Steve Provizer

Jazz Album Review: On Tristano

February 3, 2022
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Unlike musicians who operate on the surface and create a beautiful veneer, pianist Lennie Tristano’s music asks harder questions.

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Arts Commentary: Separating the Maker from the Made, the Doer from the Doing

January 20, 2022
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It is natural to believe that there is (or should be) a close connection between the personality and the work.

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Book Review: “Drawing the Line” — How to Respond to “Immoral” Artists

January 4, 2022
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Drawing the Line is grounded in the work of ethicists and psychologists. Its prose is clear and its arguments systematic. But every avenue of investigation only opens up another pathway that ends as a cul-de-sac or doubles back on itself.

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Film Commentary: Time to Reduce Filmmaking’s Carbon Footprint

July 23, 2021
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It is about time that the filmmaking industry is forced to seriously grapple with issues of sustainability.

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Arts Remembrance: Pianist-Composer Frederic Rzewski

July 5, 2021
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I consider composer Frederick Rzewski the most profound and persistent explorer of how to address injustice through the use of sophisticated compositional tools.

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Opera Commentary: Labor Action at the Met — “Wear Your Union Colors!” — Update

June 26, 2021
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Locked-Out MET Stagehands and Skilled Craftspeople ,Joined by Union Supporters, Launch First-of-Its-kind Interactive “Virtual Picket Line.”

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Arts Reconsideration: The 1971 Project — Celebrating a Great Year in Music (June Entry)

June 16, 2021
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Arts Fuse writers continue their countdown of great music celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and this month’s list includes Leonard Bernstein, Leon Russell, The Faces, Carla Bley, and Rod Stewart.

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Arts Commentary: Small Business Administration — Cut the Red Tape and Distribute Fed Money to Shuttered Venues!

June 12, 2021
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Boston’s independent theatres and music venues are joining thousands from around the country to call on the Small Business Administration to immediately release Shuttered Venue Operators Grant funds.

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May Short Fuses – Materia Critica

May 9, 2021
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Each month, our arts critics — music, book, theater, dance, and visual arts — fire off a few brief reviews.

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Arts Coverage Commentary: A Conversation with Ted Gioia About New Approaches to Publishing

April 26, 2021
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“I don’t work the system anymore, except as a last resort: I aim instead to bypass it. The better I have gotten at circumventing gatekeepers, the more successful my writing career has been.”

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