"A New Literary History of America'

If scholars wrote blogs, here's what they'd say

From Vespucci to Obama, it's the mesmerizing mix of old chestnuts and unseen treasures in A New Literary History of America that gives this communal blog its intellectual weight. And it triggers memories for this old American studies academic.

Patrick D. Hazard

Jan 02, 2010 · Articles · 7 minute read

"Watteau to Degas' at the Frick in New York

The evolution of art, up very close

The Frick Museum's current exhibit of French drawing speaks quietly but clearly of the evolution of art from the academic 18th Century to the brink of Modernism in the 19th Century.

Marilyn MacGregor

Dec 29, 2009 · Articles · 3 minute read

"Ragtime' on Broadway, reconsidered (2nd review)

Let's go to the videotape: A few things I missed about Ragtime

Thanks to the Lincoln Center Library's collection of theater videotape recordings, I discovered a few things I'd overlooked in my original review of Ragtime. So why can't Philadelphia find foundation funding for a similar theater video repository?

Steve Cohen

Dec 29, 2009 · Articles · 3 minute read

Liv Ullmann's "Streetcar Named Desire'

Cate Blanchett's new Blanche DuBois (by way of Ullmann, Williams and Bergman)

In her interpretation of Blanche DuBois, Cate Blanchett appears to be channeling the spirit not only of Blanche but also of Tennessee Williams himself. In her happy first-time collaboration with director Liv Ullmann, it's clear that it takes a great actress to direct a great actress.

Carol Rocamora

Dec 27, 2009 · Articles · 4 minute read

Musicians with two careers: Pro or con?

The neurologist plays the flute, or: A musician's case for dual careers

Musicians are taught to spend their waking hours practicing, to the exclusion of all other interests. Does such single-mindedness make them better musicians? That hasn't been true in my case— nor, I suspect, was it true for dual-career musicians like Schumann, Paderewski and Charles Ives.

Maria Thompson Corley

Dec 22, 2009 · Articles · 4 minute read

"Fly By Wire' and that "miracle' on the Hudson

That Airbus landing on the Hudson: Not so seat-of-the-pants after all

When a crippled Airbus airliner landed in the middle of the Hudson River without loss of life, was it a miracle? If so, this new book persuasively argues, it was a miracle born not out of divinity but of human design, dedication and skill.

Mark Wolverton

Dec 22, 2009 · Articles · 4 minute read

"Superior Donuts' on Broadway

A comedy about real people

Superior Donuts is a gem of a comedy, notable for its warm comic interplay among genuinely recognizable characters. Too bad its Broadway run is closing soon.

Steve Cohen

Dec 22, 2009 · Articles · 3 minute read

Tempesta di Mare plays Bach

Putting Bach in his place

Tempesta di Mare, in one of its best concerts, surrounded Bach's Fifth Brandenburg Concerto with four well-chosen pieces by his contemporaries and forerunners.

Tom Purdom

Dec 22, 2009 · Articles · 3 minute read

"Kandinsky' at the Guggenheim in N.Y. (2nd review)

Kandinsky: Between the mind and the world

The Guggenheim celebrates its 50th anniversary at home in Frank Lloyd Wright's beehive museum with an exhibit of the Russian master Vassily Kandinsky, whose works formed the inspiration and the core of its earliest collections. It covers nearly the full arc of a half-century career that redefined art.

Dec 22, 2009 · Articles · 8 minute read

"Holiday Show With the Swing Club Band'

America's last happy New Year's Eve

Instead of pretending to tell a story, this highly entertaining production authentically recreates a nightclub as it would have appeared on the last night of 1949— the last New Year's Eve of a triumphant America at peace.

Steve Cohen

Dec 20, 2009 · Articles · 3 minute read