Cultural News and informations

Music Review: Jay-Z Headlines a Concert at Carnegie Hall
Fans of disposable income had much to cheer about on Monday night, as Jay-Z ran through his capitalist-themed catalog at the highest-profile hip-hop show ever at Carnegie Hall.


Source : www.nytimes.com | 07-Feb-2012 23:55

Publisher John Sargent Sr. dies in NYC at age 87
NEW YORK - John Turner Sargent Sr., a publisher, editor and socialite who as CEO of Doubleday worked with authors...
Source : www.bostonherald.com | 07-Feb-2012 23:42

ArtsBeat: Chris Brown to Perform at the Grammys
Grammy officials say he will appear in the same show with Rihanna, a former girlfriend who Mr. Brown admitted having assaulted at a party before the Grammy Awards three years ago.


Source : artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com | 07-Feb-2012 23:04

ArtsBeat: Ai Weiwei and Herzog & de Meuron to Design Serpentine Pavilion
The Serpentine Gallery in London announced on Tuesday that the architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron and the artist Ai Weiwei -- the brain trust behind the Beijing National Stadium, aka the Bird's Nest -- will collaborate again to create the 2012 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion.


Source : artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com | 07-Feb-2012 21:36

Television Review | 'The River': ?The River? on ABC - Review
“The River,” a new series on ABC, is about a rescue expedition in the Amazon basin.


Source : tv.nytimes.com | 07-Feb-2012 21:17

The Carpetbagger: Making a Play for Older Voters (and Moviegoers)
AARP's Movies for Grownups Awards finally get some (limited) respect.


Source : carpetbagger.blogs.nytimes.com | 07-Feb-2012 20:06

LITERATURE: Britain marks 200 years since Charles Dickens' birth
Britain marked 200 years since Charles Dickens' birth on Tuesday with Prince Charles laying a wreath at his grave in London's Westminster Abbey, where he was buried in 1870. Dickens is the author of such enduring classics as "A Christmas Carol".
Source : www.france24.com | 07-Feb-2012 20:00

ArtsBeat: Deborah Voigt Withdraws From Tuesday's Performance of 'Götterdämmerung'
Katarina Dalayman will take her place in the role of Brunnhilde.


Source : artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com | 07-Feb-2012 19:29

ArtsBeat | London Theater Journal: Revenge Served Sticky, and Cleanly Staged Comedy
The zippy new National Theater production of Shakespeare's "Comedy of Errors" is a clear reconception, while the Young Vic's hot-and-sticky new interpretation of "The Changeling," a Jacobean revenge tragedy, is mired in pudding.


Source : artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com | 07-Feb-2012 19:15

The Carpetbagger: ?Harry Potter? and the Continuity Question
"Harry Potter's" production designer talks about the challenges of art direction over all eight films. (Hint: Hogwarts isn't exactly the same in every feature.)


Source : carpetbagger.blogs.nytimes.com | 07-Feb-2012 19:13

The Carpetbagger: The Nominees' Lunch Applause-o-Meter
The Oscar nominees' lunch yields interesting tidbits, like the level of applause for "The Help" stars.


Source : carpetbagger.blogs.nytimes.com | 07-Feb-2012 18:55

Madonna launches ninth world tour

Madonna will begin her ninth world tour in Tel Aviv in May, her promoter said Tuesday, passing through Europe and the Americas and returning to Australia for the first time in 20 years.

The news comes just days after the 53-year-old's dazzling performance at the Super Bowl, where rapper M.I.A. caused a furore by raising her middle finger during an ensemble version of Madonna's new single, "Give Me All Your Luvin".

Britain marks Charles Dickens' 200th birthday
LONDON - Prince Charles is leading ceremonies to mark the 200th birthday of novelist Charles Dickens. The heir...
Source : www.bostonherald.com | 07-Feb-2012 14:15

Eisenhower Family Raises Objections to Planned Memorial
A planned memorial to Dwight D. Eisenhower, with Frank Gehry as the architect, has raised hackles within the Eisenhower family.


Source : www.nytimes.com | 07-Feb-2012 10:47

CONTEMPORARY ART: Avant-garde sculptor and painter Antoni Tapies dies
Catalan avant-garde artist Antoni Tapies, has died aged 88, his art foundation said Tuesday. He began as a surrealist painter then moved towards informal art, incorporating waste paper, rags and other material into his canvases.
Source : www.france24.com | 07-Feb-2012 09:53

Theater Review : Pascale Armand in ?The Convert,? by Danai Gurira
Danai Gurira’s ambitious new play, “The Convert,” about the arrival of colonialism in 1895 southern Africa, is having its premiere at the McCarter Theater Center in Princeton, N.J.


Source : theater.nytimes.com | 07-Feb-2012 09:06

Antoni Tàpies, Spanish Abstract Painter, Dies at 88
Mr. Tàpies grounded his work in the brute reality of the Spanish street and in the turbulent political dramas of his youth in Catalonia.


Source : www.nytimes.com | 07-Feb-2012 06:55

Dance Review: Ratmansky?s ?Don Quixote? Has Premiere in Seattle
Alexei Ratmansky brings his interpretation of “Don Quixote,” first performed in the Netherlands, to Seattle.


Source : www.nytimes.com | 07-Feb-2012 04:40

Music Review: Carmina Burana Choral Project at Carnegie Hall
The premieres of works by three student composers was followed by an impressively prepared chorus drawn from high schools in the New York region in a performance of Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana.”


Source : www.nytimes.com | 07-Feb-2012 04:23

Art Review: VIP Art Fair 2.0 Is Virtual, Modeled on the Traditional
Art Fair 2.0 takes a second stab at the virtual exhibition (and the Web site runs more smoothly this year).


Source : www.nytimes.com | 07-Feb-2012 04:15

High Ambitions for My Image Studios in Harlem
Developers are proceeding with plans for My Image Studios, a “living room” of black and Latino-flavored arts and culture in Harlem.


Source : www.nytimes.com | 07-Feb-2012 04:00

Oscar Nominee Luncheon Attracts Big Names
The annual Oscar nominees’ luncheon, where everyone roots for one another, was attended by 150 of the 188 in the running for awards, including 20 in the acting category.


Source : www.nytimes.com | 07-Feb-2012 03:57

In an ?NCIS? Milestone, Mark Harmon?s Agent Gibbs Looks Back
“NCIS” celebrates its success as No. 1 and its unusual longevity with a special episode on Tuesday night.


Source : www.nytimes.com | 07-Feb-2012 03:49

The Carpetbagger: A Harbinger of a Longish Awards Show
The academy's president opened the annual nominees luncheon with an admonition that the Oscar show should last only three hours. But even the nominees luncheon stretched toward that mark.


Source : carpetbagger.blogs.nytimes.com | 07-Feb-2012 02:30

ArtsBeat: Wendell Berry to Give 2012 Jefferson Lecture
The farmer-writer Wendell Berry is chosen to give the 2012 Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities, considered the federal government's most prestigious honor for intellectual achievement in the humanities.


Source : artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com | 06-Feb-2012 23:51

Books of The Times: ?Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom,? by Stephen R. Platt
In his new book, Stephen R. Platt recounts the 19th-century Taiping conflict in China, perhaps the bloodiest civil war of all time.
Source : www.nytimes.com | 06-Feb-2012 23:05

New Music: Paul McCartney?s ?Kisses on the Bottom,? Featuring Standards
“Kisses on the Bottom,” an album of standards by Paul McCartney, is a jaunty tip of the hat to the pop music of his parents’ generation.


Source : www.nytimes.com | 06-Feb-2012 23:04

ArtsBeat: 'Book of Mormon' Tops Broadway Box Office For First Time
"The Book of Mormon" topped the Broadway box office last week, thanks to premium ticket pricing and the fact that it remains in a relatively small theater.


Source : artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com | 06-Feb-2012 22:48

North Korean accordion players are a YouTube hit

A group of North Korean accordion players is proving to be an unlikely hit on YouTube, attracting nearly 320,000 viewings in five days with their spirited version of a 1980s pop song.

Five students of Pyongyang's Kum Song School of Music are seen performing the mid-80s hit "Take on Me" by Norwegian group a-ha, a rare performance of popular Western music in the reclusive communist state.

The performance last December was filmed by visiting Norwegian artist Morten Traavik, who posted the clip on the video-sharing website on February 1.

Verizon, Redbox team up to take on Netflix

US telecom giant Verizon is teaming up with Coinstar, which operates Redbox movie rental kiosks, to launch a video service to take on market leader Netflix.

Verizon and Coinstar said Monday they had formed a joint venture that will add an online streaming option to the 34,500 Redbox self-service vending machines located in grocery stores, McDonald's restaurants and other sites.

Verizon and Coinstar subsidiary Redbox said the subscription service will launch in the second half of this year.

ArtsBeat: Rendez-Vous with French Cinema Will Open With Hit Film 'The Intouchables'
"The Intouchables," the comedy-drama by Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, stars Francois Cluzet as a paralyzed millionaire who forges an unlikely friendship with the Senegalese parolee (Omar Sy) he hired to take care of him. It has gone on to become one of the most successful films of all time at the French box office.


Source : artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com | 06-Feb-2012 22:23

ArtsBeat: With No Place at Grammys, Latin Jazz Artists Plan Their Own Concert
A group of Latin jazz musicians are planning to hold a concert in Los Angeles on the same night as the Grammy Awards to protest the decision that eliminated 31 categories from this year's awards, protest organizers announced Monday.


Source : artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com | 06-Feb-2012 22:16

Missing ancient objects returned to Berlin

Dozens of mostly Egyptian objects from the 4th to 7th centuries AD which had been missing since the end of World War II have been unearthed and returned to a Berlin museum, officials said Monday.

The 44 pieces were identified as being part of the Bode Museum's collection of Byzantine art after being stored for decades in two boxes at Leipzig University's Egyptian Museum in eastern Germany.

They had been transported to the Soviet Union after World War II and were brought back to Germany in 1958 but got mixed up with objects from Leipzig and ended up there instead.

The Carpetbagger: May the Best Actor Get the Most Attention
The contenders in the best-actor Oscar race aren't campaigning, unless you count all those television and press appearances this week.


Source : carpetbagger.blogs.nytimes.com | 06-Feb-2012 19:55

Strong opening for Thatcher movie in Argentina

"The Iron Lady," the Hollywood biopic of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, had a strong opening in Buenos Aires as the country approaches the 30th anniversary of the war with Britain over the Falkland Islands.

The movie stars Meryl Streep as an aged Thatcher looking back at her career. It includes a segment on her decision in 1982 to militarily defend the windswept Falklands -- known here as the Malvinas -- after Argentine troops landed on the islands.

The Carpetbagger: Animators and Art Directors Pick Their Winners
"Rango," "Hugo," "Harry Potter" and "Dragon Tattoo" took home specialty awards over the weekend.


Source : carpetbagger.blogs.nytimes.com | 06-Feb-2012 19:24

Google Doodle celebrates Francois Truffaut

Google Doodle, which highlights anniversaries on the Google search engine, Monday showcased Francois Truffaut, the late French "new wave" film-maker who would have turned 80 on Monday.

Truffaut, who died of cancer at age 52, notably directed the films "the 400 blows" (1959), "Jules and Jim" (1962), and "The last metro" (1980) which Google Doodle illustrators chose to remember on the search engine's homepage.

The Carpetbagger: My Oscar Picks: Terry Moran
"Nightline" anchor Terry Moran shares his Oscar ballot.


Source : carpetbagger.blogs.nytimes.com | 06-Feb-2012 17:53

CULTURE: US actor Ben Gazzara dies of pancreatic cancer aged 81
American actor Ben Gazzara died of pancreatic cancer Friday at the age of 81 in a Manhattan hospital, his attorney said.
Source : www.france24.com | 06-Feb-2012 16:57

Music Review: Super Bowl ? No Longer an Upset: Madonna Acts Her Age
Madonna, 53, danced her way back toward worldwide visibility Sunday as the halftime attraction for the Super Bowl, with a giant supporting cast and a downright benign stance.


Source : www.nytimes.com | 06-Feb-2012 09:46

John H. Davis, Chronicler of Kennedys and Others, Dies at 82
Mr. Davis’s eight books included tomes on the Kennedys, the Guggenheims, the Gambinos and the Bouviers, to whom he was related.


Source : www.nytimes.com | 06-Feb-2012 06:17

Alex Ross: Philip Glass’s 75th birthday celebrations.
Philip Glass’s place in musical history is secure. His sprawling, churning, monumentally obsessive works of the nineteen-seventies—“Music with Changing Parts,” “Music in Twelve Parts,” “Einstein on the Beach,” “Satyagraha”—have fascinated several generations of listeners, demonstrating . . .
Source : www.newyorker.com | 06-Feb-2012 06:00

Alex Ross: ISSUE Project Room’s permanent space.
The avant-garde performance center ISSUE Project Room—which has variously inhabited a garage in the East Village, an empty oil silo on the Gowanus Canal, and the Old American Can Factory, also in the Gowanus area—has finally found a permanent home: 110 Livingston, a Renaissance-style . . . (Subscription required.)
Source : www.newyorker.com | 06-Feb-2012 06:00

Emily Nussbaum: “The Loving Story,” “Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory,” on HBO.
HBO has two new documentaries, each dramatizing a miscarriage of justice. In January, the cable channel began airing Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky’s “Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory,” which was nominated for an Oscar for best documentary. It’s the capper to their nearly two-decade . . . (Subscription required.)
Source : www.newyorker.com | 06-Feb-2012 06:00

Andrea K. Scott: Klara Lidén, at the Reena Spaulings gallery.
New York may be a concrete jungle, but it does have some soil and sky. Walter De Maria’s land-art knockout, “The New York Earth Room,” is two hundred and eighty thousand pounds of black dirt, maintained in a SoHo loft by the Dia Art Foundation . . . (Subscription required.)
Source : www.newyorker.com | 06-Feb-2012 06:00