Isaac Iskra, a person with high-functioning autism, writes about his difficult adjustment to his college’s dance department (he had a panic attack the first day), his subsequent breakthroughs, and how serious study of dance helped him with all areas of communications. – Dance Magazine
Tag: 03.05.19
Joseph Flummerfelt, Greatest American Choral Conductor Of His Generation, Dead At 82
“Mr. Flummerfelt played an outsize, if not always highly visible, role in American classical music. He prepared choruses for hundreds of concerts by the New York Philharmonic and a host of other famous orchestras and maestros, and he trained generations of singers and conductors at Westminster Choir College in Princeton N.J.” – The New York Times
Steppenwolf Begins Construction Of $54 Million Theatre And Education Center
“The long-in-gestation building, which has been designed by the Chicago architectural firm of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill and the British theater design company known as Charcoalblue, is expected to open in the summer of 2021.” It will include, as an addition to its three existing performance spaces, a 400-seat theatre-in-the-round as well as education facilities. – Chicago Tribune
Arata Isozaki Wins 2019 Pritzker Prize
“The announcement on Tuesday of architecture’s highest award was seen by many as a long overdue honor for this 87-year-old architect, urban designer and theorist … Mr. Isozaki’s more than 100 buildings include the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona and the Qatar National Convention Center in Doha.” – The New York Times
MacArthur Foundation Appoints New President
“John Palfrey, an educator, author and scholar with a focus on digital technology … [who is] currently Head of School at the old-line Massachusetts prep school Phillips Academy Andover, … will take the reins in September from President Julia Stasch.” – Chicago Tribune
Gender-Switched ‘Company’ And ‘Come From Away’ Lead Olivier Award Noms
Come From Away, a Broadway transfer about the Newfoundlanders who welcomed grounded airlines on 9/11, and director Marianne Elliott’s revival of the Sondheim musical Company with the commitment-shy lead Bobby changed to Bobbie, each received nine nods. Leading the play category with eight nods is The Inheritance, a seven-hour epic about a group of gay men in New York. Among the many notable acting nominees is Ian McKellen, who could receive a record sixth Olivier for his King Lear. – The Guardian
Wroth Over Rothko: SFMOMA’s Distasteful Disposal
What museum director would choose to sell from his institution “an important work completed at the apex of Rothko’s artistic powers, … one of just 19 paintings completed by the artist in 1960” — a year that marked “a critical juncture in the iconic Abstract Expressionist’s career”? – Lee Rosenbaum
Michael Tilson Thomas And The Vienna Philharmonic — Weird Mismatch Or Genius Combo?
Orchestral music’s Mr. Maverick and the very avatar of Austro-German symphonic tradition are touring together, playing Mahler (on which they each have longstanding opinions and practices) and Charles Ives (which MTT says the Viennese players are really picking up). David Patrick Stearns talks with the conductor about how he and the Philharmoniker are getting on. – WQXR (New York City)
It’s Official: There Will Be Two Nobel Prizes In Literature Given This Year
The Swedish Academy has confirmed that a second prize will be awarded this fall to make up for the postponement caused by last year’s messy scandal. (This had been announced at the time, but some doubt had subsequently arisen.) – The Guardian
Is The Strand Bookstore A City Landmark?
Since last summer, Wyden has been locked in a battle with local officials who want to name the Strand’s eleven-story building, which Wyden’s family owns, a city landmark. They argue that, in addition to its literary significance, the 1902 building—designed by William H. Birkmire, a pioneer of early steel-frame high-rises—represents “a particularly robust expression of the Renaissance Revival style.” Wyden disagrees. “It’s not the Taj Mahal,” she said. “It’s a warehouse.” – The New Yorker