Books, arts and culture

Prospero

An enchanting mix of literary insight and cultural commentary, in the spirit of the hero of “The Tempest”

Classical music
A new album brings Mozart and Cuban music into conversation

The project by Sarah Willis, a horn player at the Berlin Philharmonic, will raise money for the Havana Lyceum Orchestra

Every day the same
During the pandemic, time-loop films have become irresistibly apposite

“Palm Springs”, a new romantic comedy, has arrived at the right time

Face value
“Welcome to Chechnya” uses deepfake technology to protect its subjects

The documentary follows LGBT individuals fleeing persecution in the Russian republic as well as the activists helping them

With a fistful of dollars
Sergio Leone and Ennio Morricone had a unique film-making partnership

The director and composer reshaped the Western, and drew up a new blueprint for movie soundscapes

Rhyme and reason
Young British poets are encapsulating the experience of lockdown

The poems have struck a chord on Twitter for their evocative descriptions of the changes wrought by covid-19

The digital auction house
Sotheby’s experiments with live-streaming its art sales

An auction of contemporary, Impressionist and modern pieces on June 29th showed that buyers are no longer reticent about bidding online for art

Normal people
The continuing influence of “The Conformist”

Fifty years on, Bernardo Bertolucci’s portrait of fascism is still chilling

Small but mighty
Greece’s local museums offer a cornucopia of treasures

There are more than 100 archaeological museums in Greece. Few get more than a handful of visitors a year

Snails in a cell
A new mini-opera pays tribute to one of Turkey’s political prisoners

Arrested on trumped-up charges, Osman Kavala has spent nearly three years in a high-security prison

Molto vivace
A unique maestro departs the San Francisco Symphony orchestra

In his 25 years as music director, Michael Tilson Thomas has encouraged freedom and flair

The usual suspects
“Irresistible” goes where many films have gone before

Jon Stewart’s latest film is pleasant, competent and utterly forgettable

Harvest the whirlwind
Neil Young’s darkest days produced his greatest work

A previously unreleased album, “Homegrown”, is further evidence of the musician’s gloomy creativity in the 1970s