Levine Falls

James Levine has taken a serious fall. “The Boston Symphony Orchestra’s music director took a tumble at the end of last night’s concert. He was exiting the stage to a standing ovation when he fell. He was able to get back to his feet on his own.”

Denver Site Chosen For Clyfford Still Museum

A new museum built to show 90 percent of the output of painter Clyfford Still will be built next to the Denver Art Museum. “This particular four-block area, which is called the Civic Center Cultural Complex, is really Denver’s cultural mecca, so the fact that the Clyfford Still Museum can join those existing august institutions establishes us also as a leading cultural amenity,”

Writers Simplify For The Mass Market

Best-selling writers in the UK have signed on to write simplified mass-market books. “The books are aimed at people who struggle with reading or have lost the habit of carrying around a good book. But the plots and subject matter have been pitched to appeal to a wider audience. Each book has fewer than 128 pages and language is simple, with short sentences and a limited number of words of three syllables or more.”

Peru To Sue Yale

Peru says it will sue Yale University for the return of artifacts from Machu Picchu. “Yale, which has displayed the antiquities at its Peabody Museum in New Haven, Connecticut, offered to set up parallel collections at Yale and at a new museum to be built in Peru, which the government rejected.”

Scottish Theatre Faces Closure

Scottish theatres fear they will have to close under a new public arts funding scheme. “For 7:84, which has in the past received around £250,000 a year from the arts council, “core” funding will run out in August. It will be able to apply for funding for individual projects that run from March 2007 onwards, but with no guarantee of getting anything.”

UK To Reconsider Artist Visa Changes

The UK government has agreed to reconsider new visa requirements for foreign artists performing in Britain. “Campaigners had been fearful that organisations such as orchestras or touring theatre companies would no longer be able to apply as a group to enter the UK but rather each individual would have to attend in person at a British consulate in their own country. As well as the significant extra cost and bureaucracy this would create, it was also feared that if one person was refused a visa an entire tour might be scrapped.”