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Beyond the Grave

From the January 2021 Print Edition

The idea that one can report on one’s own death is paradoxical, if not preposterous. As ­Epicurus wrote in his Letter to Menoeceus, “When we exist, death is not; and when death exists, we are not.” To which Woody Allen added the ­footnote, “I don’t mind dying . . . as long as I . . . . Continue Reading »

Colorblind and Tone-Deaf

From the December 2020 Print Edition

In November 2019, a controversy broke out at the annual conference of the Society for Music Theory. The plenary lecture, delivered by Hunter College professor Philip Ewell, alleged the existence of elitism, color blindness, ­Eurocentrism, racism, and xenophobia in the field of music theory in North . . . . Continue Reading »