Osburnt: Dispatches From a Life Seared by the Arts

  • Tangolandó • Fain-Mantega

    Tangolandó • Fain-Mantega

    It was, to be sure, a night of non-standard tango at Joe’s Pub. Tangolandó, fusing tango song with a distinctive Afro-Peruvian rhythm, closed out a program that began with the Dúo Fain-Mantega, consisting of piano and flute, the latter one of the early instruments in tango orchestras, along with the harp and violin, but not…

  • Irène Jacob

    Irène Jacob

    The double life of Irène Jacob. Her performances in the films of Krzysztof Kieślowski are indelible in the modern cinema, and her grace and intelligence have persisted in the work – all too little of it – that I have been able to see since. I have known her only as an actress, so I…

  • Last Tango in Berlin

    Last Tango in Berlin

    LAST TANGO IN BERLIN is the current show by the sort of legendary Ute Lemper (even though I have never warmed to her recordings), tango themed, in an intimate venue, around the block from my office. Of course I was going to go: she is a consummate performer, technically flawless, with a good band, deft,…