Creatively Speaking

Even before The Philadelphia Orchestra's new music director took up his post, he'd begun reaching out to other arts organizations. As WRTI's Jim Cotter reports, the Orchestra is now set to present an ambitious co-production of a Richard Strauss masterpiece with Opera Philadelphia.

The modern game of golf comes from Scotland, where in the mid 19th century it also became a subject for artists. WRTI’s Susan Lewis considers the relationship between art and golf in Victorian Great Britain, as a Philadelphia Museum of Art exhibition spotlights an 1847 masterwork: The Golfers. Museum Curator of European Painting Before 1900 Jennifer Thompson says the large painting is one of the most celebrated in the genre.

The Art of Golf runs through July 7th at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Hiccups and sneezes are not a standard accompaniment to a performance of classical music. But when was the last time a live performance was free of coughing? At a classical music concert, rules of etiquette demand silent immersion in the music - no cell phones or texting of course, no talking, and a limited array of acceptable responses to the performance.

Economics Professor Andreas Wagener, who specializes in social policy at Leibniz University of Hannover in Hannover, Germany, reviews the research and outlines six motives for why there’s more than the usual amount of coughing during classical concerts.

Professor Wagener is the author of “Why Do People (Not) Cough in Concerts? The Economics of Concert Etiquette” - published by the Association for Cultural Economics International.