“It is now possible to conceive of adulthood as the state of being forever young. Childhood, once a condition of limited autonomy and deferred pleasure (“wait until you’re older”), is now a zone of perpetual freedom and delight. Grown people feel no compulsion to put away childish things.”
Tag: 09.07.14
What’s Behind The Explosion Of Music Prodigies?
“For some, age has become a downwards race. “It’s a worrisome trend because it highlights early achievement rather than substance and artistry. I see 16-year-olds who are lamenting the fact that they haven’t performed at Carnegie Hall yet.”
Dallas’s Concert Hall Turns 25 (Still Innovative?)
“The trend in newer performing-arts facilities has been to make them more open, more populist, even more playful, as with Frank Gehry’s buildings. I’ll get myself into trouble for saying this, but the Meyerson is an unashamedly elitist building, in both good and bad ways.”
What Exactly Are The Issues In The Atlanta Symphony Contract Negotiations?
“After eight months of negotiations, the gulf between the two sides remains wide, with management claiming a $2.4 million discrepancy [between the sides’] proposals.” Jenny Jarvie looks at those proposals and the background to the lockout, the orchestra’s second in just over two years.
Drinking Tequila With Sam Shepard
“I don’t know how to explain it [what he’s currently writing]. I really don’t. Hopefully it’s a novel, but I have the hardest time sustaining prose. I feel like I’m a natural-born playwright but the prose thing has always mystified me. How to keep it going? How do people do it, for years and years?”
Quentin Tarantino Reopens Classic L.A. Theatre With Plan To Never, Ever Show Digital Films
“To me, digital projection is just television in public. People leaving their houses to watch a DVD with a bunch of strangers, in a room other than their house.”
If You Avoid Amazon Because Of Its Publisher Snit, Get Ready To Drain Your Bank Account
“In about a month, because I couldn’t buy two paperback books from Amazon, I’ve ended up spending $400 with its rival. The first time I had to make a special trip to the bookstore might have been a fluke, but by the second time, I was irked.”
Fledgling Conductors, Brand New Architecture, Old Europe – What’s Not To Like?
At Austria’s Grafenegg Festival: “It’s painful – you’re exposing yourself in front of everybody, you’re standing in front of the orchestra, you’re hearing your piece for the first time, you’re nervous, and then you have to conduct!”
The Woman Who Brought Carl Sandburg Back To National Attention With A Biography Has Died
“Penelope Niven was a high school English teacher, nearing 40, when she began work on a biography of Carl Sandburg. She had never written a book before. She didn’t have a Ph.D. in literature and hadn’t even been that familiar with Sandburg’s work.”
The Tense, Bravura (And Frustrating) Removal Of Picasso’s Le Tricorne
“One false tug could cause its demise. A tower of steel had been built in the hallway, known as Picasso Alley, to guard against that possibility.”