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Short Fuse Interview: The Enigma of Vo Nguyen Giap — Military Mastermind, or “Marginalized Hero”?

October 19, 2013
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iIf we lift the fog hovering over the War in Vietnam what we find a story nearly unknown in the West: far from devising and launching the Tet Offensive, Vietnamese General Vo Nguyen Giap consistently and adamantly opposed it.

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Theater Review: Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s Romeo & Juliet — Just the Tragic Story

October 17, 2013
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Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s production is a fine start to the company’s tenth aniversary season and an impressive realization of its founding mission statement — for this company, story and the actor’s craft trump directorial conceits.

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Classical CD Reviews: Kevin Puts — Choral Music, Symphony no. 4 and Hanns Eisler — Songs (Harmonia Mundi)

October 17, 2013
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New discs from Harmonia Mundi: One explores the music of Pulitzer prize-winner Kevin Puts, the other focuses on the songs of Hanns Eisler, and it is one of the most fascinating albums to come from any label so far this year.

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Film Review: “I Used to be Darker” — A Delicate, Compassionate Story

October 17, 2013
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I Used to Be Darker is a movie of small pleasures, lots of them.

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Dance Feature: Edward Villella Takes to the Ice

October 17, 2013
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Reveries, the ice ballet that audiences will get to see in a special benefit performance this weekend, is Edward Villella’s translation of balletic structures and forms into contemporary figure skating technique.

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Classical Album Reviews: The Nutcracker Suites (Harmonie Ensemble/New York and Steve Richman); Veni Emanuel (Choir of Clare College, Cambridge/Ross and Haigh)

October 16, 2013
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Two new releases from Harmonia Mundi celebrate the sacred and secular sides of the Christmas season.

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Book Review: “The Old Priest” — Exquisite Stories About Being Human

October 15, 2013
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This small but important book is a collection of stories about being human. It explores, even probes, the inner recesses of its characters without pretense or flamboyance.

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Rock CD Review: Pearl Jam — A Sturdy “Lightning Bolt”

October 15, 2013
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Lightning Bolt, Pearl Jam’s tenth and latest studio album, takes the band’s newfound (or at least newly re-found) appreciation for radio-friendly mainstream rock and successfully stretches its parameters a bit.

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Book Review: Two Volumes of Swiss Horror for Halloween

October 14, 2013
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Interestingly, both of these powerful visions of horror root their avenging vision of mayhem in the brutal mistreatment of children.

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Classical Album Review: Martin Schlumpf’s “Streams”

October 14, 2013
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A new disc of music by Martin Schlumpf, one of the leading figures in Swiss contemporary music whose career focuses on “the borderlands between improvisation and composition.”

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