The best of what the university has to offer lies less in its specific power to advance knowledge or solve problems in any of its many fields than in its more general, more crucial ability to be a model and a support for generous thinking as a way of being in and with the world.” We have turned inward exactly when we needed to turn outward. – The Baffler
Tag: 06.17.19
How The Baltimore Symphony Got Into Dire Straits
The Baltimore Sun obtained financial documents showing the orchestra’s fiscal health is in calamitous condition. Even factoring in additional state funding, the orchestra is projected to barely make payroll in July and August, according to cash forecasts for a 52-week season. The orchestra would likely end its fiscal year with an approximately $1.5 million deficit. – Baltimore Sun
The Monastery Where Spanish Was Born
According to García Turza, if the Suso monks were the first to record the sounds of the Ibero-Romance language on the page, they are also responsible for the creation of the Spanish alphabet. – BBC
Robert Therrien, Whimsical Sculptor, Dead At 71
“[He] was best known for his oversized sculptures of chairs and tables that he produced at larger-than-life, room-filling scale. In doing so, everyday pieces of furniture seem unreal, and viewers become like children, crawling beneath kitchen tables. They have become staples at museums across the world.” – ARTnews
Colossal Art: Stockhausen’s Astonishing Masterpiece
Alex Ross: “Aus licht” turned out to be the kind of inexplicable marvel that one waits half a lifetime to see. It induced shivers not just in its awesome moments—trumpeters intoning a chorale from balconies; brass players engaging in military-style skirmishes in the aisles; angel voices singing an extraterrestrial liturgy—but also in its unexpectedly intimate passages, its glimpses of the composer’s shattered childhood. “Aus licht” was one of the great theatrical events of the new century.” The New Yorker
When Zeffirelli Went Wrong At The Opera
He was all about the lavish set. At their best, his productions induced gasps. But ultimately, these stagings were not just singer- and conductor-proof. They were drama-proof, almost like a parody of opera. – The New York Times
The Eka Trio: ‘O’
The young Scandinavians of the Eka Trio combine the relaxed sensuosity of trends in Nordic music with their underlying commitment to the adventurousness that goes to the heart of jazz. – Doug Ramsey
Renee Fleming’s Theatre Breakout
The past two years have been busy in the theatre, with non-operatic roles, some time in Carousel, and currently in The Light in the Piazza. – The Guardian
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Goes To Broadway To See “What The Constitution Means To Me”
Ginsburg got a standing ovation when her famous line about women on the Supreme Court was said by a cast member: “When will there be enough women on the court? My answer is, when there are nine.” – CNN
What Goes On Backstage At The World’s Oldest Theatre Collective
“Theatre collective” may seem a surprising way to describe the Comédie-Française (est. 1680), but it’s accurate: the company is owned and controlled by its actors and other members. Reporter Laura Cappelle pays a visit to see how it all works. – The Guardian