“I didn’t do enough,” says Oskar Schindler at the end of Schindler’s List. “Is he right?,” asks Michael Mitchell. “According to consequentialism, it’s true: he didn’t do enough. Consequentialism is the moral theory that we are obligated to do whatever would have the best consequences. If that entails great sacrifice, then great sacrifice is what consequentialism demands we undertake. Since Schindler could have done more, he should have.”
Tag: 10.18.16
First Look: Dramatic New Orchestra Hall For Beijing
The concert hall was designed by MAD Architects in collaboration with acoustic expert Yasuhisa Toyota, who has worked on the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the Philharmonie de Paris, and the Suntory Hall in Japan. Its main auditorium will seat 1,600 people on “vineyard style” terraces surrounding the stage area.
Should The Smithsonian Be Running A Kickstarter Campaign To Preserve Wizard Of Oz Ruby Slippers?
“This campaign would keep the shoes’ color from deteriorating, and the money will go toward a technologically advanced display case to preserve them for future generations. Even though the Smithsonian’s museums are federally funded, the institution still solicits private and corporate contributions for major projects if it isn’t covered by their budget. In fact, this is the Smithsonian’s second Kickstarter campaign; in 2015, the National Air and Space Museum raised $700,000 to preserve the spacesuit that Neil Armstrong wore when he walked on the moon.”
Russian City Cancels ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ After Protests By Orthodox Christian Group
“The show, [in a staging] by a troupe from St. Petersburg, was to have been staged Nov. 1 in Omsk, Russia’s seventh-most-populous city. But a local group called ‘Family, Love, and Fatherland’ filed a complaint that the musical mocked religious faith.”
Shrewd And Wealthy Commodities Trader Says Art Professor At Tiny College Sold Him Forgeries
“When [Andrew J.] Hall set out last year to stage an exhibition of [Leon] Golub’s art at the private rural museum he operates in [a Vermont] village, he found out to his surprise that more than a third of the Golubs he had bought were forgeries, according to a lawsuit he filed last month. And the people he says hoodwinked him … seem to have disappeared.”
Philadelphia Orchestra Adopts *Some* Recommendations From The Michael Kaiser Report
“The Philadelphia Orchestra will program musicals. It will set up new philanthropic councils made up from donors with special interests and, starting in 2018, from outside the city. The orchestra is starting a series of master classes with guest artists. And it will develop more ways to lure and keep younger donors.”
Michael Bloomberg Gives $50 Million To The Museum That Changed His Life
“Everyone around here knows Michael Bloomberg … built a multibillion-dollar company and served as a three-term mayor of New York. But what people might not know is that Bloomberg credits the Museum of Science for helping to shape who he became. ‘I went every Saturday, and it changed my life,’ recalled Bloomberg, 74, who attended classes there starting when he was about 10 and through his high school years.”
The Double-Bass? For Weaklings. Check Out The Octobass
It’s almost 12 feet tall, weighs 289 pounds, sounds four octaves lower than a double-bass, and the player has to use levers for fingering because there’s just no hope of reaching the fingerboard. The octobass was invented in 1849, and the Montreal Symphony is now the first orchestra in the world to have one. (includes video)
Cuba’s National Ballet School Enrolls Its First American Student
“Communist-led Cuba is renowned for its rigorous, state-subsidized ballet education and has produced an outsized share of dance stars, such as Carlos Acosta and José Manuel Carreño, for a small island of 11 million inhabitants. Cuba’s National Ballet School, which claims to be the world’s largest with 3,000 students, has long trained many foreign dancers. But no American had joined its full-time program during the half-century long conflict between Cuba and United States.” Until now.
Top Posts From AJBlogs 10.18.16
Big Stakes For This Art Week
Tempus fugit! I’ve been meaning to write more about The European Fine Art Fair’s arrival in New York later this week, but have not had the time. But you can bet that I will be there, … read more
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts Published 2016-10-18
Artistic Excellence and Mutual Self-Interests
This post is part of a series in conjunction with TRG Arts on developing relationships with both new communities and existing stakeholders through artistic programming, marketing and fundraising, community engagement and public policy. … read more
AJBlog: Engaging Matters Published 2016-10-18
“Capital Overhaul”: My WSJ Review of National Gallery’s Reinvented East & Strengthened West
Here’s the cast of curators who reshuffled the deck with provocative pairings and strengthened representation of key artists, aided by the influx of some 8,766 works (219 now on display), acquired from the venerable (now defunct) Corcoran Gallery of Art. … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2016-10-18
The bizarre wonder of The Iceland Concert
About a week ago I went to see a cryptically named sort-of opera called The Iceland Concert at the John Anson Ford Amphitheater. … I got a bit lost in the storytelling — probably my fault, not the production’s — but the music and setting could hardly have been bettered. … read more
AJBlog: CultureCrash Published 2016-10-18
Ten years after: is music sexy?
From 2006: Love-hungry bachelors of the Fifties and early Sixties were notorious for using jazz and romantic ballads to grease the skids. Frank Sinatra, I’m told, was their artist of choice, though … read more
AJBlog: About Last Night Published 2016-10-18
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