“Former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell has stepped into the Minnesota Orchestra’s lengthy and bitter labor dispute. Mitchell met last week in Washington, D.C., with representatives of management and labor to see whether he can coax the two sides into a mediated settlement, according to sources close to the situation.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Miami City Ballet Revamps Its School And Training Programs
“The focus on the changes at Miami City Ballet has been on new artistic director Lourdes Lopez, and what she and the dancers are doing on stage. But Lopez is making other changes at the company’s school that, while not as obvious or immediately visible, will ultimately have a major effect on the troupe and its future.”
The Hochhausers: Fifty Years Of Bringing Russian Artists To London
“The day of [Stalin’s] death we started working with the Russians. That meant we just missed meeting Prokofiev because he died the same day.” But the couple did meet – and present, and befriend – Shostakovich, Oistrakh, Richter, Rostropovich and Vishnevskaya, Plisetskaya – and Nureyev, the most difficult of them all.
Fired Ballet Star On His Relationship With The Bolshoi
Nikolai Tsiskaridze: “The Bolshoi is the best in classical dancing. And for years I have been the face of that company.” On his contentious relationship with former Bolshoi Ballet director Alexei Ratmansky: “The prime minister doesn’t tell the queen what to do. He can only offer polite advice.”
In Egypt, This Year’s Ramadan Soap Operas Star Conservative Islamists
“Moltaheen – ‘people with beards’ – are all over TV this Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting, which Egyptians mark by staying up through the night and watching multi-episode soap operas. … These programs were filmed when Morsi still held power, and they appear to be the cultural establishment’s collective protests against extremism.”
Old Rock LPs Become Investment Vehicles
“For people who grew up during rock ‘n’ roll’s 1960s-to-1980s heyday … rock memorabilia is as legitimate a collection as rare coins, stamps and first editions. Some of these vinyl junkies now occupy the highest ranks of America’s business, government and art worlds, spending big money on the countercultural bric-a-brac of their youth.”
The Head Of Farrar, Straus & Giroux Reflects On The Company’s Golden Age And Its (Silicon) Present
Jonathan Galassi: “I’ve been around long enough to have lived through the transition from what was still basically a shoestring, seat-of-the-pants nineteenth-century artisanal shop to membership in a media conglomerate that has brought us financial stability and supply-chain-style efficiency. … The phones don’t ring off the hook, because most of what goes on in our now-silent offices happens onscreen.”
Italy’s Artistic Upstart, The Maxxi Museum, Strives To Make A Splash
“It’s hard enough to be the new attraction in town when you’re up against some of the world’s most famous ancient Roman, Renaissance and Baroque monuments. But Italy’s national museum for art of the 21st century, known as the Maxxi, faces even bigger challenges: attracting a Roman audience, so far largely indifferent, and establishing a reputation on the international scene while the government is sharply cutting financing for the arts.”
Size Doesn’t Matter – When It Comes To Human Brains
Decades of research – starting with Einstein’s stolen and preserved brain – indicate that density of wiring matters far more.
Alabama Arts Center Closed Due To Bat Invasion
“A bat infestation in March caused Kentuck [Art Center] to evacuate its downtown Northport building and seek about $50,000 from the city of Northport to help get rid of the bats and restore the structure. The bats have been banished, but four months later, the arts association is still not back in its building.”