“A little more than a year ago, New Yorker writer Maria Konnikova announced that she was diving into the world of professional poker as a new player, all for the purpose of writing a book about her experiences. [Now] the actual writing of the book is on hold because Konnikova, under the guidance of pro Erik Seidel, got too good at poker. In January, Konnikova won $86,400 by beating a 240-person field at the PCA National; in her first tournament after deciding to drop blogs for cards, she won $57,000.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
The Rise Of The Rural Creative Class (Yes, It’s Real)
“A growing body of research shows that innovative businesses are common in rural areas, and rural innovation gets a boost from the arts.” Richard Florida digests the data.
Here’s One Corporate Foundation That’s Increasing, Not Cutting, Its Support Of The Arts
“The list of regional art organizations receiving support from KeyBank includes Playhouse Square, the Cleveland Orchestra, Cleveland Museum of Art, and now, the Cleveland-based Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which recently netted a $10 million donation – the largest in its history.”
Producer Of Diana Vishneva’s ‘Sleeping Beauty Dreams’ Tour Questioned In Trump-Russia Investigation
“[The retired ABT star’s] Sleeping Beauty Dreams, an avant-garde dance production about the internal world of the cursed princess during the one hundred years she was asleep, [is] premiering in Miami in December before going on to New York and then on … a 30-city tour in 2019.” Reporter Olivia Nuzzi does a profile of Michael Caputo, the show’s producer, who was interviewed by special prosecutor Robert Mueller’s office last week. Caputo is an erstwhile political operative in both the U.S. and Russia and was a senior communications adviser to the Trump campaign.
The Nobel Prize For Literature May Be Cancelled This Year
Yes, the fallout from the sexual harassment scandal has gotten that bad: “The Swedish Academy yesterday discussed the Nobel prize and came to no decision,” said the head of the panel last week. “After our next Thursday meeting there will most probably be a statement on whether we will award a prize this year or reserve it for next year, in which case two prizes for literature will be announced in October 2019.”
Vandal Who Slashed $3 Million Painting Was Owner’s Own Son, Say Police
Almost exactly one year ago, an unknown man jogged into the Opera Gallery in Aspen, walked up to Christopher Wool’s painting Untitled 2004, cut it twice with a knife, and jogged right out. Police now say that Nicholas Morley flew from London for the express purpose of damaging the artwork, which had been consigned to the gallery for sale by a holding company owned by Morley’s father. (Just days later, Dad tried to convince the gallery that news reports of the slashing had made the painting more valuable and that they should raise the price.)
Half Of Britain’s Orchestral Musicians Don’t Earn Enough To Live On, Says Musicians’ Union
“Wages have stagnated as funding cuts take hold. Young musicians are particularly affected, with two-fifths of newcomers taking unpaid work in the last year. Forty-four per cent of players told the MU they struggled to make ends meet. And two-thirds of veteran musicians – who’d been playing for more than 30 years – said they’d considered alternative careers.”
How Kyle Abraham Feels About Being NY City Ballet’s First Black Choreographer In More Than A Decade
“Not only am I a black choreographer I’m a modern choreographer. I have a fear that if this piece is seen as a failure, they will never hire another black choreographer again. … I just want to make a beautiful work in the same way the other two choreographers on that program are going into a work, but they don’t have that same weight on them.”
Poland Has A New Chopin Competition – Using Strictly 19th-Century Pianos
“As Poland celebrates the centenary of its independence this year, the Fryderyk Chopin Institute in collaboration with Polish Television and Polish Radio has organised [the International Chopin Competition on Period Instruments] not only to celebrate the country’s most beloved composer but to recapture Chopin’s sound world by using Érards, Broadwoods and Pleyels – period pianos with which Chopin was intimately familiar.” Reporter Andrew Larkin meets the competition’s founder, Stanisław Leszczyński.
Director Of Rome’s Galleria Borghese Charged With Crime For Going To The Gym While Clocked In At The Office
“Anna Coliva, the well-respected director of Rome’s Galleria Borghese, one of Italy’s top museums, is to stand trial on charges of absenteeism and defrauding the public purse … In total, she was absent from the museum for 41 hours over 12 days, according to evidence reviewed in court. At a hearing, Coliva said that the overtime she had worked more than made up for her absences.”