The destruction of so much of their culture has not just pushed Ukrainians farther away from the Russian-dominated cultural space they shared for decades under Soviet rule. It has also awakened a hunger for their own culture, described by one daily newspaper as a “Ukrainian cultural boom”. - BBC
"The collection — consisting entirely of works by L.A.-based artists — has been accumulated by (Jarl and Pamela Mohn) over the last two decades and is being called the Mohn Art Collective: Hammer, LACMA, MOCA, or MAC3. The gift is accompanied by a $15-million to $20-million endowment." - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
Company soloist Ellen Hummel filed suit earlier this month against SF Ballet and a volunteer physician, alleging medical negligence and "reckless disregard" for her condition, resulting in career-ending injury. Former principal Mathilde Froustey filed a similar lawsuit, still in discovery, last year. - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
New company director Anthony Roth Costanzo has raised over $7 million since he took over on June 1, and he says, "That fundraising is not only subsidizing this ticketing model, but a lot of it is inspired by this ticketing model." (Patrons who can afford more have a pay-what-you-wish option.) - WHYY (Philadelphia)
"The decision came as the clock ticked down on the time frame within which his group had to finalize a firm offer" — last week he bid $4.3 billion, then raised it to $6 billion — "that could be a viable alternative to Skydance Media’s pending ($8 billion) takeover agreement." - Variety
Le Monte G. Booker, currently CFO of Chicago's Field Museum, follows Charles Venable, who resigned in 2021 after controversy over one astoundingly ill-chosen word in the job description for the museum director, and Colette Pierce Burnette, who was hired to succeed Venable and abruptly resigned last November after 15 months. - Mirror Indy
"If Goehr’s own music has come to seem less significant than his importance as a teacher of some of the leading British composers of subsequent generations, then his role in creating what became a genuinely new force in British music after the second world war cannot be overestimated." - The Guardian
Last summer, the Russian soprano sued the company for cancelling all her engagements after she refused to denounce Putin following his invasion of Ukraine. A Federal judge has tossed out her claims for breach of contract, defamation, and discrimination due to national origin, permitting only her gender claim. - AP
"It emerged on the eve of this year’s festival that Creative Scotland faces cuts of up to £10m this year, amid widespread spending reductions across the public sector following the general election." Protest messages have been read onstage at both the International Festival and the Fringe. - The Guardian
The intent you form, the person you are, is the result of all the interactions between biology and environment that came before.… Each prior influence flows without a break from the effects of the influences before. There’s no point in the sequence where you can insert a freedom of will. - Hedgehog Review
He never did get that high-school degree—let alone attend a doctoral program in philosophy. His layman’s approach to serious thinking has left him untainted by the self-regard that so often attaches to expertise. - The Atlantic
These scores, which had never been publicly shown together, offered an uncommon perspective on the Ballets Russes productions that defined and transformed a generation of artists. The scores, by Stravinsky, Debussy, Ravel and others, many heavily annotated, “give a visceral sense of the working process.” - The New York Times
Over the past two years, poets have emerged as some of the nation’s most popular voices, their verse capturing the raw emotions of the conflict and resonating deeply with a war-weary population. Sales of poetry books have soared. - The New York Times
"As book critic I’ve read, on average, three books per week, about 150 per year, which adds up to about 2,500 books over 17 years. My home decorating theme is bookshelves, accented by piles of books." - Tampa Bay Times
