Commentary

Film Commentary: “Cuckoo’s Nest” in the Age of Trump — Viewer Beware!

May 8, 2026
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What happens when the rebel archetype outlives its ideals—and finds new, troubling champions.

Arts Commentary: The Boston Symphony’s New Humanities Blueprint Makes Sense

May 4, 2026
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Why festival programming—and humanities partnerships—can help the BSO.

Fest Review: IFFBoston Shorts — Part One

April 23, 2026
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Part one of a run-down of live-action narrative shorts. As usual for the IFFBoston, the quality is high, with intriguing subject matter and technical polish.

Classical Music Commentary: What’s Next for the Boston Symphony? — Lessons from the Past

April 14, 2026
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With today’s Boston Symphony in an uproar, lacking direction, attention should be paid to Henry Higginson, who invented the Boston Symphony. He knew what he was doing. He knew how to scout and hire conductors. He knew what music he wanted played. He knew what the orchestra was for.

Classical Music Commentary: Boston’s Lost Opportunity — How the BSO Board Chose Charles Munch over Leonard Bernstein

April 6, 2026
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In Boston, Leonard Bernstein might have sustained Serge Koussevitzky’s bold adventure—and changed the course of American classical music. Today’s Boston Symphony is adrift

Music Commentary: Brian Wilson’s Legacy Thrives — 2026 Reissues Reviewed

March 30, 2026
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Though Brian Wilson has left us, his enormous musical legacy lives on through a growing series of posthumous CD and vinyl reissues and books.

Arts Commentary: These Goose Steps Don’t Lie — Shakira in El Salvador and the “New Security” Aesthetic

March 13, 2026
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The artist is a glitzy ribbon that ties together incompatible images—the mega-prison and the megastar.

Arts Commentary: The Nelsons Case

March 10, 2026
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Ultimately—and regardless of one’s take on Andris Nelsons as an artist—it’s hard to see how the institution’s long-term interests are served by last week’s developments.

Visual Art Commentary: Silence Is Complicity — Why Museums Must Use Their Voice to Defend Democracy

March 3, 2026
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At a moment when arts and culture, public education, historical memory, and American democracy itself are under coordinated attack, silence is not a neutral posture. It is a decision with consequences.

Theater Commentary: Theater for Young Audiences — What Role Can It Play In Saving Our Democracy?

February 25, 2026
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Meeting today’s challenge—harnessing the performing arts to prepare the next generation to sustain democracy—requires broader collaboration not only with schools and community partners but among TYA companies themselves.

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