Articles
6207 results
Page 457
Blue Man Group: An "80s relic
Growing up and selling out
Blue Man Group was quite avant-garde in the '80s. But this male trio can't seem to accept that modern society has outgrown the group's message and even its form. Flashing lights on stage screens just don't do it any more.
Articles
3 minute read
Valentina Lisitsa: Who needs concert halls?
A virtuoso for the Internet age: The greatest pianist you never heard of
The Ukrainian-American pianist Valentina Lisitsa has been playing for years at a level worthy of comparison with the likes of Vladimir Horowitz and Sviatislav Richter. Yet she's easier to find on YouTube than in concert halls.
"Black Swan' (2nd review)
Hall of mirrors: Inside a ballerina's head
What sets Black Swan apart from other ballet movies is that it's a psychological thriller with genuine ballet roots. In the overheated work of learning the dual Swan Queen role, the heroine begins losing her ability to sort out what's real and what's imaginary.
Black Swan. A film directed by Darren Aronofsky. For theaters and times in greater Philadelphia, click here.
Articles
5 minute read
"Secret Life of Drawings' at the Getty in LA
What lies beneath, or: Save that drawing!
An unusual show at the Getty Museum lifts the veil from the backroom trade secrets of the museum world, at least in part. Art is far more regularly spruced up than most casual viewers would suspect, and conservators form a kind of secret guild within the museum world.
Articles
6 minute read
Fareed Zakaria's "Post-American World'
Good riddance to American Exceptionalism
America is no longer the world's “shining city on the hill”— not because we've declined, but because the rest of the world is catching up. Fareed Zakaria's book, like his life, suggests a positive solution for Americans: Instead of fretting about losing, let's rejoin the human race.
Articles
4 minute read
"Tannhäuser': Blasphemy or piety?
The TannhÓ¤user riddle: What was Wagner's game?
Is Tannhäuser a religious opera, or sacrilegious? Put the blame on Wagner, a composer who insisted on his right to partake of both worlds.
Articles
4 minute read
Scrooge vs. Madoff: A distant mirror
Redemption for Madoff in 2011? Or: Reflections on the American Scrooge
The similarities between two notorious symbols of greed— Ebenezer Scrooge and Bernard Madoff— are obvious enough. But the Madoff story continues to unravel. Is it possible that Madoff may yet be redeemed with the help of a ghost, just like Scrooge?
Articles
3 minute read
"Phillies': The ultimate coffee-table book
Another miracle from the Phillies
Marcel Proust bit into a Madeleine to unleash a flood of childhood memories. Phillies offers old posters, baseball cards and ticket stubs that you can touch and caress. Top that, Kindle!
Articles
3 minute read
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On sitting in Verizon's "conductor's circle'
The other side of the podium, or: ‘You can practically read their scores'
The conductor's circle at Verizon Hall may not be the best place to hear violin concertos and subtle nuances. But sitting so close to the musicians should appeal to anyone who appreciates intensity and passion.
Articles
4 minute read
"True Grit' gets a remake
Tweaked Grit
The arch, awkward, faux-Victorian language almost worked in the original True Grit. But if you were born in 1995 and watching the Coen brothers' sendup of the 1969 sendup, you'd have to ask: What country, what planet spawned these people?
Articles
3 minute read