05.17.18 – Page 2 – ArtsJournal Wayback

Small Study: Musicians’ Brains May Be More Efficient

That all-important ability is called “working memory,” and it takes considerable mental effort. That is, unless you play a musical instrument, or speak a second language. New research suggests that, over time, engaging in those challenging activities effectively rewires the brain, allowing it to complete complex assignments with greater ease. A 2017 meta-study found musicians have stronger working-memory skills; this research provides a likely reason why.

Researchers: Drugs Can Counter Effects Of Social Isolation

The researchers found that chronic isolation leads to an increase in Tac2 gene expression and the production of NkB throughout the brain. However, administration of a drug that chemically blocks NkB-specific receptors enabled the stressed mice to behave normally, eliminating the negative effects of social isolation. Conversely, artificially increasing Tac2 levels and activating the corresponding neurons in normal, unstressed animals led them to behave like the stressed, isolated animals.

Music Is Slipping The Confines Of Genres

It’s dispiriting to see how ‘what’s on’ listings pigeon-hole music by genre – classical, jazz, pop, folk, world – and then realise that your music doesn’t fit comfortably into any of these categories. Our large-scale shows contain elements of opera, musical, lyric theatre, but none of these accurately characterises their form.

A Career Making And Performing Dance For The Visually Impaired

“Showcasing dance, without the audience’s necessarily seeing it, is [blind performer and choreographer Mana] Hashimoto’s life’s work. Her performances and workshops bring dance, a medium with a strong visual component, to those without sight while also providing a new experience for a sighted audience.”

Why We Review One Classical Concert And Not Another: Anne Midgette

Surprised (happily) by a reader outcry that The Washington Post didn’t cover Washington National Opera’s performances of The Barber of Seville last month, Anne Midgette explains the limits she and the paper have on how much can be covered, how she decides which events among those on offer will get reviewed, and the unusual run of bad luck that affected critics that particular weekend.

How Steve Wynn’s Picasso Got Damaged (It Wasn’t His Elbow This Time)

A dozen years ago, the casino mogul punctured the famous Picasso in his collection, Le Rêve, with a wayward elbow. (His peripheral vision is impaired.) So when word got out this week that another of his Picassos, Le Marin, was pulled from its scheduled auction because it had been damaged, folks wondered if poor Mr. Wynn was humming “Oops! I Did It Again.” But it seems he’s not the culprit this time, as reporter Katya Kazakina learned from a source.

Director Of Milwaukee’s Florentine Opera Resigned Due To ‘Sexual Misconduct’

Last week, general director William Florescu resigned unexpectedly, just a few days before a Magic Flute production he was directing opened. (Two years ago, he had renewed his contract through 2023-24.) Now the company’s board has revealed publicly that Florescu’s departure was because of “violation of the Florentine Opera’s policies and prohibitions concerning sexual misconduct.”

Lucian Pintilie, Romanian Director Who Defied Communists And Inspired Country’s Cinematic ‘New Wave’, Dead At 84

“Pintilie directed plays at the prestigious Bulandra Theater in Bucharest in the ’60s and early 70s. However, his work was censored by the communists and one film was personally banned by Communist leader Nicolae Ceaușescu. … U.S. theatre director Andrei Serban, who was born in Romania, told Pintilie last year: ‘You were the first person to give me the courage right from the start, that with courage and theatre you can do anything.'”

Director Of South Africa’s New Contemporary Art Museum Resigns Following ‘Inquiry Into Professional Conduct’

The trustees of the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, which opened in Cape Town last September, suspended executive director and chief curator Mark Coetzee had just been suspended pending an investigation after he “failed to respond to questions about the institutional practices at Zeitz MOCAA.” There had been reports of concerns about “an alliance between Scheryn Art Collection, a fund that works with collectors to purchase works, and the museum and Coetzee.”

Tag: 05.17.18