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Irving Berlin fans will be pleased to see such items as the complete Jerome Kern letter, (written in 1925!) in which Kern writes: “Irving Berlin has no place in American music. HE IS AMERICAN MUSIC.”
Read MoreAfter several years of frustrating cancellations and artistic challenges, Tanglewood and the Boston Symphony Orchestra seemed to be saying that there’s still much to celebrate. And they were right.
Read MoreNorthrop Frye, inspired by the poet William Blake, demands that the critic be a warrior in a “mental fight,” articulating the liberating value of literature as a source of imaginative energy that generates possibilities.
Read MoreThe issues raised by Mike Daisey’s infraction, his fall from grace, and now his return, are many, but chief among them is the privilege of illusion, the birth-right of the artist.
Read MorePoet Mel Kenne, like a desert ascetic, has pared away everything that is not essential -— no words have been wasted in the making of this collection.
Read MoreAvi Avital, a young virtuoso determined to expand the repertoire, is the first mandolinist ever to be signed to a contract with Deutsche Grammophone. His recording of Bach for the label is an important milestone for the mandolin.
Read MoreWGBH is not even attempting to make any excuses, not bothering to put in the energy to explain why the station isn’t using funding from its supporters to hire first-class journalists or to create news programming that builds community and educates because it challenges, investigates, and digs deeper.
Read MoreJuly 11 update.The New Orleans-style funeral for jazz on WGBH radio was an amazing coming-together of musicians from across the spectrum of styles. It was an occasion for mourning the loss of Steve Schwartz and the diminution of Eric Jackson, to be sure, but it was also an occasion for celebrating with more than a little wonderment the recognition that we all are, indeed, a community.
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Arts Commentary: “The New York Times” — Shouldn’t It Know the Purpose of Arts Criticism?
Based on Public Editor Arthur S. Brisbane’s recent New York Times column on arts criticism, he and others at the newspaper haven’t much of a clue regarding what a serious arts review is supposed to be.
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