In a ruling surprisingly designated as not for publication, a unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, based in Chicago, has ruled in Matthews v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 2011 Westlaw 1192945 (March 30), that the giant retailer did not violate the religious discrimination provisions of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when it discharged an employee for spouting religiously-inspired anti-gay bigotry on company premises during a work … <Read More>
Lambda Suit Against Indian River Central School District Will Continue
U.S. District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby (N.D.N.Y.) has ruled that a lawsuit filed by Lambda Legal on behalf of two students (a brother and sister) against the Indian River Central School District (in Central N.Y.) and various district and school officials (including the school board) can proceed on state and federal statutory and constitutional claims, finding that the complaint adequately places in issue whether the school's failure to protect a gay student from bullying and harassment … <Read More>
NY’s High Court Upholds Jury Verdict Against NYPD in Gay Retaliation Case
The Court of Appeals, New York State's highest court, has unanimously affirmed jury verdicts for two New York City Police Department officers who claimed that they suffered retaliation for opposing discrimination against another officer who was perceived as being gay. The jury had awarded Lori Albunio $579,728.83 and Thomas Connors $588,113.45, plus attorneys fees. The case is Albunio v. City of New York, 2011 Westlaw 1157706 (March 31, 2011).
Albunio was commanding officer of the … <Read More>
Westchester Supreme Court rules in lesbian spouses property dispute
Westchester County (NY) Supreme Court Justice William J. Giacomo has ruled on a dispute between a married lesbian couple concerning the disposition of the house they jointly purchased shortly before their marriage. The court's March 22 ruling, published in the NY Law Journal on March 30, rejected one spouse's argument that the property had to be disposed of through a divorce proceeding.
Jane and Diane Taylor were married in Greenwich, Connecticut, on December 12, 2008. … <Read More>
American Harmonies: ASO plays the Music of Walter Piston
Last night the American Symphony Orchestra treated a regrettably small Carnegie Hall audience to a revival of music by Walter Piston (1894-1976), a member of that almost-lost generation of prominent American composers of tonal music at mid-20th-century. Those who wrote tonal music, who delighted in lush orchestral textures, sumptuous harmonies, and long lyrical lines, did not fare well with critics in those bygone days when dodecaphonic, aleatoric, and utterly chaotic music were all the rage … <Read More>
Jane Eyre – 2010 Edition
Some stories are so compelling that filmmakers just want to have a go at them, regardless of the existence of numerous prior treatments. The newest version of Jane Eyre is a real beauty, despite the gritty realism of the settings, precisely because one has a strong feeling that one is doing a bit of time-traveling and really visiting early 19th century rural England. I thought Mia Wasikowska was excellent as Jane – one really believes … <Read More>
Jeremy Denk in Ives and Bach at Carnegie Hall
When Maurizio Pollini cancelled his American tour due to illness, Carnegie Hall prevailed on Jeremy Denk, who recently gave a successful recital in Zankel Hall, to perform in Pollini's place on March 27 (last night). I was a lucky beneficiary of this change in plans, for Denk's recital was absolutely brilliant from start to finish. He programmed Charles Ives's Concord Sonata (Piano Sonata No. 2) in the first half, and J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations, BWV … <Read More>
Songs by Ricky Ian Gordon
From time to time over the years I have heard songs by Ricky Ian Gordon in the context of various recital discs of American music or from the stage during vocal recitals, and always found them to be worth hearing. His music has a gentle, even wistful, quality at times, grasping the mood of a lyric and stretching it out over flowing piano accompaniments. A while back I became aware of a recording by one … <Read More>
Seeing Double at Miller Theatre – Bach and Vivaldi
It almost felt a bit like the early days of the early music movement last night at Columbia University's Miller Theatre, where I heard the REBEL Baroque Ensemble zip their way through double concerti by J.S. Bach and Antonio Vivaldi. And I mean, to a certain extent, the bad old days. Tempi were swift, to the point of depriving the slower movements of any emotion or pathos, and making the fast movements evoke that old … <Read More>
The Elixir of Love at NY City Opera
I've been missing in action on this blog the last few days, as I had a writing deadline on Friday and spent much of the week deep in writing… But I finished up the draft Friday afternoon and have a nice, busy culture weekend.
Yesterday afternoon, I attended a matinee performance of Donizetti's opera, The Elixir of Love (L'Elisir d'Amore) at NY City Opera. This is an "updating" to mid-20th century America – most likely … <Read More>