“A landmark pay-discrimination lawsuit filed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s star flutist, Elizabeth Rowe, has been settled out of court after successful mediation between the two sides. ‘While the details of the resolution are confidential, all those involved in the process are satisfied with the result,’ according to a joint statement from the BSO and Rowe issued by the orchestra Thursday afternoon.” – Berkshire Eagle (Pittsfield, MA)
Author: Matthew Westphal
Publisher Betty Ballantine, Who Helped Create The Modern Paperback, Dead At 99
“Paperbacks had existed in the U.S. since colonial times, but in the 1930s were limited mostly to poorly made ‘pulp’ novels. … [Betty and her husband Ian] started out as importers of Penguin paperbacks from England and founded two enduring imprints: Bantam Books and Ballantine Books, both now part of Penguin Random House.” – Yahoo! (AP)
This Year’s Serpentine Pavilion Will Look Like Floating Clouds Of Slate
Architect Junya Ishigami’s design for the outdoor structure “will be part rock face, part smog cloud, as if a landslide from an open-cast slate mine had been cut from a hillside and transported to the leafy royal park.” – The Guardian
Playback Theatre As Therapy For Traumatized Syrian War Refugees
“The [program] was organized by Fighters for Peace, which was founded in 2014 by former Lebanese militia members who took part in their country’s destructive 1975-90 civil war and are now peace activists. They have been using playback theater for years as part of their campaign to promote peace and try to prevent another breakout of war in Lebanon.” – Yahoo! (AP)
Government Audit Slams France’s National Workshop For Historical Furnishings
“The Mobilier National, which was set up in the 17th century to decorate royal palaces and continues to restore and supply fine furniture and tapestries for the Elysée Palace and Versailles, needs to be ‘radically reformed’, according to a report by its auditors. National audit office inspectors, which found large quantities of alcohol in Mobilier National’s workshops, said staff were often absent and used tools and equipment to ‘moonlight’ on their own projects.” – The Local (France) (AFP)
Dolly Parton Expands Her Free-Books-For-Kids Program To A Fifth Country
“Ireland becomes the fifth country to benefit from Parton’s generosity, joining the US, UK, Canada and Australia. It’s another welcome step forward for a charity” — the Imagination Library — “that recently celebrated giving away its 100 millionth book (yep, you read that right: One Hundred Million books).” – Melville House
ABT To Perform On Cruise Ships
The company will offer guest performances on selected Celebrity Cruises vessels. Said executive director Kara Medoff Barnett in a statement, “American Ballet Theatre’s mission is to bring the best of ballet to the widest possible audience. We are thrilled to redefine ‘widest’ to now include audiences at sea.” – Orlando Sentinel
The last of the big-time donors?
From coast to coast, our national landscape is dotted with fine-arts institutions that exist because of people like the late David Rockefeller. Unfortunately, big-ticket philanthropy is in the middle of a protracted sea change that is already having a direct effect on the arts. – Terry Teachout
Weekend Extra: Meet The Mrudangam
There may be a longshot chance that you are unfamiliar with the mrudangam. It is a South Indian percussion instrument that Rajna Swaminathan has introduced into American music since she became a part of the New York City jazz community in 2011. – Doug Ramsey
This Man Could Have Been The Great American Impressionist Composer
“When composers die prematurely, it’s tempting to imagine what they might have produced had they lived to a riper age. … Consider, for example, the life of Charles Tomlinson Griffes, a man largely — and unjustly — forgotten by the general public today.” – The American Scholar