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Book Review: So You Say You Want a Revolution? “Democratic Enlightenment”

March 6, 2012
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Jonathan I. Israel has written a monumental three-volume history of the Enlightenment, approximately 2500 pages long, not including three lengthy bibliographies. His erudition is fabulous; his range is dizzying.

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Book Review: Celebrating “The Flowers of War”

March 5, 2012
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A strange mix of characters who all have complicated pasts gives rise to a novel that blossoms — exactly as a flower does — into a complex drama that includes several points of view and a wide range of emotions.

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Coming Attractions in Underground Music: March 2012

March 4, 2012
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March brings a solid lineup of experimental music, including electronic and indie rock shows. The indisputable highlight of the month is Steve Reich at MIT.

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Coming Attractions in Film: March 2012

March 4, 2012
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What’s coming up now in this small gap between the Awards shows and the Film Festival Season? Lots! This month is a cornucopia of adventurous off-the-radar films. March features several great director’s series, Hong Kong, German, and Czech premieres, women directors, local directors, and a range of documentaries on music that you probably never heard of.

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Theater Review: NTLive’s “Comedy of Errors” — Lots of Muddle, But Magic As Well

March 3, 2012
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As this is his only work which Shakespeare himself titles ‘comedy,’ a company may feel an obligation to elicit laughter. Ironically, this duty can become burdensome.

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Classical Music Sampler: March 2012

March 3, 2012
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This month I am simply listing concerts I expect will be great. My pick of the month is the Boston debut of a new Flute, Viola, and Harp trio, starring instrumental superstars Marina Piccinini, Kim Kashkashian, and Sivan Magen.

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Theater Review: “Monsters!” — A Pleasant Musical about Midlife Crisis

March 2, 2012
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The musical wheels out well-trodden jokes about growing old while supplying all the usual greeting card life lessons (live each moment as if it were your last!).

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Theater Review: Theatrical Time Machines — Wild Swans and Time of My Life

March 2, 2012
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Both productions play around with chronology in order to show the dark side of history, to unmask convenient illusions of social or personal well-being by juxtaposing the myopia of the past with the payback of the future.

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Fuse Theater Interview: Ken Cheeseman on “Bakersfield Mist”

March 1, 2012
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We’re in this virtual reality age now, asking new questions about what art is. What has true meaning and what doesn’t?

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Concert Review: Alexander Baille and the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra/Benjamin Zander at Sanders Theater

March 1, 2012
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The Boston Philharmonic Orchestra handled Lutosławski’s aleatoric textures with confidence, though the all-important brass interruptions felt more hesitant than decisive, making the work’s narrative quality rather episodic as opposed to smoothly flowing.

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