Daniel Hope: Inspired by Joseph JoachimThe violinist reintroduces us to "one of the 19th century's most transcendent violinists and musical minds."
Between Heaven and EarthAt the Queen Sofía Spanish Institute, "Joaquín Sorolla & the Glory of Spanish Dress" explores the artist's inspiration for some breathtaking studies of the nation's traditional clothing.
The Grammys Again Defy Common SenseSome confusing choices, and a reason for hope, in this year's nominations.
With Little to Cheer Besides BalanchineNew York City Ballet's current winter season is a bleak one indeed.
Hot Covers! Weddings and BreakupsKardashians and others who owe their fame to reality TV accounted for about 40% of the covers of six major celebrity weeklies in 2011.
How Will the Future Judge Him?How should museums handle Mike Kelley, an artist whose stance was one of perpetual irreverence?
He Made a Career Out of Acting OrdinarySpencer Tracy's seeming lack of distinction resonated with moviegoers of the Depression and Vietnam eras.
Elizabeth Taylor Pieces Outdo EstimatesChristie's kicked off London's major winter art auctions by selling several Impressionist and modern paintings from Elizabeth Taylor's estate, including a £10.1 million ($15.9 million) Vincent van Gogh.
Metallica Unveils Rock Festival in New JerseyFor the second summer in a row, a major rock festival will touch down at the disused Bader Field Airport in Atlantic City, N.J.—this one developed and hosted by metal titans Metallica.
Go East, MonsieurAmerican Symphony Orchestra's program, "Orientalism in France," at Carnegie Hall Friday, evokes the color, beauty and atmosphere of the region as composed for a Western sensibility.
Rudy Van Gelder: New Jersey Jazz RevolutionRudy Van Gelder has been an engineer to the jazz greats, forever changing the way sound is recorded in the studio. On Saturday the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences will honor Mr. Van Gelder with a Trustees Award.
For R.E.M. Fans, Famous Trestle Faces Day of ReckoningAn old train trestle that appeared on the back cover of an R.E.M. album is crumbling, prompting some fans to try to preserve it—before its day of reckoning.
Disney, Univision Mull News ChannelWalt Disney and Univision are in talks to create a new 24-hour cable-news channel that will broadcast in English.
Spitting Out the SeedsEach week in Curtain Raisers, we invite a local theater artist to attend a show of his or her choosing and discuss the results. On Thursday, the actor and director Arian Moayed opted to see Mike Daisey's "The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs."
Action Film 'Chronicle' Leads Weekend SalesAction film "Chronicle," about three teenagers who gain superpowers, grossed $22 million at the weekend box office, putting it in the top position.
Animator Looks to Break ThroughDisney and John Lasseter hope to boost the U.S. box-office punch of Studio Ghibli, the Japanese company behind 'Spirited Away' and other award-winning movies, with "The Secret World of Arrietty," based on "The Borrowers."
The Secret Appeal of 'Downton Abbey'Why do we adore a celebration of British pecking orders? Because hierarchies are as American as apple pie.
The Master Builder of Towers of FlowersAs in-house florist for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Remco van Vliet creates arrangements that are usually 10 to 12 feet high. Those he does for parties sometimes reach 20 feet, making his arrangements perhaps the tallest in the city.
In Paris, Islamic Art Under a Flying CarpetThe Louvre's new project, designed by Italy's Mario Bellini and France's Rudy Ricciotti, will debut in September.
When Artists' Kodaks Were Supercool"Snapshot: Painters and Photography," looks at what seven late-19th-century European artists did with their new Kodak hand-held cameras.
Don't Miss: Feb. 4-10Exhibitions listed this week include baseball cards featuring African-American pioneers in the major leagues, Eugène Atget's photos and Bill Traylor's drawings.
Invading Cuba, Packing ArtworksElla Fontanals-Cisneros of Miami will bring part of her collection to Havana.
From Broadway to About BroadwayAfter his musical closes, director Michael Mayer focuses on a TV show about a musical: "Smash."
For the Love of a Fickle WomanWith his third feature film, François Truffaut injected the French New Wave with an exhilarating does of life in "Jules and Jim."
Ideas Calendar: Feb. 4-10On the agenda: obsolete law in Washington, Harvard professors and the Ming dynasty in San Francisco.
Shaky Cameras, Glimpses of MenaceThe makers of the "Paranormal Activity" movies bring their horror formula to TV.
Roberta Flack Puts Her Soul into the BeatlesThe 74-year-old singer's new album, "Let It Be Roberta," is a soul-house reloading of Beatles hits.
Renoir at the FrickNine full-length paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir hang together for the first time at an exhibit opening Tuesday at the Frick Collection in New York.
Curt Schilling's New Pitch: A Fantasy VideogameCurt Schilling, one of the most famous pitchers in recent Major League Baseball history, has a new career now as the head of a videogame company. His new game, "Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning," a single-player, role-playing videogame, will be released Tuesday.
The Short List: Steven Van Zandt Goes to Norway in 'Lilyhammer'Netflix premieres a fish-out-of-water series; plus eerie new stories from Dan Chaon and a new album from Bahamas.
Surrealism's Startling AppealThe greats of European Surrealism come under the hammer at auctions in London. Miró leads with monumental canvasses that are a rarity at auction. Other Surrealist artists on offer include Magritte, Dali, Tanguy, Picabia and Ernst.
Fénelon's Gnarled 'Orchard'In director Georges Lavaudant's staging of "The Cherry Orchard" at the Palais Garnier in Paris, the new opera is a series of soliloquies, set to music that can't seem to find its way.
Successful SillinessThe National Theatre's new production of 1773 comedy "She Stoops to Conquer" offers a raucously enjoyable evening.
From Out of a Featureless CrowdFor centuries up until the Renaissance, portraits adhered to strict, near abstract conventions that smoothed over individual attributes.
Artist Transformed Everyday Craft Materials Into ArtMike Kelley, a Los Angeles artist who rose to fame in the 1980s by making fun-house sculptures from stuffed animals, has died, police said Wednesday. He was 57.
El Capitan's Nose in a DayIn Yosemite National Park, no climb on El Capitan is more famous than the Nose. Michael J. Ybarra sets out to scale it in one day.
A Very Long Farewell to Béla TarrThis week's film calendar leads off with a career tribute to Hungarian master Bela Tarr at Film Society of Lincoln Center, followed by the sexy Cinekink series at Anthology Film Archives and "The Miners Hymns' at Film Forum.
A Foreigner at HomeAnthology Film Archives pays tribute to the seminal New York filmmaker Amos Poe, who helped lead the downtown cinema scene out of the underground in the late 70s and early 80s.
Peeking at Raquel, Twin Peaking in TriBeCaOn the eve of a 10-film tribute at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, screen icon Raquel Welch talks about some of her favorite screen roles.
Benny Golson Serves That Uptown SoundThe tenor-saxophone titan is in the city to play a rare set of gigs at Jazz Standard.
Local Comic Puts His Pain on PaperMoshe Kasher has written a soon-to-be-published book about his childhood spent in and out of therapy and rehab, a period of his life filled with drug addiction, failure and angst. His goal: to make people laugh.
Gods and MonstersBooker prize-winning author A.S. Byatt blends myth and memoir in retelling the Norse legend about a massive battle that ends the world. Tom Shippey reviews.
'W.E.' Is a Messy Windsor KnotMeanwhile, "The Woman in Black" features Daniel Radcliffe and the deathly horror flick, and "Windfall" shows "green" energy's dark side.
A Musical for Marilyn MonroeNBC's "Smash" starts off as a musical with a Marilyn Monroe fixation, but soon leaves the legend behind as its drama of rivalry and ambition takes flight.
TV on DVDNew releases of past television series include "Downton Abbey: Season 2" and a double episode of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" from Quentin Tarantino.
Anjelica Huston Looks BackOn the '70s fashion scene in New York City, ditching it all for Jack and Hollywood, and moving forward after the death of her husband.
The Jet SetThomas Flohr's upstart VistaJet is modeling itself as a luxury designer brand, featuring graffiti-tagged planes, chic stewardess uniforms and a foxy top exec who happens to be the owner's 25-year-old daughter.
A Rush to Save Afghan Buried TreasureArchaeologists are racing to save Afghanistan's cultural heritage before the Chinese start digging on one of the world's most valuable new copper mines.
Made Better in JapanFor decades, Japan simply imported wares of foreign cultures, but recession has led to invention. The country has begun creating the finest American denim, French cuisine and Italian espresso in the world.
Changing the Way We See ArtAnne Pasternak has installed floral carpeting in Grand Central and soothed a mourning city by bringing light to the September 11 memorial. Meet the visionary forging the path of public art.
