The High Cost Of Keeping Your Recently-Returned Stolen Art

All well and good for people to suggest Maria Altmann ought to have hung on to the Klimt paintings that were stolen from her ancestors by Nazis and recently returned. But “what if Ms. Altmann had decided to hold on to her Klimts? Once Nazi-looted art is restored to its rightful owners, the bills start coming in. Lawyers in some restitution cases may work pro bono, but their costs cannot be waived, and these can quickly pile up.”

Musicians Fail To Collect Royalty Checks For Digital Music

“Washington-based SoundExchange released a list of 9,000 recording artists with unclaimed royalties in what it described as a last-ditch effort to distribute $500,000 worth of checks to the musicians for digital broadcasts dating from the late ’90s. And the clock is ticking: The artists forfeit the money to SoundExchange if they don’t claim it by Dec. 15.”

Davis To Leave Pittsburgh Symphony

Conductor Andrew Davis won’t renew his three-year contract as artistic advisor to the Pittsburgh Symphony. The job was an unusual one for the orchestra. “We are not wedded to this model. It is a new model for an orchestra in America to be trying. We have found parts of it that have been interesting and enlightening and parts that don’t work as well. We will either have to find ways to make it work within the model or work outside of it. We want to do what is best for the artistic future of the organization.”

Blue Men Are Really Blue In Toronto

The Blue Man Group is one of those shows that seems to run forever whereve it plays. But not in Toronto, where the show is closing after a disappointing run. “The backlash from the show’s union difficulties and the sheer age of the property itself are the more likely culprits — and not the same general audience malaise blamed for the early departure of The Lord of the Rings.”