“But what is cool in 2013, and why are we still using this term for what scholar Peter Stearns pegged as ‘a twentieth-century emotional style’? … You’d be unlikely to use other decades-old slang – groovy or rad or fly – to endorse any current cultural object, at least with a straight face, but somehow cool remains evergreen.
Tag: 09.30.13
Bolshoi Theater’s New Director Speaks
Vladimir Urin, whose surprise appointment this summer was made in hopes of ending the embarrassing turmoil at the Bolshoi and its ballet company, talks about quality control over a run of performances, developing a cadre of opera talent to match that of the ballet company, and his long working relationship with wounded Bolshoi Ballet director Sergei Filin.
How Art Deals With Death
Once again, Malraux’s oracular pronouncements come to mind, as does his unverifiable, though inspiriting, notion that the first caveman who felt compelled to draw a bison on the stone wall of his cave knew that both he and the bison were mortal but that the act of depicting the perishable animal was somehow a way “to negate our nothingness.”
Music Notes On A Page – It’s Not A Settled Score
“I think conventional notation will always be there, just as we will always revere a Bach partita,” she replies, “but I think as new generations come into existence, comfortable with technology, new semiotics and new ways of communicating, they will see these advances and make use of them. So, obsolete? No, but it will have a much smaller place in the world.”
What Tony Kushner Thinks About The Insanity In Washington
“The country has had practically 40 years now of Reaganism. That’s going to take a while to turn away from. It’s still very hard to talk, in ways that make sense, about what government is in a democratic society. … There are many flaws in the machinery. But the machinery is worth having faith in. ‘worth working toward a better and better functioning of it.”
Scottish Opera’s Crisis Is About More Than Just A Music Director
“The music director’s post at Scottish Opera is now a poisoned chalice. … What the company needs is a young talent with ideas, ambition and full-time commitment. But Scottish Opera must first communicate an artistic vision, instead of lurching from season to season filling holes in its increasingly scanty calendar.”
When Marc Chagall Painted Jesus Over And Over Again
“Chagall had about a five-year period during the Second World War in which he became utterly obsessed with painting Jesus Christ. … Looking at the paintings, one thing is clear right away. The paintings have little to do with Jesus as we usually see him – the central figure in the Christian Passion narrative. Chagall’s Jesus is a Jewish Jesus through and through.”
What Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia Will Look Like When It’s Finished In 2026
“Confident that work will be completed in time for the centenary of the death of Antoni Gaudí, a computer generated 3-D video depicting how the final landmark will look has been released by the Sagrada Familia Foundation.”
Researchers: Musicians May Be More Creative When They’re Not Playing Music
“By studying musicians and asking them when inspiration struck them, researchers found that breakthrough moments often happened when players were humming to themselves or tapping out rhythms on the table or imagining dance moves inspired by the music.”
Minnesota Orchestra Calls Off Carnegie Hall Concerts, Vanska May Resign
“The first face-to-face talks since January … ended abruptly Monday after management rejected pay proposals put forward by locked-out musicians. Management then announced it would cancel two November concerts by the orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Music Director Osmo Vänskä has told the board that scratching the New York concerts would force him to resign.”