the Getty Villa, the Getty , Dodger Stadium, the cliffs in Malibu or Laguna,” shaped the way the team thought about SoFi. - Los Angeles Times

Composer George Crumb, 92

While rejecting the sometimes arid 12-tone technique of Modernists, Mr. Crumb beguiled audiences with his own musical language, composing colorful and concise works that range in mood from peaceful to nightmarish. - The New York Times

Jason Epstein’s Influence On American Publishing Was Massive, And Continued For Decades

Epstein was the editor of Philip Roth, Jane Jacobs, and W.H. Auden; one of the founders of The New York Review of Books; and the masterful pusher of the trade paperback. "His major publishing achievements owed much to an uncommon mix of literary and marketing instincts." - The New York Times

Is This Little Bejeweled Sphinx Really “The Talisman Of Napoleon” (And Worth $250 Million)?

Ben Davis: "Allow me to introduce you to the evidence in favor of the Talisman's authenticity and importance, which has impressed noted Napoleonic jewelry experts such as Pat Boone, the Eisenhower-era hit-maker and conservative Christian icon." - Artnet

Does Duke Ellington Need A Revival?

Ellington’s legacy — as large and as meaningful as that of any artist in American history — remains enigmatic. We honor him, put him on stamps, name streets and buildings after him and teach him. But we still don’t know what to do with Ellington beyond keeping his best-known tunes in rotation. - Los Angeles Times

Canada Debates New Canadian Content Law For Streamers

The Online Streaming Act, introduced Wednesday, would force web firms to offer a set amount of Canadian content and invest heavily in Canada’s cultural industries, including film, television and music. - Toronto Star
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