Three paintings from the collection of the Louvre, and another 200 canvases belonging to a local maritime museum, went up in flames last Tuesday, when severe lightning caused a fire on the small island of Tatihou on the French side of the English Channel.
Tag: 07.24.17
They’re Still Making Violins In Stradivari’s Hometown
“In under three minutes, you’ll meet three violin makers who love what they do and are proud to carry on their city’s rich tradition. As you could probably imagine, building instruments of this quality takes time; one luthier reveals she only make a handful in a given year.” (video)
Snopes, The Internet’s Favorite Myth-Debunker, Says It’s Being ‘Held Hostage’
“So, what’s going on? Well, it probably won’t surprise you that there’s a startup tech company and a lawsuit involved. There are claims and counterclaims. But if you want to know the gory details that are available in the court filings, here we go.”
Berkshire Museum To Sell 40 Works To Fund $60M ‘Reinvention Plan’
“In addition to two Norman Rockwell paintings, Shuffleton’s Barber Shop and Shaftsbury Blacksmith Shop, which were previously disclosed, the list includes two [mobile] sculptures by Calder, [and] paintings by [Frederic] Church [and Albert Bierstadt] of the Hudson River School … The [reinvention] plan includes adding $40 million to [the museum’s] endowment, currently about $8.6 million, and a $20 million renovation of its South Street building.”
The Ballerina Who Can ‘Suspend Time Altogether’ – Alastair Macaulay On NY City Ballet’s Tiler Peck
“Most of us, most of our days, are subject to time. We follow calendars and clocks like slaves. Great dancers, however, seem to govern time, to find and possess it without haste and even, for moments, to suspend it altogether. The music’s pulse runs on apace; but they pack every measure with important-seeming activity, now and then playing with the beat, here a hairbreadth behind and there a bit ahead of the music, sometimes pausing miraculously amid the pressing momentum of the dance.”
Opera Tampa’s Artistic Director Suddenly Resigns
“[Daniel] Lipton, 76, was the company’s second artistic director, succeeding 17-year director Anton Coppola in 2012. He had completed five years of a six-year employment agreement … His resignation is effective immediately.”
The ‘Gay Jewish Kangaroo’ Who’s Shaking Up German Opera
Barrie Kosky, for the past five seasons artistic director at the Komische Oper, “has had a revitalizing effect on the company, one of three full-time opera companies in Berlin, thanks to his riotous productions and his eclectic repertoire choices.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 07.24.17
Berkshire Museum Disposables: Bierstadts, Bouguereaus, Calders, Church, Inness, “George Washington”
The hit list is out. The Berkshire Museum, Pittsfield, MA, today identified (see the above link) all 40 works that it intends to sell through Sotheby’s to bankroll its $60-million reinvention plan. … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2017-07-24
Digging to France
When I tell a U.S. colleague about several concerts I’m playing in France he says: “You’re Jerry Lewis!” The French, it’s true, have a long tradition of appreciating U.S culture, and yes, that silly American … read more
AJBlog: PianoMorphosis Published 2017-07-24
Into the Wilderness
At the bottom of the hill where I live is what used to be called a Dead End. Now, I believe, developers address them more euphemistically – No Outlet, for example. The pavement doesn’t stop … read more
AJBlog: Infinite Curves Published 2017-07-24
Recent Listening In Brief
It is impossible to review even a smattering of the dozens of albums that land in the Rifftides mailbox. With the Sweden trip looming, time allows for mentions of a few relatively … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2017-07-24
What We Learned About Fandom After Studying It For A Year
After a year of comprehensive and systematic research, we can safely say fandom is a relationship — a love relationship between the self and an object of fandom, whether that object is a show, movie, book, sport, team, league, band, genre, product, brand, person, activity, or idea. We actually refer to fandom as “love,” differentiating it from “liking something” by the loyalty, devotion, depth of interest, willingness to invest, and desire for closeness that it engenders. While at face value fandom may look unidirectional, reciprocity is underway nonetheless.
The “Beautiful Soul” Idea That Underpins Our Ideas Of Self-Improvement
“At the core of the beautiful soul is the idea that the individual possesses an innate cognitive potential. Subject to the right environmental and educational conditions, this latent potential can be developed to reach a more perfect state of intellect, morality, character and conduct. The beautiful soul is an aesthetic concept focused on developing human capacities and advancing knowledge and culture. It entails the pursuit of personal cultivation to create a convergence of the individual aesthetic impulse with a collective ethical ideal.”