A Museum That Will Be All It Can Be

The U.S. Army is planning a $200 million museum in Virginia, to be funded entirely by the government. “After a competition among many elite architects, the firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill has been chosen to design the 255,000-square-foot museum complex. Opening day is planned for June 14, 2009.” The Army insists that recruitment is not the aim of the museum, although the video-game aspect of warfare will apparently have a role, with plans including “a parade ground for simulated battles and an annex for 4-D simulators like those found on the most advanced new amusement park rides.”

NY Phil Settles Contract, Sets Up Possible Domino Effect

The musicians of the New York Philharmonic have agreed to a new three-year contract, ending the speculation over which of the largest American orchestras would settle first. The new deal, which is expected to set the pace for bargaining at the other major orchestras, calls for weekly salary increases which will eventually raise the minimum weekly scale to $2,180, and improvements to the musicians’ benefit package.

Piano’s New Music Box

“It is doubtlessly an intimidating challenge to improve the architecture of Rome, but leading Italian architect Renzo Piano may have done just that with his design of the city’s new Parco della Musica. This new music complex, almost a decade in planning and construction, not only provides Rome with attractive new musical venues, but also acts as a large-scale infill project by returning a previously underused site to the city’s urban fabric.”