Stories

Inside The Dysfunctional Boston Symphony

Two years. That’s how long it’s been since Andris Nelsons, conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, has had a meaningful conversation with the orchestra’s chief executive Chad Smith. In fact, the two barely speak at all. - Boston Globe

Alessandra Ferri Famously Doesn’t Follow Strategies, So How Does She Run The Vienna State Ballet?

“It’s not that I don’t have a strategy — I just don’t have one for my life. I don’t plan it. Some people define their next goal and know exactly what they want. I let things come. ... I have a vision about how I want to run the company.” - Hube

Are Movies Bad For Us?

Whether in the spirit of saving or eulogizing the industry, the question of its influence deserves serious thought. - The Atlantic

How Madrid Renters Are Using Art To Protest Landlords

When their homes came under threat, they instinctively reached for the tools they had to hand: their social and cultural capital. That’s how an apartment block in Madrid became a stage, broadcast on every news channel. - The Guardian

The Violin As Aesthetic Choice

Nature never produces two things that are truly identical. If art is an imitation of nature, then true art cannot be replicated. It can only be pursued. Each instrument was a singular act. - The Strad

PEN America’s Co-CEO Defends Article On Israel That Prompted Organization’s President To Resign

“The article, ‘A Silent Moratorium,’ explores the harassment and professional challenges that Israeli and Jewish authors have experienced since the (Gaza War). … The chief executives knew the article could be controversial, ... but the idea for it had come out of conversations with writers starting last year, and it felt ‘critical’ to pursue.” - The New York Times

Oh, Great — Now They’ve Found Legionnaires’ Disease Bacteria At The Met Museum, Too

“The Metropolitan Museum of Art has tested positive for traces of the bacteria linked to a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, health officials announced Tuesday. The bacteria were previously detected at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, as authorities continue searching for the source of the outbreak.” - ARTnews

Tasmania’s “Provocative” Museum Of Old And New Art To Open Branch In Bangkok

MONA, owned and run (in famously quirky style) by gambling mogul David Walsh in Australia’s island state, is slated to open its first satellite museum on the banks of the Chao Phraya River in the Thai capital in 2029. - Artnet

Arts And Culture In Moscow Are Starting To Resemble The Late Soviet Years

Art shows in apartments or offices, open to friends only, featuring artists forbidden to exhibit publicly. Philosophy clubs in people's kitchens and living rooms. Small theater companies careful to refer to sensitive topics (like the Ukraine war or Putin) obliquely or not at all.  A pervasive climate of fear. - The New York Times

Investor Sues Paramount CEO David Ellison And His Father (And Funder) Over Alleged Side Deal With Trump To Rein In CNN

“Paramount Skydance chief David Ellison and his tech billionaire dad Larry Ellison have been sued by a Paramount shareholder who alleged they cut an ‘illegal’ deal with President Donald Trump to secure U.S. governmental approval for the takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery.” - Variety

BBC Lost More Than Half A Million License-Fee Payers Last Year

“Today’s BBC Annual Report showed that license fee payers slid by 539,000 last year to around 23.3 million. This is the biggest decline since 2020-21 and likely one of the biggest of all time. … News of the decline in license-fee payers comes with the BBC seeking some sort of revamped financial model.” - Deadline

Trump Administration Removes Mentions Of Slavery From Site Of George Washington’s House In Philadelphia

“The original panels” — removed on Wednesday following a court decision — “were put in place in 2010 and told the story of how nine slaves lived in the home along with George and Martha Washington in the 1790s, when Philadelphia was briefly the nation’s capital.” - AP

Letters Confirm That André Breton’s Wife Was Frida Kahlo’s Lover

“A revelatory new biography of the overlooked French Surrealist painter Jacqueline Lamba brings to light her long-rumored affair with Frida Kahlo — all thanks to a cache of newly-discovered love letters. Kahlo specialist Salomon Grimberg has long hoped to revive Lamba’s reputation, which he believes has been unfairly overshadowed by that of her husband, the Surrealist icon André Breton.” - Artnet

Why Betting Site Kalshi Is Pushing Into Bets On Reality TV

Millions of dollars in bets on “Love Island USA” signal prediction platform Kalshi’s push into pop culture, where reality TV fandoms are fueling a rapid surge in entertainment trading volume. - Los Angeles Times

Six Decades After It Was First Performed, Yoko Ono’s “Cut Piece” Is Still Frightening

Ono debuted the work at Carnegie Hall in 1964, sitting motionless onstage as people took turns cutting off her clothes with scissors. The Broad in Los Angeles is presenting Cut Piece twice this weekend across the street at REDCAT. The performer, known as MPA, is scared — but not of the scissors. - The Guardian

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