Aisle Be Seeing You

Emerson College names Robert Orchard executive director for the arts

Emerson College has named Robert Orchard, the founding Managing Director and subsequent Executive Director of American Repertory Theatre as its new Executive Director for the Arts. Announcement.

Composer Anthony Braxton on chess, math, and music (video)

Composer Anthony Braxton on chess, math, and music from Mosaic Records.

Cellist Maya Beiser plays "Khse Buon" (video)

The remarkable Israeli cellist Maya Beiser plays "Khse Buon" by Cambodian composer Chinary Ung.

Beiser makes her Celebrity Series debut with a performance of "World to Come" on April 23 at The Paramount Theatre.

George Russell, 1923-2009

George Russell, the influential jazz composer, architect of the Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization, MacArthur Fellow and longtime New England Conservatory faculty member, has died at age 86.

The coverage of Mr. Russell's death has been extensive, of course, below is only a sampling:

Boston Globe

Los Angeles Times

The Washington Post

National Public Radio

JazzTimes

Do The Math blog (The Bad Plus)

Jazz.com

"The Future of Jazz" television show from 1958, featuring George Russell, Bill Evans, Tony Scott, Art Farmer, Jimmy Cleveland, Doc Severinsen, Ed Thigpen, Mundell Lowe, and Eddie Safranski (video)

George Russell chatting with Ornette Coleman

New England Conservatory

George Russell official web site

My practice has been to include, in the interest of brevity, only obituaries of artist with whom the Celebrity Series has had a presenting relationship. Though the Celebrity Series of Boston never presented Mr. Russell or his ensembles, undoubtedly a number of Celebrity Series artists have been influenced by his work.

Jonathan Biss gets back on his blog horse

He had not, as he acknowledges, posted anything on his blog since March, so Jonathan Biss decided to make use of his time on a trans-Pacific flight to get his readers up to speed ...

Michael Steinberg obituary from The New York Times

Anthony Tommasini's obituary of Michael Steinberg is in today's edition of The New York Times.

"The Semiotics of Classical LP Cover Art (ca. 1970), or, When Things Started to Get Fun"

The 1970s, it turns out, are almost always good for a chuckle. Here is a fun post from the AllMusic Blog entitled "The Semiotics of Classical LP Cover Art (ca. 1970), or, When Things Started to Get Fun." Fair warning, the post includes near nudity and full frontal kitsch.

A nod to The Well Tempered Blog for the road map.

"Mondays with Merce" video collection

Check out Mondays with Merce, behind the scenes at the Merce Cunningham studio. The full collection of videos can be found at merce.org.

Michael Steinberg, former Boston Globe music critic, dies at 80

Michael Steinberg, 1928-2009

Former Boston Globe classical music critic and musicologist Michael Steinberg died this weekend in Minnesota. He was 80 years old.

Mr. Steinberg was classical music critic for The Boston Globe from 1966 to 1976 and, as such, reviewed innumerable Celebrity Series performances.

Boston Globe

San Francisco Chronicle

Los Angeles Times Culture Monster blog

The Baltimore Sun

National Public Radio

Minnesota Public Radio

Nonesuch Records

Merce Cunningham, 1919-2009

L to R: Walter Pierce, Executive Director, Wang Celebrity Series, Merce Cunningham, Holly Sidford, New England Foundation for the Arts, in 1988.

Dancer and choreographer Merce Cunningham, one of the 20th century's great innovators, died on Sunday (July 26, 2009) at 90 years of age. Written appreciations from around the world are pouring onto the internet honoring this legendary figure, many featuring video or photo galleries, below is a sampling.

The New York Times

The New York Times: ArtsBeat blog, Alastair Macaulay

The Washington Post: Sarah Kaufman

Los Angeles Times: Culture Monster blog

San Jose Mercury News

The Christian Science Monitor

The Times (UK)

Telegraph (UK)

The Sydney Morning Herald

"Alma Guillermoprieto: Merce Cunningham" in The New Yorker

The Baltimore Sun

Charlotte Higgins on Culture (Guardian UK blog)

Miami Herald

The Wall Street Journal: Speakeasy blog

National Public Radio: the two-way news blog

Rolling Stone

BBC News

Berkshire Eagle

Village Voice: Deborah Jowitt

The Centralia Chronicle (Cunningham's home town paper)



The Celebrity Series has presented the Merce Cunningham Dance Company on two occasions: in 1970, two lecture/demonstrations featuring Cunningham and Company with, among others, the composer John Cage in the pit; and again in 1988 for three distinct programs at John Hancock Hall.