“The phenomenon is hardly new; in fact, the once-edgy phrase ‘multimedia performance’ already seems to have been retired. But the cost of the toys has come down drastically in recent years.”
Tag: 11.04.07
Art As “Permanent Accusation”
“Fernando Botero, whose Abu Ghraib pictures will be on view at American University starting this week, read about the torturers of Abu Ghraib in the New Yorker, and made his own record of the horrors. He did not invent anything that was not described, but because he is an artist, we feel the terror of the tortured rather than the gloating of the torturers — so present in the photographs they took of themselves at play in the blood of others.”
Unraveling Of “The Great American Opera”
Samuel Barber’s opera “Vanessa” was a huge hit at its premiere. It even won the 1958 Pulitzer Prize for music. “For a moment, it looked as if the Great American Opera had materialized at last. But no. The critical backlash came quickly, and it began in Salzburg.”
How To Judge New Music
“Is prior knowledge a kind of cheating, or does a look at the score or a visit to the rehearsal hall create a cushion of experience, something that makes new music more understandable?”
The Broadway Hollywood Connection
“Most of the traffic used to be moving west, as actors who had earned their stripes — and a modicum of fame — onstage headed to California, where greater celebrity and greater money beckoned. In the past decade or so, however, the westward traffic has slowed considerably, while the lanes heading east are filling up.”
Life After Dance
A dancer’s career is short. And when it’s done, there’s school and another career to be thought about.
Waiting For The Big Bust
“After three years of speculation about a bust, will this be the moment when the art market finally crumbles? Auction house experts who have spent the last six months mapping out the sales say the business-getting season fell into two distinct chapters: before the subprime mortgage crisis struck in August, and after.”
The Fine Line Between Reality And Satire
“The most perceptive and authentic satire is just 10% different from the real thing, and that’s the narrow target Kasdan and Reilly’s “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story” is aiming for.”
Russia’s Greatest Orchestra?
The St. Petersburg Philharmonic. It has presented “the world premiere of Beethoven’s mighty ‘Missa Solemnis’ in 1824. The orchestra also premiered works by such iconic 19th century Russian composers as Borodin, Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov. And the tradition continued into the 20th century.”
Why We Cry At The Movies
“Maybe it is the movie or the psychological baggage we schlepped in with us. Or is it empathy, or you-are-so-busted guilt? Maybe genetics or cultural conditioning. Or were we simply bursting to spill that night because the boss refused to give us a week off for Christmas?”