“As it was a court instrument, the bass instrument was made for a chamber setting, with softer strings and gentler tones.”
Tag: 07.17.15
‘Spring Awakening’ Revival Requires Actors Who Can Sign, Not Sing
“David J. Kurs, Deaf West’s artistic director, said gestural eloquence — clear, articulate signing — was one of the main qualities the creative team was looking for. So was rhythmic ability. Like hearing people, he said, only some deaf people can follow a beat.”
And The ‘Cats On The Internet’ Phenomenon Gets Another Museum Show
“The show … looks at why we love to watch cats—likely, it has to do with their contradictions: they are independent and yet often confined, indifferent yet, at times, quite willful.”
Leonardo’s Odd Piano Is Heard 500 Years Later
The flat bed of its interior is lined with golden spruce. Sixty-one gleaming steel strings run across it, similar to the inside of a baby grand.
Each is connected to the keyboard, complete with smaller black keys for sharp and flat notes. But unlike a piano, it has no hammered dulcimers. Instead, there are four spinning wheels wrapped in horse-tail hair, like violin bows.
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Why The Smithsonian Is Wrong Not To Take Down Its Bill Cosby SHow
“This isn’t about borrowing art from an unsavory rich guy; it’s about hosting an exhibition that celebrates the family life and character — “the personal importance of family to the collectors cannot be overstated,” reads one exhibition text — of a married man who by his own admission acquired Quaaludes to give to women he wanted to have sex with.”
New Initiative To Bring Diversity To Orchestras
“A new initiative will establish a groundbreaking fellowship program aimed at providing opportunities for under-served musicians at the graduate level. The intent is to help prepare them for the exceedingly competitive world of professional orchestras. The pilot program will start in the fall of 2016. It is the first program of its kind and could become a model for classical music organizations around the country.”
Hermitage Museum to Open a Contemporary Outpost in Moscow
“The 140,000-square-foot, 15-story Hermitage satellite, with a shrink-wrapped digital skin enclosing a porous, terraced interior, will be part of a mixed-use district developed on the grounds of the former ZiL auto plant, which manufactured limousines for Soviet leaders.”