Review
The Emerson Quartet’s greatest strength lies in its ability to temper individual excess in favor of a lush corporate blend.
This splendid biography of Leon Battista Alberti, beautifully produced, with a rich selection of well-placed and well-reproduced illustrations, vividly portrays one of the most complex and fascinating figures in a complex and fascinating time, one whose preoccupations are entirely relevant today.
Here’s my TV suggestions for the late-January period of long cold dark days and nights.
Alice, Darling is a potent reminder to women that they should trust their instincts — and rely on their friends.
In the hands of some, Szymanowski’s Second Violin Concerto can be tame and traditional. As conducted by Karina Canellakis, and performed by the BSO and violinist Nicola Benedetti, the piece came off as bold, colorful, and urgent.
Reviews of the cogent and well-crafted The Big Payback, the comprehensive if conventional Zora Neale Hurston: Claiming a Space, and No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics, which expertly balances whimsy and gravity, though the version of the film shown by PBS has been heavily censored.
Sarah Polley’s essay on sexual assault by itself is worth the price of the book, essential reading for anyone interested in the physical and psychological after-effects of violence against women.
The Big Payback doesn’t exhibit a clear slant either way: it simply tells the tale of how a bill asking for reparations came to be, along the way highlighting how past injustice shapes present inequities.
I’m going to try out a new format in 2023. Along with posting longer reviews of single series, I will also be experimenting with a new (weekly!) format where I include several features in one column.
This trio of beautifully-illustrated children’s books offer journeys into science that rival science fiction.
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