Tag: 08.28.20

Alice Koller, Author Of ‘The Feminist Walden,’ 94

Koller, author of An Unknown Woman, inspired many women to consider their lives as full and complex – but she wasn’t necessarily pleased with her own experience. “It is a paradox that her life provided inspiration for so many, even as she continued to struggle. In 1991, Bantam republished An Unknown Woman, and it’s now a sought-after title on Amazon.” – The New York Times

The Joys Of Music Reaction Videos

Is it time for, say, Beethoven reaction videos? Because this was the experience of someone hearing “Bohemian Rhapsody” for the first time: “Watching the full gamut of human emotions – gentle contemplation, wistful sadness, wide-gobbed amazement – shimmer across his face, as the song lunges from one operatic movement to the next, is nothing short of wonderful. ‘WHERE HAVE I BEEN?!’ he asks at the end, on the verge of tears.” – The Guardian (UK)

For The First Woman To Lead A Prestigious Paris Theatre, Accusations Of Bullying Lead To Her Firing

Ruth Mackenzie was the first woman to run the Théâtre du Châtelet, the first woman to hire a Black artist to direct a play at the French theatre, and also, she says, the first woman director fired for unsubstantiated accusations of bullying. Of an inquiry’s final report, Mackenzie says: “It says some rude things about me. … It says I don’t speak French very well, and it says some people in the theater found it culturally hard to adjust to my vision. But it could not prove bullying. Nonetheless, they have fired me, citing bullying.” – The New York Times

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Musicians Sign A Contract Through 2025

Just a year after a protracted and bitter lockout, the musicians approved a multiyear contract that, while it includes COVID-19 related wage cuts (for administration as well as for musicians), restores the money over time, giving the BSO time to recover. The chair of the Players Committee: “What’s happened at the Baltimore Symphony in the past year is nothing short of miraculous.” – Baltimore Sun

Chadwick Boseman, King In ‘Black Panther’ And Jackie Robinson In ’42,’ Has Died At 43

The actor, who also played James Brown in Get on Up and Thurgood Marshall in Marshall, was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2016, but had never spoken publicly about the diagnosis, and kept on working during much of his treatment. “Boseman’s Panther became an icon for children of color, coming at a time when representation was only just beginning to become a priority in Hollywood.” – The Hollywood Reporter

Is New York Over?

The city is indeed at a moment of reckoning—not simply because of the pandemic, but because of what it had already become. After the fiscal crisis of 1975, New York and its economy were restructured around tourism, high finance, luxury retail, and real estate. On the glittering surface, things had never looked better. By 2019, New York was richer than it had ever been before, its population at an all-time high and its forests of glass towers rising ever higher. Nearly 65 million tourists a year were flocking to the city—more than six times the number who came when the city teetered on the edge of bankruptcy. Beneath that glittering surface was a lot of emptiness. – The Atlantic

What’s Lost When Film Festivals Go Virtual

Festivals can serve as coronations, bestowing status or, even better, controversy. (Almost inevitably, “Joker” took home Venice’s top prize, the Golden Lion.) More valuably, they can channel the conversation toward worthier less-shiny objects. At a festival, you find yourself talking to strangers: in lobbies, shuttles, at bars, in snaking lines or seated next to you, as a way of sharing enthusiasm. – The New York Times