Philadelphia Orchestra’s New Strategic Plan Includes Cutbacks, Changes

Plans in the 69-page document released by the orchestra’s board include: a 15% reduction in subscription concerts; expansion of the repertoire to include light classics, Broadway and film music and concert or semi-staged operas; no international touring that isn’t fully funded in advance; an end to white-tie-and-tails concert attire; and a major focus on improving customer service.

Was Nabokov Really The Super-Genius Literary Types Worship Him As?

“Perhaps he’s only a writer’s writer. And a certain kind of (self-regarding?) writer at that. Martin Amis: ‘I bow to no one in my love for this great and greatly inspiring genius.’ Rushdie again: ‘The most important writer ever to cross the boundary between one language and another.’ Others bowing in worship include John Updike, Don DeLillo, Jeffrey Eugenides and Zadie Smith. But these maybe aren’t people you look to for book recommendations.”

The Pieta Hanging Above The Fireplace: Is It A Real Michelangelo?

A painting of the Virgin Mary holding the body of Jesus, a family heirloom now owned by a Buffalo-area man, has long been known to be a copy of a Michelangelo sketch. Until recently, scholars agreed that the painting was a copy, possibly by a student. But one historian is convinced that the canvas is one of only a few extant Michelangelo paintings on cloth – and he’s beginning to convince some of his colleagues.