Articles
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David Goldblatt's history of soccer
How soccer conquered the world (except for one pesky nation)
How did we arrive at a world in which half of mankind watches the World Cup final? And most Americans wonder why they bother?
Articles
5 minute read
Jazz struggles for survival
Who will rescue jazz?
Sometime after World War II, jazz musicians stopped communicating with their audiences and began playing only for themselves and elite musicologists. Grassroots jazz bars— the lifeblood of this uniquely American art form— are making a comeback. But it's a struggle, as I discovered recently.
Articles
4 minute read
Movement Brigade's "Constants'
A river into our past
In this nighttime theatrical adventure, Alie Vidich's Movement Brigade harnesses the Schuylkill River nightscape to connect Philadelphians to a lost history of our surroundings.
Articles
3 minute read
Our debt to Frank Furness
The once and future city of a great American architect
Many of Frank Furness's quirky Victorian buildings have vanished, like the Victorian age itself. But his benign influence persists in the life of great American cities, especially Philadelphia.
Articles
4 minute read
The Marlboro mystique: Pros and cons
Marlboro at 60: Incubator or pressure-cooker?
After 50 years, the Marlboro festival remains a remarkable incubator where promising young musicians form disciplined ensembles. But it's also a pressure-cooker that can squelch an individual musician's personal expression.
Articles
4 minute read
Boston Symphony at Tanglewood: A Romantic mixed bag
What Sarah Chang could learn from Yuja Wang
Romanticism in music has had its ups and downs. A recent weekend of Boston Symphony Orchestra concerts at Tanglewood suggests that much of its success depends on the nature of the performance.
Articles
5 minute read
'Myth and coinage' in Athens
In gods we trust? The ancient Greeks knew better
A fine show of ancient coins, hidden in the midst of this summer's Greek financial crisis, reminds us of the time when the drachma, not the euro, dominated the Eurasian world.
Articles
6 minute read
Michael McDonagh's "The Guard'
Law and order in western Ireland
The Guard pumps new comic life into a worn-out genre: the buddy cop flick. Not the least of its joys is Brendan Gleeson's turn as a shambling, shabby, happily corrupted bear of an Irish policeman who seems blissfully devoid of the Freudian hang-ups that plague most movie rogue cops.
Articles
4 minute read
Kate Atkinson: crime fiction for grownups
Our lady of life's existential mysteries
Kate Atkinson— a former literary novelist and playwright— isn't your ordinary mystery writer. She bends expectations, breaks conventions, plays with time and constructs grisly crimes that aren't always neatly solved. She astutely perceives that our fates aren't as easily foretold as tomorrow's weather.
Philadelphia Orchestra on the brink
When musicians leave, who's responsible?
Add trumpeter David Bilger to the growing roster of Philadelphia Orchestra musicians leaving for more secure if not greener pastures. But the executive and board leadership should walk the plank instead.
Articles
3 minute read