Arts & Culture

Steven Spielberg and composer John Williams’s long and fruitful collaboration continues with “Lincoln.”  The prolific Williams draws upon folk styles to create an impression of America’s 16th president.

Akiko Fujimoto is the assistant director of the San Antonio Symphony and her duties include giving pre-concert talks, knowing the repertory just in case (called cover conductor), conducting educational and pops concerts, and this year leading a new series of baroque concerts with musicians of the San Antonio Symphony. All of that happens to overlap this week with performances of the Nutcracker.

Got an idea for a classical cartoon, or a reaction to this one? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

Pablo Helguera is a New York-based artist working with sculpture, drawing, photography and performance. You can see more of his work at Artworld Salon and on his own site.

• In the New York Times this week, Anthony Tommasini has a series in both print and video about those microcosmic musical moments like "a fleeting passage, a short series of chords, some unexpected shift in a melodic line — when something occurs that just grabs us." What links these diverse bits from Chopin to Puccini to Mahler together?

Last week, we played Wagner's Parsifal, which is often referred to as an Opera-Oratorio. This week, for the beginning of the holiday season, it's Johann Sebastian Bach's St. Matthew Passion; in its turn, the work is often called a Concertante Opera. If ever there was an oratorio that called out to be dramatized, the St. Matthew Passion is it. While living in New York, I met many scenographers who dreamed of the day they'd have a shot at the cosmic drama. Also termed, "The most monumental musical drama before the Ring," Bach's passion has it all.

Badu Boye was born in Senegal, but is now based in Paris, France. In the 1990's he and his brother, Pape Armand Boye introduced a new sound into the Senegalese music scene. Very different from the electronic mbalax music of the day, the brothers played acoustic guitars. Badu's style today sounds very similar, on his eponymously titled CD, the songs are uplifting and inspirational, albeit with a touch of home sickness. A cello,violin and harmonica sprinkled throughout the album are very attractive additions and add an extra texture to the acoustic sound.