Philly.com Arts

The best day of his compositional life seemed just out of reach: On Sunday, Princeton-based composer Steve Mackey won a Grammy Award for his disc Lonely Motel, but it was for best small-ensemble performance; the classical-composition trophy, for which Lon

Violist Kim Kashkashian in peak form
A woman recovering from trauma of war
An utterly farcical portrait of 'Marriage,' Russian-style

Peruse The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Spring Arts guide, with critics’ selections in the worlds of entertainment and culture. From Van Gogh at the Philadelphia Museum of Art to the opening of the Barnes on the Parkway, Lana Del Rey to Bruce Springsteen, Smash to Game of Thrones, we’ll take you through the best the season has to offer. Take advantage of downloadable calendars to keep tabs on openings, releases, debuts and concerts.

Spring Arts Preview: The most exciting art season in years is upon us, with the opening this weekend at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts of a major survey of Henry Ossawa Tanner's landmark career and an exhibition of Vincent van Gogh's nature paintings just around the corner at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Galleries: Fiber and other marvelous media: If fiber art still brings your mom's macrame to mind, rather than the awesome textile sculptures of Sheila Hicks or Nick Cave, you've clearly not been getting enough of it.
Pop Music: A host of tours, albums: The season in music will be a busy one. Big-name acts of long standing such as Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, the reunited Beach Boys, and, it's expected, the Rolling Stones, will be on tour.
Classical Music: New music is abundant: The Kimmel Center is presenting less expensive, less exotic visiting orchestras.
Dance: There will be leaping, weeping: The forecast for the spring dance season is bittersweet. A lot of fantastic-sounding new choreography is planned, but we are also saying goodbye to two icons.
TV: A lush flowering of the new and old: This handy guide answers the question that I've been asked more than any other this TV season: When is Game of Thrones, HBO's swords-and-treachery epic, coming back?
Theater: Ushering in promising shows: The lights already are up on a number of notable shows during the theater season's second half.
Museums: Exhibitions from a birthday to the Boss: Visitors to the region's non-art museums will have a particularly eclectic array of exhibitions and programs to choose from this spring.
Classical Music: New music is abundant: If spring isn't exactly in the air - and let's face it, it's not - it can be found in the lobby of your multiplex, where big stars (Denzel! Reese! Reynolds! Roberts!) and big concepts (and a few bad concepts, too) jump out from posters, and from the trailers repetitively playing on monitors over concession stands.
Books: Volumes to delight: Christmas decorations all put away? Good. Now, kick back and catch up on your reading. Here are some good titles you may want to check out.