Bold Aims for Art in a Staid Capital

By GRAHAM BOWLEY

Drew Angerer for The New York Times

Melissa Chiu, new director of the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington.

The new director of the Hirshhorn Museum, Melissa Chiu, says the international art scene will have a home in Washington.

Orchestra and College Enter Each Other’s Turf

By MICHAEL COOPER

Bard College will start a training ensemble, while the New York Philharmonic will begin an academy with partners around the world.

Books of The Times

‘Respect’

By DAVID RITZ
Reviewed by JANET MASLIN

“Respect” is David Ritz’s latest biography, this one about the life of Aretha Franklin.

Music Review

At the End of the Line, A Hit-Filled Goodbye

By BEN RATLIFF

The Allman Brothers Band has played an engagement nearly every year since 1989 at the Beacon Theater in Manhattan — more than 230 concerts. On Tuesday it played its last.

Critic’s Notebook

A scene from the video game Alien: Isolation.

Old-School Horror and Its Reliable Chills

By CHRIS SUELLENTROP

It’s good to be scared: Simple, pleasing terror returns in Alien: Isolation, The Evil Within and P. T.

Tyler Ritter, far left, with Jack McGee and Laurie Metcalf as his parents, in “The McCarthys,” Thursday nights on CBS.

Welcome to Their World: Boston Accents and TV Sports

By NEIL GENZLINGER

“The McCarthys,” a new sitcom om CBS, stars Tyler Ritter as the odd one out in a close Boston family.

Newly Released

Books by David Nicholls and Edward St. Aubyn

By CARMELA CIURARU

Recent releases include fiction by David Nicholls, Edward St. Aubyn, Yannick Grannec and Ludmilla Petrushevskaya.

Music Review

The Clarion Choir performing Maximilian Steinberg’s “Passion Week” at the Church of St. Jean Baptiste.

Sacred Work, Written in Secret in Leningrad

By JAMES R. OESTREICH

Maximilian Steinberg’s “Passion Week” had its New York premiere on Tuesday, performed by the Clarion Choir, some 90 years after it was written in the Soviet Union.

Music Review

The British singer and songwriter Jessie Ware at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple on Tuesday night.

Grabbing Power by Holding Her Fire and Taking Her Time

By JON CARAMANICA

The British singer Jessie Ware brings her understated yet powerful style to her fans at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple.

Music Review

“A Distant Drum,” with, from left, Ralf Schmid, Vincent Segal, Jason Marsalis, Daniel Hope and Michael Olatuja in this show at Zankel Hall.

Reporter’s Life Under Apartheid, in Music, Dance and Typewriter

By JON PARELES

“A Distant Drum” depicted the life of the South African journalist Nathaniel Nakasa, who came to the United States on a Harvard fellowship in 1965.

New York City Gets a Country Music Festival

By BEN SISARIO

Brad Paisley, Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley will perform at FarmBorough, a new country music festival coming to Randalls Island in June.

Bridge

A Winning Pair at the World Bridge Championships

By PHILLIP ALDER

The winners of the Open Pairs at the world championships in China last weekend were Ehud Friedlander and Inon Liran of Israel.

TimesVideo

Serious Business

By ALEXANDRA JACOBS

Bradley Cooper is set to play the title role in a Broadway revival of “The Elephant Man,” a character he has identified with since he saw a movie version at 12.

In “Foxcatcher,” Steve Carell portrays the chemical heir John E. du Pont.

Stepping Into Eccentricity’s Darker Side

By DAVE ITZKOFF

Steve Carell, best known for comedic roles in “The Office” and the “Anchorman” movies, step into a dramatic role in “Foxcatcher.”

No More Ms. Nice Gal

By CARA BUCKLEY

The actress Reese Witherspoon has been playing against type in films like “Mud,” “The Good Lie,” “Inherent Vice” and “Wild.”

Writer and performance artist Kristina Wong is interviewed at her home in Korea-town, Los Angeles.

Off Color: Kristina Wong (Video Series)

By TANZINA VEGA

In a video report, Ms. Wong, a performance artist, discusses how marrying herself and stalking basketball star Jeremy Lin offer opportunities to question stereotypes as well as entertain.

How Have You Used Humor to Deal With Issues of Race?NYT Now

Press Play

Noteworthy New Music

Exclusive: New Music By Saint Saviour and Over the Rhine

This is the world premiere of “In The Seams” by Saint Saviour and “Blood Oranges In the Snow” by Over the Rhine.

Listen Now »

Joyce DiDonato at Carnegie Hall on Sunday. She has performed the national anthem before a Royals game at Kauffman Stadium once before, in 2007.

Opera Star Joyce DiDonato Will Sing National Anthem at Game 7

By KAREN CROUSE

DiDonato, a baseball fan and a Kansas City native, was first asked if she could appear in Tuesday’s Game 6, but she said that she was committed to teaching a master class.

Special Section

Picasso and a Great Pyrenees, left, from “Picasso & the Camera” at the Gagosian Gallery and “Jacqueline aux Fleurs” by Picasso, from “Picasso & Jacqueline” at the Pace.

Fine Arts & Exhibits

A special section highlights upcoming events and exhibitions, and surveys new developments in prominent museums.

Have You Got Questions for Gillian Flynn or Cheryl Strayed?

October 29, 2014

Flea Theater’s Artistic Director to Step Down

October 29, 2014

Seattle Sorts Library Books Faster than New York? Fuhgeddaboudit

October 29, 2014

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Fall Arts Preview

Interactive Feature

Fall Arts Preview - Times 100

How to wade through the crush of culture coming your way this season? Here’s a guide to 100 events that have us especially excited, in order of appearance.