2,374 stories by "Terry Teachout"
"I say 'the great literature' not because of its aura of cultural strenuousness, but simply because, in the past, there is only great literature. Only the great stands the racket of time and…
Mrs. T and I are midway through a much-needed seaside vacation in Maine. For me that means no deadlines of any kind and no shows until Friday, when we pass through Massachusetts to see The P…
Judy Collins sings Bob Dylan's "Daddy, You've Been On My Mind" on Rainbow Quest, a TV series hosted by Pete Seeger. This episode was taped in 1966: (This is the latest in a series of arts-re…
"We turn to literature not only for respite, relaxation or escape from the boredom of reality and the gnaw of suffering, but to get away from uncertainty. And certainty is in the past. There…
In today's Wall Street Journal drama column I review a production of The Merchant of Venice in Lenox, Mass. Here's an excerpt. * * * "The Merchant of Venice," like "The Taming of the Shrew,"…
Jacqueline du Pré, Daniel Barenboim and the London Philharmonic perform the first movement of Elgar's Cello Concerto on TV in 1967: (This is the latest in a series of arts-related videos th…
"It is absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or tedious." Oscar Wilde, Lady Windemere's Fan
In this week's Wall Street Journal "Sightings" column I talk about a generation of American classical composers who fell through the cracks"and a new attempt to revive their music. Here's an…
"It is always a silly thing to give advice, but to give good advice is absolutely fatal." Oscar Wilde, "The Portrait of Mr. W.H."
Perry Como and Tony Mottola perform "The Shadow of Your Smile," written for the soundtrack of The Sandpiper by Johnny Mandel and Paul Francis Webster. This performance was originally telecas…
"We spend our lives fighting to get people very slightly more stupid than ourselves to accept truths that the great men have always known." Doris Lessing, The Golden Notebook
From 2006: The trouble is that striking balances doesn't come naturally to me. I'm a head-first guy, an enthusiast who jumps first and looks on the way down. Right now I’m not doing en…
"Fervid readiness to judge is the most detestable stupidity, the most pernicious evil." Milan Kundera, Testaments Betrayed: An Essay in Nine Parts
One of my favorite bloggers reminds me that in December of 1969, Esquire invited twenty-five venerable celebrities to offer end-of-the-decade advice, most of it predictably platitudinous, to…
Continuo, a ballet by Antony Tudor set to Pachelbel's Canon and performed by the Paris Opera Ballet in 1985. The dancers are Sylvie Guillem, Laurent Hilaire, Isabelle Guérin, Manuel Legris,…
"An Orwellian world is much easier to recognize, and to oppose, than a Huxleyan. Everything in our background has prepared us to know and resist a prison when the gates begin to close around…
"Seize the moments of happiness, love and be loved! That is the only reality in the world, all else is folly." Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace (trans. Louise and Aylmer Maude)
In today's Wall Street Journal I review the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival's new production of Measure for Measure. Here's a review. * * * Why do some of Shakespeare's plays get produced…
Orson Welles talks about Falstaff, makes himself up in front of the studio audience, and performs a monologue from the second part of Henry IV on The Dean Martin Show. This episode was origi…
"Pure and complete sorrow is as impossible as pure and complete joy." Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace (trans. Louise and Aylmer Maude)
Gérard Souzay sings Duparc's "L'invitation du voyage," accompanied by Dalton Baldwin, in an undated telecast dating from the early Sixties: (This is the latest in a series of arts-related v…
"A Frenchman is self-assured because he regards himself personally, both in mind and body, as irresistibly attractive to men and women. An Englishman is self-assured, as being a citizen of t…
From 2006: I’m not one of those people who thinks everything was better when he was young, nor do I suffer from excessive respect for politicians, but I do have sharply mixed feelings …
"I felt in that last glimpse of him that many of the ordinary ties of human relationship and of friendship were denied him. He could have enemies and faithful subordinates and obsequious boo…
Van Cliburn and the Fort Worth Symphony perform "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the ballpark in Arlington, Texas, on opening day of the 1994 baseball season: (This is the latest in a series of…
