The New York City Ballet musicians strike is over, but the issues were legitimate. Says a former board member on the state of the music: “Ugly sound, wrong notes, missing notes have become increasingly familiar. The musical direction has grown slacker and slacker – it’s no secret that the company has been unable to hire a strong new musical director because of the absurd rules and attitudes that have come to govern the orchestra’s performance.” It was time to confront the issue. – New York Observer
Blog
DEEP CHILL
Has it come to this? – the Kennedy Center stage covered with ice and a “Nutcracker” atop it that would be better suited to the local municipal skating rink rather than a major performing arts venue. – Washington Post
BALLET SMACKDOWN
Want to save ballet? How about some lessons from the brilliant marketers of the wildly popular World Wrestling Federation? – Seattle Weekly
HALF A MILLION PEOPLE IN TIMES SQUARE AND THE THEATERS ARE
Closed. New Year’s Eve is traditionally a swank theater evening on Broadway, but this year the theaters and their unions have decided to stay dark. Backstage
CANADIAN ENTREPRENEUR –
– begins rebroadcasting every TV channel available in Toronto live on the web. The picture quality ain’t great, but networks have a fit. They’re suing to prevent Icravetv.com from continuing the service. CBC
MARKET RESEARCH
In the old days, museum directors usually came from the ranks of academics and curators who had proven themselves amidst the collections. Now, with higher stakes and more complex business decisions to be made, the top job requires professional managers and those with the ability to market and promote. London’s V&A is a case in point. Financial Times
VERSACE ART SALE
Sale of the late designer’s art collection brings in $66 million in London. San Francisco Examiner
E-SURPRISE
Library circulation is down at the University of Texas at Austin. But newly-acquired e-books are flying through readers at a stunning pace. Maybe the public is more ready to “cuddle up with a good byte” than many think. – New York Times
A THING FOR TWENTIES
Bay Area librarian arrested after failing to turn in money for overdue fines she collected. She kept all the $20s – 6,500 of them over four years — averaging between $130 and $140 a day. – San Francisco Chronicle
TOUGH NUT
The New York City Ballet musicians strike is over, but the issues were legitimate. Says a former board member on the state of the music: “Ugly sound, wrong notes, missing notes have become increasingly familiar. The musical direction has grown slacker and slacker – it’s no secret that the company has been unable to hire a strong new musical director because of the absurd rules and attitudes that have come to govern the orchestra’s performance.” It was time to confront the issue. – New York Observer