The Boston Symphony Orchestra announced Monday, Feb. 2, that the Finnish conductor and composer will serve as director of the Tanglewood Festival of Contemporary Music in 2026, curating five programs July 23-27. - San Francisco Chronicle
“The appointment marks the second time in six years that Disney has selected a successor to Iger — his previous pick in parks boss Bob Chapek devolved into a public spectacle of corporate governance that saw Iger reclaim the CEO spot and restart the clock on retirement.” - CNBC
King launched the Off-Broadway company in 1970 to produce work by Black playwrights and give employment to Black theatermakers. Playwrights Ntozake Shange, Charles Fuller, and David Henry Hwang launched their careers there; NFT gave early boosts to performers Denzel Washington, Phylicia Rashad, Debbie Allen, Morgan Freeman, Chadwick Boseman, and Samuel L. Jackson. - AP
The choreographer had the idea for The Naked King, based on the old fable “The Emperor’s New Clothes” and premiering this week at New York City Ballet, after watching one of last year’s “No Kings” protests. - The New York Times
Many people who should have been apprised of Trump’s plans before they were announced were not, including several Kennedy Center board members. And evidently little thought was given to either the National Symphony or touring Broadway shows booked for this summer. - The Washington Post (MSN)
“The Kennedy Center does not have a 2026-2027 season,” a source told CNN Inside Politics host Dana Bash. “There would not have been any programming to announce.” (video) - CNN
… he said that about the East Wing of the White House, too. And what Trump did say sounds worrisome: “I’ll be using the steel. So we’re using the structure.” - AP
The biggest winner was composer Gabriela Ortiz, who took three prizes — Best Choral Performance, Best Contemporary Classical Composition and Best Classical Compendium — for works performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel. - Gramophone
It was expected to generate in the region of $5m (£3.7m) in its first weekend, but its actual takings are "a huge start for a documentary", Variety said, and "no one saw that coming", according to the Hollywood Reporter. - BBC
All serious intellectual work happens on the page, and we shouldn’t pretend otherwise. If you want to contribute to the world of ideas, if you want to entertain and manipulate complex thoughts, you have to read and write. - Persuasion
Created to commemorate the company’s 50th anniversary, Complications in Sue opens Wednesday with 10 composers commissioned to write eight-minute scenes. These collectively encompass the century-long life of a mythical everywoman named Sue. - Philadelphia Inquirer
A South African artist is suing the arts minister after he blocked her from representing the country at the Venice Biennale, having called her work addressing Israel’s killing of Palestinians in Gaza “highly divisive”. - The Guardian
The news comes as the Philharmonic is embroiled in a legal dispute with the Scottish Rite over payments related to renovations of the historic building. - Texas Public Radio
Trump has grown attached to the idea of a 250-foot-tall structure overlooking the Potomac River, according to two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe his comments, a scale that has alarmed some architectural experts who initially supported the idea of an arch but expected a far smaller one. - Washington Post
