Another Cheap Shot at Wagner
Was Richard Wagner a “monster”? No so far as I can tell. Here’s my book review of Simon Callow’s opportunistic “Being Wagner” in this weekend’s “Wall Street Journal”: In 1866, a Munich newspaper reported that … read more
AJBlog: Unanswered QuestionPublished 2018-02-03
Recent Listening In Brief: James Hall
As I may have mentioned no more than a hundred times, it is impossible to keep up with the flow of new albums that keep coming even as we continue to hear … read more
AJBlog: RiffTidesPublished 2018-02-03
James P. Johnson And “Carolina Shout”
Today, February 2, is the birthday of James P. Johnson (1894-1955), who developed stride piano as an art form within an art form. In his time, piano cutting contests were proving grounds—most … read more
AJBlog: RiffTidesPublished 2018-02-02
Almanac: Anthony Powell on vanity
“Self-love seems so often unrequited.” Anthony Powell, The Acceptance World… read more
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2018-02-02
They can do better
“Welcome,” says the Philadelphia Orchestra, “to a season of incomparable reach and breadth.” That’s in a press release they emailed, announcing what they’re doing next season. So, really…incomparable? So good that it can’t be compared … read more
AJBlog: SandowPublished 2018-02-01
Artist Dora De Larios, RIP
UNDERSUNG but widely respected, the sculptor Dora De Larios has been working in around Los Angeles for six decades now. I was pleased to be asked to write about her for Los Angeles magazine, … read more
AJBlog: CultureCrashPublished 2018-02-01