“Think the harpsichord is an inherently limited instrument, too quiet, too inexpressive, too inferior to a modern piano? That, [Mahan Esfahani] argues, implies asking the wrong question to begin with. Think a harpsichordist must naturally align with an early-music movement that awakened so much interest in his instrument? Wrong. … Think that the harpsichord is exclusively an instrument for the music of centuries past? Wrong.”
Tag: 08.09.16
In Weirdest Art Case Of The Year, Painter Says He Didn’t Paint This Work, But Owner Insists He Did And Sues Him For Lying About It
“The artist Peter Doig took the stand here Monday in an odd federal court case in which the owner of a landscape painting is accusing Mr. Doig of falsely denying that he created the work while a young man in Canada.”
Alberta Ballet, Working Its Way Out Of Deficit, Asks Each Supporter In The Province For $50
“Alberta Ballet will be asking supporters across the province to each donate $50 to the organization over the next seven months to help weather financial hardships the company has suffered over the last few years. It’s part of a $1-million fundraising campaign launched on its 50th anniversary to help put the organization, the second-largest ballet company in Canada, on steadier ground financially after revenue fell drastically in its 2013-2014 season.”
St. Paul Chamber Orchestra Makes All Regular Concerts Free For Students
“The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, already a national leader in offering affordable concerts, said Tuesday it is offering free tickets to school and college students to unlimited concerts during the 2016-17 season. Students can go online now and order tickets a week before single tickets go on sale to the general public.”
Soprano Patrice Munsel, 91, Star Of Opera And Television
At age 17, she became the youngest singer ever to debut at the Met, where she was known for soubrette and coloratura roles and sang 225 performances over 15 years. She sang popular standards on her own radio show in the 1940s, became a beloved leading lady on Broadway, and even had her own variety series, The Patrice Munsel Show, on ABC in 1957 and ’58.
Opera Director Kay Walker Castaldo Dead At 67
“[She] directed productions for Opera Company of Philadelphia, Cincinnati Opera, Teatro Colón, and New York City Opera. Since 2012, she had been associate professor at the School of Music, Theatre and Dance at the University of Michigan.” Says former Opera Company of Philadelphia chief Robert Driver, “She is probably the only director who never raised her voice.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 08.09.16
Fifth Anniversary Highlights: Art for Art’s Sake?
During the month of August, Engaging Matters is republishing some of the most widely read articles from the five years this blog has been in existence. … read more
AJBlog: Engaging Matters Published 2016-08-09
Lookback: Our Girl in Chicago on preparing to see a movie
From 2006: I sometimes do too much fieldwork before seeing a movie, building up a whole structure of preconceptions that I then have to trundle into the theater with me and crane my neck to peer around at the thing itself. … read more
AJBlog: About Last Night Published 2016-08-09
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Poetry Versus The Machines
“Artificial intelligence and machine intelligence are about decreasing the length of human perception. Google autocomplete is an attempt to shorten the time and path between thought and a response — to decrease the time and path between seeing something and categorizing it or identifying it and moving on. To me what poetry in particular is so good at is defamiliarization. Increasing the length of perception.”
Breaking Shakespeare’s Grip On How Theatre Tells History
“That Shakespearean model, with its focus on kings and the high-born, is wedded, one might argue, to the Great Man theory of history. Commoners must fight for space on Shakespeare’s stage—and it’s not obvious whether the drunkards and prostitutes who populate the tavern where Prince Hal escapes the burdens of court, for instance, serve as rehearsals for responsive sovereignty, critics of royal ideology, or comic baggage to be shed on the way to the throne.”
Say Goodbye To “The Digital Divide” (It’s Gotten More Complex)
“Traditionally, the way the digital divide has been portrayed has definitely been a binary,” says Crystle Martin, a postdoctoral researcher at University of California–Irvine who specializes in studying digital literacy. “It’s been viewed, if you give people access to technology, they will be able to be online and able to access all the things available. But it actually doesn’t turn out to be true.”