On Demand
Rockwell Matters Archive
April 2008
The Canned and the Dead
Monday, April 28, 2008
In Europe they celebrate, in America we mourn. Commentator John Rockwell remarks a national tendency to promote cultural achievements in less-than-cheerful circumstances, whether after a critic's divorce from its journal, or worse, after a musician's divorce from... life. In this instance, John considers octogenarian music critic Alan Rich's recent separation from LA Weekly and composer/conductor Gerhard Samuel's recent passing.
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Satyagraha
Monday, April 21, 2008
Go see it! Or such is the subtext, sometimes implicit, sometimes explicit, of commentator John Rockwell's review of Philip Glass's 1980 masterpiece, the opera Satyagraha, which has come to the Met in an exciting, puppet-filled production. The opera is based on the early travels in South Africa of Mahatma Ghandi and the formation of his philosophy of non-violent resistance and is in limited engagement here in New York.
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Shrewd Tactics or Cheap Gimmicks?
Monday, April 14, 2008
Thematic programming at concert series and festivals has always been a trick of the trade, but what does it really accomplish? Does it put a friendly, marketable face on unconnected elements or allow for mutually-enriching perspectives? Commentator John Rockwell considers the skeptical and the supportive sides, as he looks to the upcoming seasons of Glimmerglass Opera and Bard College.
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South Pacific Returns
Monday, April 07, 2008
After nearly 50 years without a Broadway production of this Pulitzer-prize winning, Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, Lincoln Center Theater ushers in its first Broadway revival with the vocal forces of Kelli O’Hara and Paulo Szot. Hear what commentator John Rockwell has to say, and find out why he gets teary-eyed throughout the performance.
Read the transcript
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