Cultural Commentary

While theater thrives—especially off Broadway and out of town—the musical continues to falter.

Artists like Jlin, the xx, Oddisee and Spoon embraced risk and blurred the lines between genres.

New technology and an aim to create a better world make these projects stand out.

From Michelangelo’s sketches for the Sistine Ceiling to the competition and dialogue between Dutch Golden Age painters, the year’s best exhibitions looked behind the curtain of art history.

New York pimps and prostitutes, KGB agents and robotic animals populate some of this year’s best shows.

Movies are still struggling, but filmmakers from Guillermo del Toro to Patty Jenkins created extraordinary treasures for the big screen.

Vincent Scully taught generations of students how to see buildings—and the world.

Celebrating 10 years of introducing the best in new rock and pop music.

Carl Theodor Dreyer’s ‘Vampyr’ is an essential milestone of the macabre.

Fats Domino, who died Tuesday, showed his love for New Orleans in his music, bringing the city’s vibrancy into listeners’ homes

The pianist and composer shaped the sound of jazz while creating standards such as ‘Well, You Needn’t’ and ‘’Round Midnight’

In his heyday, the musical titan sometimes struggled to garner critical praise, but his music still resonates many years later

A look back at one of the most influential trumpeters of the 20th century.

More than just cartoons, the early Porky Pig one-reelers signify a major shift in the history of animation.

This week’s AmericanaFest and the Americana Honors and Awards Show offer the chance to consider the changing landscape of a tradition-bound genre.

Too few people know about his influence on myriad artists such as Donald Judd and Claes Oldenburg. Time for a big museum show.

The Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education offers serious history, though not without some flaws.

This year the Bard Music Festival focuses on Polish patriot, shy virtuoso, and master of the keyboard Frédéric Chopin.

The country-music legend recorded hits like ‘Gentle on My Mind,’ ‘By the Time I Get to Phoenix,’ ‘Wichita Lineman’ and ‘Galveston.’

The actress was an icon of French cinema and during her decades-long career worked with directors ranging from François Truffaut to Orson Welles.

The actor, who would have been 100 this week, mastered many genres—thriller, film noir, western and more

Composers often get the credit for great operas, but new works suggest that librettists should share in the glory.

The pianist transcended style, excelled as a scholar, and played with greats including Ornette Coleman and Betty Carter.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s new management structure could pit curatorial exploration against profit-driven interests, but there’s a way the museum can avoid such a conflict.

Fifty years after his death, composer Billy Strayhorn deserves to be better known.