“Inside a cavernous steel hut in the middle of Glasgow’s Springburn Park, the sweeping arc of keyboards, lids and carved panels has been taking shape … Using mainly upright instruments, with a baby grand artfully sliced in half to make a corner balcony, about 40 pianos have been expertly disarticulated to create the tiered seating.” – The Guardian
Tag: 07.26.20
Stop Blind Auditions For Orchestras? No — Auditions Should Become Even More Blind
Jeremy Reynolds, responding to New York Times chief critic Anthony Tommasini’s argument that U.S. orchestras will never become more racially balanced without affirmative action, points out that “blind auditions aren’t really blind.” What’s more, as Pittsburgh Symphony bassist Jeffrey Grubbs (who is Black) tells Reynolds, the real problem is the makeup of the student body at music schools: “I don’t know that diversity hiring would change things much, as my impression is the highest caliber Black musicians out there are getting jobs. There just aren’t very many of them.” – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The World’s Youngest Poet?
His work will appear next summer in his first published collection. Nadim does not write down his poems though. He dictates them. And that’s because Nadim doesn’t really read and write yet. After all, he’s only 4 years old. – NPR
The Unprecedented Bravery Of Oliva De Havilland
The actor, who died yesterday, went up against an entrenched system, and won. Her successful 1943 lawsuit against Warner Bros. “destroyed the indentured servitude that was the studio system, and helped pave the way for the modern age of movie stars as independent mini-moguls, with control of their own artistic and financial fortunes.” – The Atlantic
As Long As Zoom Lives, We’ll Want To Know What’s On Other People’s Bookshelves
Especially, it seems, the bookshelves of celebrities. Take Regina King: “Tupac Shakur Legacy, by Jamal Joseph: Curated by a family friend, this “interactive biography” of the rapper includes photos of Shakur’s home life and reproductions of handwritten lyrics.” – The New York Times
Audra McDonald: Theatre Can’t Miss This Moment
The Broadway star – the only performer to win six Tonys, in all four available categories – says it’s her job to create more space for other African American actors, and call for institutional change as well. “This feels like real change now. There are going to be too many people watching and too many people demanding that things look different. … Theatre will be left in the dust, I think, if we don’t make substantive changes.” – The New Yorker
A Volunteer Church Assistant At The Nantes Cathedral Has Admitted To Setting Last Week’s Fire
The volunteer’s lawyer: “He bitterly regrets his actions … My client is consumed with remorse,” after admitting he set three small fires that destroyed the organ and stained glass dating back to the 16th century.. – The Guardian (AFP)
Glenda Jackson On Life, Quarantine, Brexit, The Arts, And Everything
What does she think of how the British government is doing? What’s she doing during the pandemic? How will the arts recover? And so much more (including the fact that yes, of course she could play Queen Elizabeth II). – The Observer (UK)
Olivia De Havilland, Oscar Winner And Golden Age Film Star, Has Died At 104
De Havilland died at her home in Paris. “The striking brunette won best actress Oscars for The Heiress and To Each His Own in the late 1940s, and was Oscar-nominated for Gone With the Wind, The Snake Pit and Hold Back the Dawn.”- Variety