"That complicated history of 'Carol of the Bells' has embodied a grim motif since its inception. ... Then as now, Ukraine was under threat from Russia, a shadow of an anxious past that still extends over the country." - The New York Times
"Members of the Van Wezel Foundation have been working with Sarasota officials on plans for a new performance space, arguing that the 54-year-old Van Wezel Hall is outdated and beyond repair. But the grandchildren of Lewis Van Wezel, who primarily funded the iconic purple hall, want it to be saved." - Axios
"Going forward, entry-level dancers who pass the main company audition will start as full company members, earning entry-level pay based on a collective-bargaining-agreement scale. ... Last season's roster of 39 company members, six of whom were apprentices, now comprises 40 company dancers and no apprentices." - Pointe Magazine
The private equity group which purchased Nielsen last March is reorganizing into three divisions: Nielsen Audience Measurement, Nielsen Analytics and Gracenote. The company, once a near-monopoly, has faced increasing competition from other audience measurement businesses as well as criticism for botched analysis during the pandemic. - Broadcasting and Cable
"(He) was known as the dean of American orchestral clarinetists during a 60-year career with the New York Philharmonic, ... presenting a style and sound that typified the Philharmonic's character — soloistic, technically and sonically brilliant, flamboyant and on the verge of brash." - The New York Times
In 2020/21, when activities were restricted due to lockdowns, the RSC’s box office income was £94,000. This rose to £12.5 million for 2021/22, and total income for 2021/22 was £39.7 million, 62% of which was self-generated from box office sales, commercial trading and fundraising. - The Stage
When someone talks about a “good writer,” the phrase suggests a way with words, an ear for rhythm, maybe even a structural vision. But often the phrase means more than that. - LitHub
Part of why I think podcasts recounting historical instances of extremism have been so prolific this year is because they offer a hungry but exhausted news consumer the opportunity to examine extremism from a safe distance and in the rearview. - Vanity Fair
She made her mark on the global cultural map this year when she published her first thriller novel, entitled 'Reykjavík', which she co-wrote with best-selling author of the ‘Dark Iceland’ series Ragnar Jónasson. - EuroNews
Beauty is what we find, create, and propagate, either through imitation – creating a copy, another iteration – or through distribution of the thing itself. - Psyche
"(Robin Miles) has been the voice of the Antiguan American novelist Jamaica Kincaid, the Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the Russian journalist Yelena Khanga, and the Californian Vice-President Kamala Harris. On this day, she voiced both sides of a conversation between New York and London." - The New Yorker
The never-ending supply of new programming that helped define the streaming era — spawning shows at a breakneck pace but also overwhelming viewers with too many choices — appears to finally be slowing. - The New York Times
"On paper, Berliner Schnauze is simply a dialect of German spoken in and around Berlin. In reality, it's a visceral dialect merged with working-class attitude and influences from French and Yiddish that can be as polarising as it is varied." - BBC
