She had had quite a life even before she became the first superstar virtuoso of an electronic instrument: she was a child prodigy on the violin who toured with her pianist sister until injury (and a screaming Leopold Auer) derailed her, she happened on Leon Theremin and his invention at a party at the Plaza Hotel, and she turned down his marriage proposal. – Tablet
Tag: 03.07.19
Louisville Ballet Did A Piece With A Same-Sex Relationship — And Got Even More And Nastier Mail Than They’d Expected
“We knew by promoting a love story between two men we would make some people uncomfortable,” said company officials of Human Abstract, “but we were not prepared for this grotesque display of hate.” (They say that positive response outweighed the negative.) One particularly vicious email got its author, a research cardiologist, fired from editorship of a science journal. – The Courier-Journal (Louisville)
Why English Won’t Be Replaced As The World’s Lingua Franca Anytime Soon
The reason is inertia, basically: “[English] got there first, and there is no major expansion of globalization to shift the balance to another language. Today there are far more non-native English speakers than native speakers, and this means that English isn’t about the USA or the UK, but instead about its international use across cultures.” – Quartz (Quora)
English City Is Laying Off Every Curator In Its Museums
“[In] Leicester’s arts and museums service … four posts will be scrapped as part of a complete reshuffle of the department.” Five vacant positions were also eliminated. The savings: £320,000. – Leicester Mercury
Michelangelo’s Terracotta Study For ‘Pietà’ Identified
“Presenting a new book on their research, art historians revealed extensive documentation from the Renaissance that appears to prove the [terracotta] statue” — which surfaced about two decades ago in northern Italy — “was made by Michelangelo, as well as striking similarities between the object and other, confirmed masterpieces by the artist.” – The Telegraph (UK)
Broadway Gets A Tech Startup Accelerator
Alongside venture capital firm Exponential Creativity Ventures and tech training company IT Mentors, the Shubert Organization is launching a startup accelerator that will provide companies with funding, training and the ability to test products in Broadway theaters or within the Shubert ecosystem. In exchange, the Broadway Tech Accelerator will take an equity stake in each company. – Broadway News
26,000 Students, Millions In Student Tuition, Loans, Gone In Default Of A Chain Of Colleges
The affected schools — Argosy University, South University and the Art Institutes — have about 26,000 students in programs spanning associate degrees in dental hygiene and doctoral programs in law and psychology. Fourteen campuses, mostly Art Institute locations, have a new owner after a hastily arranged transfer involving private equity executives. More than 40 others are under the control of a court-appointed receiver who has accused school officials of trying to keep the doors open by taking millions of dollars earmarked for students. – The New York Times
Uh Oh: Why Did San Francisco Opera Just Lay Off Its Directors Of Communications And Development?
For the past two years, withdrawals from the endowment reached 9 percent: Shilvock said that trend cannot continue and deficits must be controlled: “To bring expenses into line with realistic revenues, we determined that expense budgets need to be reduced by $5M per year, and that we cannot affect our core mission: [presenting] compelling, inspiring opera at the highest level of excellence.” – San Francisco Classical Voice
The BBC Isn’t Into Netflix’s Claims About ‘The Crown’
In what seems a twist worthy of season 65 of the Netflix show The Crown, the BBC has started mocking the numbers, or rather lack of numbers, Netflix shares about one of its most expensive shows. The Beeb’s director general acknowledged that Netflix had a huge budget compared to the BBC, and also urged the BBC to get ready for people never to watch live TV. – The Guardian (UK)
Inside The ‘Magical’ Studio Of Kiki Smith
Smith is “known for her seriality, spinning concepts and images into one work after another, until something new piques her interest. Her sources of inspiration remain in flux, but Smith’s work itself tends to revolve around the body, death, mythology, and nature. Rumpelstiltskin may have been able to weave hay into gold, but there’s no alchemy to Smith’s practice: just hours of making, year after year.” – Artsy