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Van Gogh's 'Wheat Field in Rain': Depressing, or joyous?

The struggles of Tanner and Van Gogh, reconsidered

Van Gogh, Tanner and the myth of the tormented artist

Was Van Gogh really depressed? Was Henry O. Tanner really hampered by racism? Better ask: Why do we cling so tenaciously to our romantic vision of the artist as a tormented soul struggling against all odds to create?

Victoria Skelly

Feb 19, 2012 Articles 8 minute read

Curtis Orchestra plays Bernstein and Prokofiev

The late great symphony (and on orchestra without pension issues)

The 1940s were the climactic period of the modern symphony, a fact not unrelated to the programmatic needs of World War II. Prokofiev's Fifth celebrated the end of the war, while Leonard Bernstein's Second explored postwar Angst. Both were vigorously performed by the Curtis Orchestra in its midwinter concert.

Robert Zaller

Feb 18, 2012 Articles 6 minute read

Colke's 'Branded Iron': The drudgery of someone else's chores.

'After Tanner' at Pennsylvania Academy (1st review)

Of race prejudice and misunderstanding

Pennsylvania Academy's Henry O. Tanner retrospective is a rich experience, made richer with the accompanying exhibit of African-American Artists since 1940. Together they provide a timeline of struggle, complexity, inspiration and accomplishment.

Marilyn MacGregor

Feb 18, 2012 Articles 3 minute read

Wagner's “Götterdämmerung” at the Met

The letdown of the gods: Robert Lepage phones it in

What's the meaning of Wagner's Ring cycle— the destruction of civilization or the birth of a new world? Robert Lepage's tepid Götterdämmerung suggests a third possiblity: nothing much, really.

Steve Cohen

Feb 14, 2012 Articles 3 minute read

"Charlotte's Web' at the Arden (2nd review)

What hath ‘Sesame Street' wrought?

Children's theater has become the tail that wags the dog for some astute theater companies, like the Arden. Worse things could happen.

Dan Rottenberg

Feb 14, 2012 Articles 4 minute read

Applying words the way painters apply pigment.

In defense of Janet Malcolm (Part II)

Let me walk with Janet while the others ride by

Dan Rottenberg's criticisms notwithstanding, I remain Janet Malcolm's devoted admirer. Show me an original, compelling, well-constructed voice, and I will tolerate content that rankles others. Besides, you could level the same criticisms at Tolstoy and Tom Wolfe.

Feb 14, 2012 Articles 6 minute read

Chamber Orchestra spotlights McGill and Mackey

If Mozart used Twitter

The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia paired the rising young clarinetist Anthony McGill with a world premiere by Steven Mackey, whose career straddles the worlds of rock and the Big Five orchestras.

Tom Purdom

Feb 14, 2012 Articles 4 minute read

And Joan Didion thought she had problems.

'The Grey': Man against nature

Kingsley Amis would have loved this

Stop searching for deeper meanings and just give yourself over to this surprisingly affecting film about seven oil grunts fist-fighting wolves for survival in the frozen north.

Jake Blumgart

Feb 14, 2012 Articles 2 minute read

Ahren Potratz (left), Felicia Leicht: Where art is description, not creation.

Tina Howe's "Museum' at Villanova

Please touch

Tina Howe's Museum, her first play, still has legs in Villanova's revival, smartly and effectively staged by Joanna Rotté. If anything, this witty satire is even more relevant to America's commercialized art culture today, especially in Philadelphia. Museum. By Tina Howe; Joanne Rotté directed. Through February 19, 2012 at the Villanova Theatre, Vasey Hall, Villanova University. (610) 519-7474 or www.villanovatheatre.org.