In concert with news of Ellen Salpeter’s departure, which will occur in June, the museum announced a change in its leadership structure through which deputy director and chief curator Alex Gartenfeld will now work as artistic director and associate director Tommy Ralph Pace will now be deputy director. Citing their shared status as members of ICA’s founding leadership team, the museum’s announcement said, “Gartenfeld has spearheaded the museum’s curatorial voice in particular and Pace has been responsible for special initiatives, daily operations, and public affairs.”
Tag: 04.12.18
In Defense Of The Concert Hall, Still Relevant In The 21st Century
“Yes, the physical manifestations of music worship, structures so Romantic that they wouldn’t be foreign to Richard Wagner. Though some argue that the etiquette for concert halls is outdated, elitist, and partly responsible for classical music’s struggle to find new audiences, concert halls actually provide unique experiences that have become all too rare.”
San Francisco Ballet Unveils Festival Of 12 World Premieres
“The aptly named Unbound Festival runs at the War Memorial Opera House Friday April 20- May 6. The range of the choreographers is astounding to find all in one place, from Alonzo King, artistic director of LINES Ballet for 35 years, to Justin Peck and Myles Thatcher, who are still dancing in the New York City Ballet and S.F. Ballet, respectively; and from Christopher Wheeldon, who is creating his 10th work for S.F. Ballet, to David Dawson, Cathy Marston, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Dwight Rhoden and King, who are all premiering their first pieces for the company (though they have all created a prolific amount of work for other companies around the world).”
A Skeptic Tries Out A Session Of Ecstatic Dance
“On an otherwise unremarkable Tuesday evening, I found myself facing a stranger, swinging my arms back and forth, and hooting like an owl. … Ecstatic dances are essentially free-form dance parties, and the directions for the one I attended … were pretty simple: no shoes, no drugs or alcohol, no phones or cameras, and no talking on the dance floor. The only directive: Allow your body to move exactly how it wants to move.”
John Oliver, Longtime Director Of Tanglewood Festival Chorus, Dead At 78
He founded the choir, the Boston Symphony’s resident ensemble, at the BSO’s summer home in 1970 and directed it until he retired in 2015. In addition, “he led his own John Oliver Chorale and taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for 32 years. He also was a faculty member and choral director at Boston University.”
FBI Recovers Stolen Chagall Painting Missing For 30 Years
“The painting, titled Othello and Desdemona, belonged to retired jeweler and art collector Ernest ‘Pick’ Heller and his wife Rose ‘Red’ Heller, and was stolen from their New York apartment back in 1988, along with numerous other paintings, sculptures, and art objects including jewelry, carpets, silverware, and Steuben china.”
Composer Jennifer Higdon Wins $100K Nemmers Prize
“Jennifer Higdon has been awarded the $100,000 Michael Ludwig Nemmers Prize in Music Composition for 2018, given to contemporary classical composers of exceptional achievement ‘who have significantly influenced the field of composition’ … by the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University.” The award, which has previously gone to (among others) Steve Reich, Kaija Saariaho, and both John Adamses, also includes a two-year residency at the Bienen School and a performance by the Chicago Symphony.
Top Posts From AJBlogs 04.12.18
Fear and loathing in the Renaissance church: Stile Antico sings Victoria’s Holy Week music
Sacred music began tumbling from heaven to earth in the late 16th century, when the words it was sung to became something more than liturgical reference points. It took on more qualities of human speech … read more
AJBlog: Condemned to Music Published 2018-04-12
What Obstacles Will Max Hollein Need to Surmount as Metropolitan Museum’s New Director?
Max Hollein will have two strikes against him — one insignificant, one potentially serious — when he walks in the door this summer as the Metropolitan Museum’s new director. The first liability is irremediable, unless he’s planning a sex-change: … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2018-04-12
Recent Listening In Brief (short…capsulesque…itty-bitty…not long)
Danny Green Trio Plus Strings, One Day It Will (OA2)
Jeremy Pelt, Noir en Rouge Live In Paris (High Note)
Kairos Sextet, Transition (Dafnison Music)
The Three Sounds, Groovin’ Hard, Live At The Penthouse 1964-1968 (Resonance) … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2018-04-12
Netflix Pulls Out Of Cannes
Cannes earlier banned any films without theatrical distribution in France from its Palme d’Or competition. That essentially rules out Netflix movies, which are released either day-and-date — on Netflix and in some theatres — or simply go straight to Netflix. In France, it’s a law that films can’t be released on home entertainment platforms until 36 months after their theatrical release.
Reining In The Surveillance Capitalists
These days, virtually every aspect of day-to-day life is fed into corporate databases and used to predict and influence all kinds of behavior. Surveillance corporations don’t just respond to consumer wants; they also shape and drive those wants toward their own ends.