The Arts Fuse

Concert Review: The Mercury Orchestra Goes Down Memory Lane - The Arts Fuse The Mercury Orchestra explored nostalgia, via performances of rare Finzi and familiar Respighi compositions.

In its latest concert, writes @aaronkeebaugh.bsky.social, the Mercury Orchestra explored nostalgia, via performances of rare Finzi and familiar Respighi compositions.

artsfuse.org/315063/conce...

Book Review: "John Singer Sargent: The Charcoal Portraits" — Mugs Galore! - The Arts Fuse Quibbles aside, this book's profusion of illustrations is a windfall for artists, art students, and those keen on close looking and visual culture.

Quibbles aside, writes Trevor Fairbrother, the profusion of illustrations in "John Singer Sargent: The Charcoal Portraits" (@yalepress.bsky.social) is a windfall for artists, art students, and those keen on close looking and visual culture.

artsfuse.org/315080/book-...

Book Review: "Ne me quitte pas" -- A Guide to a Song That Crosses Borders - The Arts Fuse This splendid book is a love letter and a dissertation, almost a song in itself.

James Kates writes that "Ne ne quitte pas: A Song by Jacques Brel and Interpreted by Nina Simone and Others" is a splendid book, a love letter and a dissertation, almost a song in itself. @dukepress.bsky.social

artsfuse.org/314999/book-...

Book Review: "A Day Like Any Other: The Life of James Schuyler" -- A Hymn to Life - The Arts Fuse As befits a prolific and distinguished poet, renowned for his visionary instincts and signature compositional technique, Nathan Kernan has produced an account of James Schuyler that is as morally seri...

Michael Londra on "A Day Like Any Other: The Life of James Schuyler" @fsgbooks.bsky.social. As befits a prolific and distinguished poet, renowned for his visionary instincts and signature compositional technique, this account is as morally serious as its subject.

artsfuse.org/314987/book-...

Film Review: "Weapons" -- No Child Left Behind - The Arts Fuse What sets "Weapons" apart from other films utilizing a puzzle-box approach is  Zach Cregger’s command of tone, a byproduct of honing his skills in sketch comedy.

For @kuntsuragi.bsky.social, what sets "Weapons" apart from other “elevated horror” films utilizing a puzzle-box approach is Zach Cregger’s command of tone, a byproduct of honing his skills in sketch comedy.

artsfuse.org/315040/film-...

Film Review: "Monk in Pieces" -- An Education of the (Genius) Girlchild - The Arts Fuse What it cost Meredith Monk to be uncompromising! In the early days of her experimentations, the dismissive, often patronizing reviews included lines like her music “made my cats bite each other.”

Debra Cash on the Zeitgeist Films documentary "Monk in Pieces": What it cost #MeredithMonk to be uncompromising! In the early days of her experimentations, the dismissive, often patronizing reviews included lines like her music “made my cats bite each other.”

artsfuse.org/315010/film-...

Music Festival Feature: The Bay State Hot Jazz Festival -- Celebrating Early Jazz - The Arts Fuse “What we didn’t want was just another jazz festival. I hope it never turns into that.  We were focused on early jazz, traditional jazz from New Orleans, dating back to the 1920s and 30s, before the ad...

Glenn Rifkin previews this month's #baystatehotjazzfestival. The gathering will be better than ever this year: jug band legend Jim Kweskin will headline, along with performances by Annie and the Fur Trappers, The Busted Jug Band, and Rahsaan Cruse, Jr.

artsfuse.org/314964/music...

Television Review: "King of the Hill" -- Nicely Rebooted - The Arts Fuse The targets of "King of the Hill"'s satire have changed -- as Texas culture has changed -- but the relationships, and who the characters are at their core, have not.

@sarahminaosman.bsky.social writes that the targets of #KingOfTheHill’s satire have changed — as Texas culture has changed — but the relationships, and who the characters are at their core, have not.

artsfuse.org/314949/telev...

Film Review: Resistance is Feudal in "Harvest" - The Arts Fuse This alternately ecstatic and murky, pointed and obscure, allegory is a rare attempt to confront the pathological systems leading us to an uncertain fate.

@pkeough1.bsky.social on #AthinaRachelTsangari's "Harvest": This alternately ecstatic and murky, pointed and obscure, allegory is a rare attempt to confront the pathological systems leading us to an uncertain fate. Screening on MUBI

artsfuse.org/314936/film-...

Weekly Feature: Poetry at The Arts Fuse - The Arts Fuse The week's poem: Mark Scroggins's "Zion Offramp 124"

The week’s poem: Mark Scroggins’s “Zion Offramp 124.”

artsfuse.org/314916/weekl...

Television Review: "Chief of War" -- Remembrance of Hawaii's Past - The Arts Fuse Hopefully, Hollywood will take note of this impressive dramatic accomplishment, and more Indigenous stories will follow.

@sarahminaosman.bsky.social writes that #JasonMomoa's series on Hawaiian history, #ChiefOfWar is beautifully shot, emotionally charged, and features the talents of Native Hawaiian actors, Hopefully, Hollywood will take note of this impressive dramatic accomplishment.

artsfuse.org/314866/telev...

This week's newsletter is released. My column offers a quick reaction to last week's Boston Mayoral Forum on Arts & Culture. A few topics were left out ...

artsfuse.substack.com/p/the-arts-f...

Book Review: "The Letters of Frank Loesser" -- The Illuminating Correspondence of an American Musical Master - The Arts Fuse The letters of this protean figure in American musical theater induced in this reader a pleasurable mixture of nostalgia, voyeurism, and insight.

Steve Provizer on "The Letters of Frank Loesser" (@yalepress.bsky.social): The correspondence of this protean figure in American musical theater induced in this reader a pleasurable mixture of nostalgia, voyeurism, and insight.

artsfuse.org/314844/book-...

Theater Review: "As You Like It" --- The Comic Comforts of a Green World - The Arts Fuse The high spirits and tolerance in this enjoyable production reinforce the director's claim that this comedy is about expats striving for "a more balanced, egalitarian society."

Bill Marx reviews the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company production of "As You Like It." The high spirits and tolerance in this enjoyable staging reinforce the director’s claim that this comedy is about expats striving for “a more balanced, egalitarian society.”

artsfuse.org/314742/theat...

Film Review: "Made in New Jersey" -- A Fabulous Trip in the Cinematic Way-Back Machine - The Arts Fuse This journey in the way-back machine contains many delights, some staged and some as part of the photographic record of America from 100-plus years ago.

Betsy Sherman on "Made in New Jersey: Films from Fort Lee, America’s First Film Town." This journey in the way-back machine contains many delights, some staged and some as part of the photographic record of America from 100-plus years ago. @kinolorber.com

artsfuse.org/314806/

Book Review: "Owned" -- How to Buy Left Wing Journalists - The Arts Fuse Eoin Higgins's "Owned" is a provocative take on our shifting politics and the instrumental role the media plays in how the superrich maintains power.

Ed Meek writes that Eoin Higgins’s "Owned" is a provocative take on our shifting politics and the instrumental role the media plays in how the superrich maintains power.

artsfuse.org/314513/book-...

Doc Talk: "Architecton" -- Ozymandias Revisited - The Arts Fuse Deconstructing construction in "Architecton."

In Victor Kossakovsky's disappointing documentary "Architecton," writes @pkeough1.bsky.social, construction is deconstructed.

artsfuse.org/314732/doc-t...

Concert Review: TV on the Radio -- A Reassuring Return - The Arts Fuse Despite the passing years, personal loss, and shifting musical roles, Wednesday’s 80-minute set proved that everything’s indeed ok with TV on the Radio.

Paul Robicheau writes that, despite the passing years, personal loss, and shifting musical roles, Wednesday’s 80-minute set at Roadrunner proved that everything’s indeed ok with TV On The Radio.

artsfuse.org/314689/conce...

Ralph Locke writes that Joachim Raff’s energetic and characterful "Die Eifersüchtigen" hits its mark, in the comic opera's first-ever production. Released on Naxos

artsfuse.org/314677/opera...

Weekly Feature: Poetry at The Arts Fuse - The Arts Fuse The week's poem: Micah Ballard's "Waller Street"

This week's poem: Micah Ballard's "Waller Street"

artsfuse.org/314647/weekl...

Concert Review: John Williams' Piano Concerto Pays Homage to Jazz Legends - The Arts Fuse John Williams's concert music may be intended to enrich and edify, but there’s always room for a little fandom, particularly on occasions like this. At 93, and after a lifetime of firsts, the composer...

Aaron Keebaugh on the world premiere, at the Tanglewood Music Festival via the Boston Symphony Orchestra, of #johnwilliams’s piano concerto. The music may be intended to enrich and edify, but there’s always room for a little fandom, particularly on occasions like this.

artsfuse.org/314601/conce...

Television Review: "Happy Gilmore 2" -- Par for the Course - The Arts Fuse In terms of legacy sequels, "Happy Gilmore 2" one isn’t a hole-in-one, but it doesn't roll into a sand trap either.

@sarahminaosman.bsky.social writes that, In terms of legacy film sequels, #AdamSandler's #happygilmore2 one isn’t a hole-in-one, but it doesn’t roll into a sand trap either. #Netflix

artsfuse.org/314616/telev...

Theater Commentary: Boston Fall Theater Preview -- Rinse and Repeat and Repeat and Repeat ... - The Arts Fuse My hunch is that not only theater critics but audiences will find the parade of tried and true tiresome.

Robert Israel sees too much of the same old same old in the fall season of Boston's major theaters. His hunch is that not only theater critics but audiences will find the parade of tried and true tiresome.

artsfuse.org/314554/theat...

Concert Review: Newport Folk Festival 2025 -- Fresh Signs of Hope - The Arts Fuse Newport Folk Festival will likely never deliver cameos as ground shaking as those in 2022, when stars aligned for Joni Mitchell and Paul Simon to grace separate tributes. But it doesn’t have to, given...

@newportfolkfest.bsky.social will likely never deliver cameos as ground shaking as those in 2022, when stars aligned for Joni Mitchell and Paul Simon to grace separate tributes. But it doesn’t have to, given that there’s so much talent already onsite.

artsfuse.org/314566/conce...

This week's newsletter is out and about. The editor's column speculates about what will follow the death of the traditional arts review in the mainstream media. It will not be pretty ...

artsfuse.substack.com/p/the-arts-f...

Film Review: "My Mom Jayne" -- A Daughter's Search - The Arts Fuse The humanity Mariska Hargitay brings to her quest makes this film about her mother, Jayne Mansfield, much more than a hagiographic profile of a movie star: it is a deeply personal story of reconciliat...

Tim Jackson writes that the humanity #MariskaHargitay brings to her quest makes this film about her mother, #jaynemansfield, much more than a hagiographic profile of a movie star: it is a deeply personal story of reconciliation, love, and family. @hbo.bsky.social

artsfuse.org/314529/film-...

Classical Album Review: Price & Dvorak Piano Quintets and Shostakovich Preludes & Fugues - The Arts Fuse Pianist Yulianna Avdeeva's recording of Dmitri Shostakovich's Preludes & Fugues is a testament to that rarest of syntheses: a total identification of a musician with her repertoire. Pianist Marc-André...

Jonathan Blumhofer on two splendid new recordings. Yulianna Avdeeva album of #DmitriShostakovich’s Preludes & Fugues is a testament to that rarest of syntheses. Pianist Marc-André Hamelin and the Takács Quartet release an album that, on so many levels, is simply a joy.

artsfuse.org/314477/class...

Concert Review: Amy Beach's Piano Concerto Revived on the Esplanade - The Arts Fuse Music by Amy Beach, Leonard Bernstein, Florence Price, John Harbison, and John Williams: this Boston Landmarks Orchestra concert had a little something for everyone.

Aaron Keebaugh: Music by Amy Beach, Leonard Bernstein, Florence Price, John Harbison, and John Williams -- this Boston Landmarks Orchestra concert had a little something for everyone.

artsfuse.org/314450/conce...

Opera Album Review: A Near-Forgotten Czech Opera Via a Vivid 1959 Recording Available in Stereo! - The Arts Fuse The world-renowned tenor Ivo Židek leads a spirited cast, and reminds us how involving opera can be when sung by native speakers.

In Czech composer Vilém Blodek's delightful one-act comic opera "In the Well," writes Ralph Locke, the world-renowned tenor Ivo Židek leads a spirited cast, and the recording reminds us of how involving opera can be when sung by native speakers.

artsfuse.org/314425/opera...

Film Review: "Cloud" -- Death By Capitalism - The Arts Fuse Kiyoshi Kurosawa's return to form might be explained by his looking backward: the director has chosen to grapple with the fact that many of the pessimistic prophecies of his earlier films have come tr...

Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s return to form in "Cloud," writes @callinamagician.bsky.social, might be explained by his looking backward: the director has chosen to grapple with the fact that many of the pessimistic prophecies of his earlier films have come true.

artsfuse.org/313868/film-...?