Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Still Stalled, as Monitoring Report is Issued on Saadiyat Island Labor Conditions
PricewaterhouseCoopers’ 4th annual monitoring report on labor conditions on Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island, recently released by the Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) of the United Arab Emirates’ capital, gives a mixed picture of progress and continued concerns. … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2016-02-04
Frank Collett Observed
Rifftides reader Mike Harris responded to last week’s post about the passing of pianist Frank Collett and the outpouring of comments about him. Testifying to what all those folks have been saying, … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2016-02-04
So you want to see a show?
Here’s my list of recommended Broadway, off-Broadway, and out-of-town shows, updated weekly. In all cases, I gave these shows favorable reviews (if sometimes qualifiedly so) inThe Wall Street Journal when they opened. … read more
AJBlog: About Last Night Published 2016-02-04
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Tag: 02.04.16
When You’ve Got It, You’ve Got It – Birmingham Orchestra’s Shrewd Judge Of Conducting Talent
“Over the past four decades, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra has established a reputation for selecting the right conductors to become its music directors at exactly the right moment in their careers, a record that any orchestra in the world would envy.”
Judge’s Ruling Endangers $400 Million Lucas Museum For Chicago
Judge John Darrah’s ruling Thursday means construction will at least be delayed and the legal proceedings could end up killing the project in Chicago.
Artificial Intelligence Is Revolutionizing How Google Searches. Tomorrow The World!
“The truth is that even the experts don’t completely understand how neural nets work. But they do work. If you feed enough photos of a platypus into a neural net, it can learn to identify a platypus. If you show it enough computer malware code, it can learn to recognize a virus. If you give it enough raw language—words or phrases that people might type into a search engine—it can learn to understand search queries and help respond to them. In some cases, it can handle queries better than algorithmic rules hand-coded by human engineers. Artificial intelligence is the future of Google Search, and if it’s the future of Google Search, it’s the future of so much more.”
How To Measure A TV “Hit”? Right Now, It’s Anybody’s Guess
“Ah, passion – the elusive element of TV that networks are still trying to turn into a profit. Research departments try: They can look at tweets, or Facebook posts, or measure exactly how many minutes someone watches a program.” But still…
Brooklyn Academy’s New President Talks About The Brooklyn Buzz
“There are 60 cultural organizations now in the Brooklyn Cultural District, and there’s been a 149% increase in the number of Brooklyn cultural nonprofits since 2005. Local cultural institutions attracted $300 million in economic activity and 4.5 million visitors in 2013. So we are big business.”
Benjamin Millepied Tells Why He’s Leaving Paris Opera Ballet
“‘I want to regain my freedom and I want to create,’ he said. ‘I’ve been honored to be given the opportunity to work at the Opera and with the dancers, but this job, as it exists today, is not something I want.’ Mr. Millepied declined to speak about other factors that might have contributed to his decision, but his discontent with various aspects of his role has been well documented over the past few months.”
L.A. Phil’s Young Wonder-Woman Conductor Named Music Director Of City Of Birmingham Symphony
She’s 29-year-old Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla (just call her Mirga) from Lithuania, and she begins her term this September. Her predecessors at the CBSO are Andris Nelsons, Sakari Oramo, and Simon Rattle – and look what they’ve gone on to.