Year: 2005
By Ken George December 19th, 2005 Given that many American museums fear controversy and distain art that lacks any commercial sex-appeal, it should come as no surprise that contemporary Palestinian art is hard to find. Thankfully, a smattering of shoe-string galleries across the country are accepting the challenge.
Read MoreRecent stand-out classical recordings boast fresh interpretations of familiar works, recordings of little-known repertoire, and some legendary performances by Pablo Casals. By Mark Kroll Harmonia Mundi has an excellent new recording of Mozart’s “Cosi fan tutte” with Rene Jacobs and his Concerto Koln taking just the right approach to Mozart’s great comic opera. The packaging…
Read MoreTwo books by left-wing pundits grapple with why they supported the Bush Administration’s invasion of Iraq. “The Assassins’ Gate: America in Iraq” by George Packer. (Farrar, Straus, & Giroux) “Power and the Idealists: Or, The Passion of Joschka Fischer and its Aftermath” by Paul Berman. (Soft Skull Press) By Harvey Blume The inescapable question for…
Read MoreA groundbreaking book explores the music written for Hollywood’s animated cartoons and how the tunes shaped the characters and stories that are now a vital part of American culture. Read More
I enjoyed the movie —- critics from outside the dance world have found Ballet Russes charming, too — but the filmmakers’ real gifts are the oral histories that they collected from these dancers just before it was too late.
Read MoreFirst published fifty years ago, this novel offers a more devastating picture of the physical and psychological toll of ground warfare as any an embedded journalist could offer.
Read MoreAna Rivas sent in this piece on a recent confab at Boston University featuring two film critics – Renata Adler, who for a short time in the ’60s was a film critic for The New York Times and A.O. Scott, who is the current chief film critic for the paper. The conversation contained some interesting…
Read MoreThough the last presidential race has faded into a memory, two recent albums from singer-songwriters bring subtle artistry to simmering political anger and alienation. Pierce Woodward, “Blow Them Away” (Long Run Music); James McMurtry, “Childish Things” (Compadre Records) By Danielle Dreilinger A year ago, folk stages were filled with artists like Steve Earle urging people…
Read MoreAudacious as it sounds, a new dance work by an innovative choreographer explores how human beings have expanded our ability to articulate the nature of crimes against humanity. “Small Dances about Big Ideas” by the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange Company. By Debra Cash It was counterintuitive, to say the least, when Professor Martha Minow asked…
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Dance Commentary: Dance Giant Martha Graham — Genius at Risk
Years of bitter and expensive litigation as well as the challenging nature of her work have put the artistic legacy of dance giant Martha Graham in crisis. By Debra Cash Imagine, for a moment, that the only people who could experience Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings were those who had lived during his lifetime. Future generations…
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