Born August 22, 1862 in St.-Germaine-en-Laye, France, Claude-Achille Debussy was a child prodigy pianist who was admitted to the Paris Conservatory at age 10. Now generally considered to have been the greatest French composer, Debussy is proof that great art can come from terrible human beings. He was supremely self-centered and selfish. Two women -- one his wife -- attempted to kill themselves after he ended his relationships with them in cruelly casual fashion; his behavior was so beyond acceptable norms, even by bohemian French standards, that many of his friends turned their backs on him. In the midst of his greatest personal controversy, when he'd left his wife for a married woman and moved with the latter to England for awhile after to escape the constant recriminations, he wrote his biggest masterpiece, La Mer.
But, of course, there's nothing the French enjoy more than a controversy. Debussy's music was controversial as well.
But, of course, there's nothing the French enjoy more than a controversy. Debussy's music was controversial as well.
- 8/16/2012
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
Andreas Knapp Mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kozena kneels in concert.
The performance of sacred music in concert halls has become so common that we rarely pause to reflect on what is lost in translation. Outside its intended context, church music, like a Madonna displayed on a museum wall, loses its ritual power. What was conceived as an act of communal worship – a mass for the dead, a re-enactment of the Passion – becomes a professional spectacle offered up for the edification of a passive audience.
The performance of sacred music in concert halls has become so common that we rarely pause to reflect on what is lost in translation. Outside its intended context, church music, like a Madonna displayed on a museum wall, loses its ritual power. What was conceived as an act of communal worship – a mass for the dead, a re-enactment of the Passion – becomes a professional spectacle offered up for the edification of a passive audience.
- 4/19/2012
- by Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
Last week our critics picked their highlights of 2011. Did they get it right? Readers respond with their own highs (and lows)
MattB75
One Man, Two Guvnors was the most fun I've had in a theatre for years – easily the best play of 2011, and James Corden best performer. The National theatre largely misfired for me: A Woman Killed with Kindness, Cherry Orchard, 13, The Kitchen, Frankenstein and Greenland were all largely disappointing.
The RSC's Homecoming was the best revival. Rupert Goold's Merchant of Venice was great fun, even if the inconsistency in Portia's characterisation (from ditzy blond Glee fan to brilliant prosecutor, hm) took the edge off it.
Tom Brooke was my favourite actor of the year – in The Kitchen, and I Am the Wind.
oogin
Frank Gehry and Zaha Hadid are still two of my least-admired starchitects. However, credit where it's due. I had the pleasure of wandering Toronto's Ago...
MattB75
One Man, Two Guvnors was the most fun I've had in a theatre for years – easily the best play of 2011, and James Corden best performer. The National theatre largely misfired for me: A Woman Killed with Kindness, Cherry Orchard, 13, The Kitchen, Frankenstein and Greenland were all largely disappointing.
The RSC's Homecoming was the best revival. Rupert Goold's Merchant of Venice was great fun, even if the inconsistency in Portia's characterisation (from ditzy blond Glee fan to brilliant prosecutor, hm) took the edge off it.
Tom Brooke was my favourite actor of the year – in The Kitchen, and I Am the Wind.
oogin
Frank Gehry and Zaha Hadid are still two of my least-admired starchitects. However, credit where it's due. I had the pleasure of wandering Toronto's Ago...
- 12/15/2011
- The Guardian - Film News
Rapper Remy Ma is set to appeal the guilty verdict she received last week in her trial for weapons and assault charges.
The hip-hop star - real name Remy Smith - faces up to 25 years in jail after she was convicted of shooting a woman outside a New York nightclub last year.
She was found guilty on two counts of first degree assault, attempted coercion and criminal possession of a weapon.
But her attorney Ivan Fischer is currently preparing to file an appeal against the Manhattan Supreme Court grand jury's decision, in a bid to have the verdict overturned, according to AllHipHop.com.
And Remy is calling on her fans to help her win over the judge when she is sentenced later this year - by sending in messages of support.
In a new posting on her MySpace.com page, she asks her devotees to write to the court, describing how her music has "positively affected you, influenced you, inspired you, etc.... in hopes (sic) that the judge will be lenient."
She will hear her fate on 23 April, when she is due to be sentenced.
The hip-hop star - real name Remy Smith - faces up to 25 years in jail after she was convicted of shooting a woman outside a New York nightclub last year.
She was found guilty on two counts of first degree assault, attempted coercion and criminal possession of a weapon.
But her attorney Ivan Fischer is currently preparing to file an appeal against the Manhattan Supreme Court grand jury's decision, in a bid to have the verdict overturned, according to AllHipHop.com.
And Remy is calling on her fans to help her win over the judge when she is sentenced later this year - by sending in messages of support.
In a new posting on her MySpace.com page, she asks her devotees to write to the court, describing how her music has "positively affected you, influenced you, inspired you, etc.... in hopes (sic) that the judge will be lenient."
She will hear her fate on 23 April, when she is due to be sentenced.
- 3/31/2008
- WENN
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