Arts Fuse critics select the best in film, dance, visual art, theater, music, and author events for the coming weeks.
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Latest in Visual Arts
Arts Commentary: MFA Boston — at 150
There have been times in the MFA’s past when it hasn’t lived up to its educational mission, when it has pandered to the whims of the wealthy — particularly its fat cat benefactors.
Latest in Music
Classical CD Reviews: Rattle conducts Bruckner, Jurowski conducts Mahler, and Fischer conducts Saint-Saëns
Simon Rattle’s Bruckner is, on the whole, lean and lively; if you’re looking for a new Mahler Four, Vladimir Jurowski’s is the one to check out; Thierry Fischer leads performances of each symphony that take Saint-Saëns’ writing seriously.
Latest in Dance
Dance Review: Fernanda Ghi Dance Company — Passion, Fury, and Enigma
Black + White from the Fernanda Ghi Dance Company was provocative, dramatic, and oh-so-mysterious.
Latest in Television
Streaming Docs — Autumn 2019
Wondering where to find the best documentaries on digital platforms? Look no further.
Latest in Books
Book Review: “The Cult of Trump” — Deprogramming the GOP
When someone recommended to Steven Hassan he write a volume called The Cult of Trump, “it just seemed like the most important book I could write, frankly.”
Latest in Theater
Theater Review: The Sci-Fi of “X” — Revelation Through Disintegration
Part cautionary tale about the fate of the earth, part homage to Samuel Beckett, part theatrical metaphor for dementia, X is a harrowing exploration of the human psyche.
Latest in Film
Film Review: “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” — “A Love Story With Equality”
Portrait is a masterly work of historical realism — about an enduring love between two women — done in high-flying poetic style.
Latest in Food
Book Feature: Joan Nathan — Sitting at “King Solomon’s Table”
There are 170 recipes in King Solomon’s Table . Joan Nathan, a sort of culinary archeologist, tracks down the details of their origins to Biblical times.
Read the Latest
Book Review: Biographies of Lou Reed and Warren Zevon — Satisfying Lives of Singular Talents
Two recent biographies take very different approaches as they revel in the wild lives and examine the distinctive songs of two of rock music’s most enigmatic figures: Lou Reed and Warren Zevon.
Jazz Album Review: Karl Berger and Jason Kao Hwang “Conjure” Freely
These are two practiced masters at free improvisation. I am confident that many listeners will find them as intriguing and accomplished as I do.
Concert Review: Boston Symphony Orchestra plays Jolas, Ravel, and Shostakovich
In the right hands, Shostakovich’s Twelfth can come off as nothing less than an intriguing, lively symphonic essay.
Jazz Albums Review: The ‘Season’ of Newvelle Muri — Adventurous, Sure-Footed, and Strikingly Lyrical
The sound on these discs couldn’t be more clear or precise; the music is low-key, thoughtful, and resolutely melodious.
Author Interview: Pulitzer Prize Winner David W. Blight — Speaking of Frederick Douglass in the Witch City
“You can read Frederick Douglass forever and still just encounter new things, new ideas, new passages, new phrases. He’s that kind of writer. It’s like reading Emerson or even Shakespeare.”