Category: today’s top story

“The best minds of my generation are thinking about how to make people click ads. That sucks.”

Terry Teachout: “High-culture unions that fight to hang on to an untenable status quo are shooting themselves in the head. Labor leaders invariably respond to managerial cries of disaster-around-the-corner by arguing that their members should not be made to suffer today for the managerial mistakes of the past. But in the end, it doesn’t matter who made the first blunder.”

“Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel suggested to a theater full of arts patrons Wednesday that he would look into whether nonprofit institutions will have to start paying property taxes under his administration. Later, however, an Emanuel transition aide clarified that the incoming mayor is not considering raising taxes on nonprofits, saying the option isn’t on the table.”

“Ticketmaster plans to introduce technology enabling artists and sports teams to raise or lower ticket prices depending on demand. If it’s good for concerts and sports events, why not films at theaters?”

“The dismay over the overwhelming predominance of whiteness at the movies is almost as old as the movies themselves, but the divergence from normal American experience seems to be, if anything, getting worse.”

The court documents provide details of just how much the orchestra currently owes to whom and which contractual obligations orchestra management seeks to change.

“Tourists were hurriedly evacuated from Barcelona’s emblematic Sagrada Familia basilica after an arson attack destroyed part of the original work of its eccentric architect, Antoni Gaudi. A local man reportedly set the blaze after walking into the sacristy, spraying it with a flammable liquid and setting fire to the priests’ robes stored there.”

Monica Mason’s widely-praised ten-year tenure as the company’s artistic director ends in the summer of 2012. Luke Jennings lays odds on a dozen possible candidates to succeed Mason, from the leading suspects (Wayne Eagling, Christopher Wheeldon) to some dark horses (Scottish Ballet’s Ashley Page, star dancer Johan Kobborg).

“The move makes Philadelphia’s the first major U.S. orchestra to file for bankruptcy, say industry groups and veteran observers. The majority vote came with several abstentions, and all five musicians on the 75-member board voted ‘no.’ “

“Plagued by deep financial difficulties, the Philadelphia Orchestra is hurtling toward bankruptcy; its Board of Directors is set to make a decision as soon as this Saturday. … Sources say if the board votes yes, the musicians might begin a six month work stoppage.”