Critics Award of the Day (CAD): Alex Ross on Philip Glass

OMG. A. Ro. is for real. Check out his “endless” article on Philip Glass in this week’s New Yorker. (We know it’s been out for a few day’s now.)
He’s pretty fair in his assessment of Glass’ repetitatious (we just made up that word) music, which was awesome in The Hours, not so awesome in [...]

To Do: John Jasperse @ BAM

Check out Roslyn Sulcas’ sweet preview of John Jasperse’s new work, “Misuse liable to prosecution.” Then go see the show tonight at BAM.  (We’ve heard there’s still plenty of availability.)
It sounds like the dance is going to be an exercise in economic transparency:
“…in the opening section of “Misuse liable to prosecution,” a title that refers [...]

Magic, and Muddle, in The Magic Flute

Opera Review: Julie Taymor’s “Die Zauberflöte” at The Met

(Photos by Beatriz Schiller)
It is hard to tell that The Metropolitan Opera’s fantastical production of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (originally created in 2004) is produced by the same person who directed 1999’s Titus, the wildly visionary and intelligently sleek cinematic adaptation of Shakespear’s earliest tragedy. This Magic Flute [...]

N. Korea Wants Visitation Rights

Terry Teachout, in a paranoid editorial published by the Water Sports Wall Street Journal Online, advises against the NY Phil’s proposed performance in North Korea. He basically doesn’t want the Philharmonic to dance like monkeys in front of Kim Jong Il, especially considering that most of the N. Korean population is barred from even entering [...]

The Glory of Sport, And the Unexpected Beauty of its Contenders

Dance Review: David Neumann’s feedforward at DTW
If there is an argument in the dance world that pits those who believe dance need only to be aesthetically beautiful in a simple, if contemporary manner against those who desire a more intelligent investigation of movement as art, David Neumann’s feedward, a deeply felt meditation on athletics and [...]

Classical Audiences Don’t Think They Can Dance

So, the verdict is in, and Times readers have reasserted stasis as the preferred concert etiquette. As if that needed to be reinforced.
Here’s what our letter would have said, you know, had we been motivated enough to write one.
Dear Oh Great Editor At The Times:
Daniel J. Levitin is totally right. And hot. He’s [...]

DUmb Critic Hack Award: Rothstein on Dumbledor

We really don’t care about Harry Potter here (unless it’s naked pictures of Daniel Radcliffe), but The Times has decided to drag us into this crappy Dumbledor being gay controversy by running Edward Rothstein’s retarded editorial. And we’re giving him a mega douche, even though he isn’t reviewing anything, as much as he’s just [...]

I Went To “Macbeth” At The Met And All I Got Was This Lousy Review

Opera Review: Macbeth at the Metropolitan Opera
(Photos by Ken Howard; doctoring by C.C.)
It cannot be that difficult to stage a good opera. I’m not talking about that rare, blow-your-mind, if-only-you-had-been-lucky-enough-to-see production that comes around every so often. (I count The Met’s Jenufa of a few years back, starring Karita Matilla, as one of those.) I’m [...]

That’s What WE Said

A dear friend forwarded us this hot piece by NYT Op-Ed contributor and author of This Is Your Brain on Music, Daniel J. Levitin. It’s about the need to move to music, even if it’s at a crusty old chamber music concert.
C.C. is like, totally down with that. I think we said something along [...]

Critics Award of the Day (CAD): Kelefa Sanneh on The Shins

Kelefa Sanneh pulls down his first CADDY with this blithe little muse about the bittersweet, caramely goodness that is the music of The Shins, in his Times review of their concert at Terminal 5:
“New Slang” was the band’s breakthrough hit; it’s the one that was supposed to change Zach Braff’s life in the film “Garden [...]