“For classical-music lovers, the movie is a treat, albeit a mixed one. It’s a source of exalted moments and a springboard for big ideas — but some of those moments and ideas evoke fractures in Bernstein’s world view and Hawke’s filmmaking.”
Tag: 03.14.15
Where Are The Great New Musicals With Great Music?
Rupert Christiansen: “The glut of hugely successful shows – Mamma Mia!, Let It Be, Thriller, Jersey Boys, The Commitments – which effectively trade on nostalgia is rather depressing. Even more significant is the undeniable truth that the scores of the more recent crop of successful ‘original’ musicals – The Lion King, Billy Elliot, The Book of Mormon, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, Wicked – are their weakest element. Has one of them yielded a single song which has passed into the general consciousness?” (Maybe “Hakuna Matata”?)
The African War Orphan Who’s Not Just A Skilled Ballerina: In Holland, She’s A Genuine Celebrity
Michaela DePrince, adopted from a Sierra Leone orphanage at age 4, is now, at 20, a member of the Dutch National Ballet. Since the publication last year of her memoir and a subsequent TEDx talk in Amsterdam, she has become a box office draw for the company and has been fending off requests for everything from media interviews to modeling gigs to stints as spokeswoman for international charitable organizations.
An Artist Provided Some Of The First Free Public Wi-Fi In Cuba
“Nine out of 10 Cubans lack access to a mobile phone, and Internet connections are slow and subject to government censorship. State-run Internet cafes in the country charge $4.50 an hour for online access, a huge sum where the average monthly salary is about $20. Broadband Internet connections in Cuban homes are virtually unheard of.”
Science, And Even Science Fiction, Can Make Us Better People [PODCAST]
“Before the rise of science, says Shermer, many people participated in grotesque evils like witch burning simply because they lacked a reliable method for identifying false beliefs.”
OK, This Is Just Odd: The Boston Globe Pens An Open Letter To The Thieves Who Stole Art From The Gardner Museum In 1990
“You can bask in a certain solidarity with the rest of humanity, for starters. And then, better still, you can wise up. You can recognize your mistakes. You can shake your head and rub your eyes in disbelief that you were ever so dumb as to break into a museum, or to receive a stolen Vermeer, and you can marvel at the fact that back then you really didn’t know what the hell you were doing.”
How Nightclub Performers Led To More Asian Americans In Showbiz
“Charlie Low opened Forbidden City in 1938, and from exotic dancers to comedians to acrobats, he made sure the club had it all. It was even featured in major media outlets, including Life magazine. But that didn’t shield performers from the mostly white audiences’ racial taunts.”
The ‘Blurred Lines’ Verdict Could Be A Disaster For Symphonic Music As Well As Pop
“There was no issue of ownership. Pre-existing material was nothing more than building blocks, just as an A major scale might be. Music was born as an art of absorption. When Bach made concertos out of pieces by Vivaldi, he bettered Vivaldi, and the pieces became Bach.”
The Seoul Philharmonic, In Turmoil And Under A Police Investigation, Cancels U.S. Tour
Accusations of sexual harassment, misappropriation of funds and more led to the this point: “The orchestra issued a statement Friday saying it was forced to cancel the tour because Seoul’s municipal government, a leading source of its funding, had withdrawn financial backing for the trip.”
Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley Will Survive
The dance troupe announced it had raised more than the $550,000 it needed in order to go on. “With many in the arts community still mourning the loss of San Jose Rep, the fact that the ballet was able to stay alive is the source of much relief throughout the South Bay.”