Arts Mar 08 Embracing classical music and its potential for ‘sonic salvation’ Classical is a music genre hampered by a tendency to exclude or intimidate newcomers. But Clemency Burton-Hill, creative director at WQXR, a public classical radio station serving New York, wants to change that. An evangelist for art that leaves her…
Arts Feb 22 ‘Moonlight’ writer hopes audiences leave his new play ‘full of questions’ The hit Broadway play “Choir Boy” chronicles an African-American prep school and its star pupil, the choir boy, who happens to be gay. Written by Tarell McCraney, a MacArthur Fellowship recipient, the play explores themes not often addressed publicly within…
Arts Feb 20 Why Andy Warhol retrospective has special resonance in the Instagram age A major Andy Warhol retrospective exhibit, the first organized by an American museum in decades, is on display at New York's Whitney Museum. Titled “Andy Warhol: From A to B and Back Again,” the show contains over 350 works. As…
Arts Feb 18 Jazz musician Terence Blanchard on the hardest thing about composing for film Jazz musician and composer Terence Blanchard has six Grammy Awards, but this year, he's received his first Oscar nomination, for his original score in the 2018 film “BlacKkKlansman.” Jeffrey Brown sits down with Blanchard, who grew up in New Orleans,…
Arts Feb 15 Oscar nominee Regina King says ‘Beale Street’ a reminder of black resilience Set in New York City in the 1970s, “If Beale Street Could Talk” is the film adaptation of a James Baldwin novel about Tish and Fonny, a devoted young couple almost torn apart by racism and wrongful imprisonment. Jeffrey Brown…
Arts Feb 04 At Washington’s Arena Stage, a dramatic interpretation of Vladimir Putin’s rise A new play showing at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., chronicles the rise of a young Vladimir Putin to power in Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union. "Kleptocracy," written by Kenneth Lin, offers a glimpse into Putin’s…
Arts Jan 09 After her own rape, author says victims of sexual violence are more than ‘broken beings’ After being gang-raped as a teenager in Mumbai, Sohaila Abulali broke taboos around sexual assault by speaking out publicly about her experience. Jeffrey Brown spoke with Abulali about her new book, "What We Talk About When We Talk About Rape,"…
Arts Jan 04 Through music, Vijay Gupta brings healing community to LA’s Skid Row Vijay Gupta is a Juilliard-trained violinist who's been using music as a way to connect with L.A.’s homeless and incarcerated and promote healing. A movement that began with one Skid Row occupant has now evolved into a group of 80…
Arts Aug 16 Remembering Aretha Franklin, the soulful voice of our time A legend is gone. Aretha Franklin, the “Queen of Soul,” died Thursday at age 76 in Detroit from pancreatic cancer. One of the best-selling musical artists of all times, she defined a generation of music with countless hits like “Think”…
Arts Aug 01 ‘American history is a crazy-quilt experience’: Monticello descendants talk ancestry and race In a long-anticipated move, signage, tours and public statements at Thomas Jefferson's historical Monticello estate now indicate without a doubt that Jefferson fathered the six children of enslaved woman Sally Hemings, and offer new insight into their lives. Jeffrey Brown…