In 1944, amidst the devastation of World War II, Shostakovich composed his 2nd Piano Trio. The work was originally written to appease Stalin’s political agenda; in fact, Shostakovich took great care in catering to Stalin’s aesthetic preferences for the sake of creating an agreeable, pro-soviet portrayal of the war...
Valentina Stepanyan
14 May 2025
Being an immigrant and an artist, I often find myself staring at the last names of the famous artists my American peers admire–Shakespeare, Pisacco, Armstrong– and noticing that none of these famous artists had the last name I did, ending in -yan, being an extension of my culture and my family. I wonder what it must feel like to have a name that could be pronounced without being tongue tied...
Billy Waldman
6 May 2025
Have you ever heard of Beethoven? If you live anywhere in the Western world, the answer is probably yes. Similarly, most people are familiar with Tchaikovsky’s Waltz of the Flowers, even if not by name. But have you heard of Busoni? Gluck? Palestrina?
Eden Huget Lee
9 May 2025
Architecture is more than just a place of residence, it is a facilitator of art and economy. This often overlooked art form has evolved tremendously from the very first cave dwelling to European Gothic castles to glass-windowed penthouses...
Titus Fotjik
In an age of declining media literacy, combating these ‘brain-rotting’ assumptions that people hold about our modern world is crucial...
Bella Star Holguin Rainwater
"Oh, but you’re not one of those ghetto Mexicans, right?"
Iman Torkian
As we stepped along the water-glazed sidewalks of Downtown LA, breathing in the brisk February air...
Cinema has advanced a lot in the past 25 years. From camera quality to story structure, everything seems to have been flipped on its head – as an industry, we’ve gone experimental. Yet, looking down the list of best director nominees at this year's Oscars, one thing seems to have stayed the same: gender.
