County commissioners agreed to keep the library open and restore some banned books, but the threat isn't over. A librarian who resigned explains not only how many horrible phone calls she received, but how important the library is for the community. - NPR
We couldn’t ignore that there were more mental health problems among people who play musical instruments and among people who reach higher levels of music engagement. I wanted to see if it was because they were engaged in music, or because they were born with a package. - Van
The Make It Right Foundation was supposed to provide well-designed replacement homes for wiped-out Katrina victims in the impoverished New Orleans neighborhood. The houses have been plagued by nonstop design and material problems, and a legal settlement to help the beleaguered residents has now come unraveled. - The Hollywood Reporter
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival announced a campaign Tuesday to raise $2.5 million to “save” the season set to begin later this month and said it was suspending its planning for 2024 as it seeks to stabilize its finances. - The Oregonian
As Black and brown musicians, the question is not whether we can “solve” classical music’s issue with racism. Rather we wonder: Why do we try to change a world that isn’t ours? Under that: Can this be our world? And the trickier phrasing: Should it be? - Van
Adam Platt: "As you move from one pleasantly distracting set piece to another, pondering when to ingest the lemon-flavored edible in your pocket, it feels like playing hooky — a reprieve from the hushed, ponderous solemnity of the Establishment museums and galleries." - New York Magazine
Titled New York, New York — yes, after what he calls "that song," which he and Fred Ebb wrote but he's never liked — it differs substantially from the Scorsese-De Niro-Minnelli movie and has plenty of new material, including half a dozen songs with lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda. - The New York Times
Both sides have a point, but both sides are also, let's say, a bit touchy. Why? "Coming out against libraries making books more accessible looks miserly, but so does protesting against authors getting paid what they deserve." Meanwhile, the publishers are the problem. - Wired
"The venue had the clandestine air of a speakeasy. Notice of its existence was passed along by word of mouth. Guests stuffed cash into a cardboard box marked 'donations' to receive canned Modelo from a fridge. There were readings, screenings and music shows." - The New York Times
Where Quantitative Aesthetics is really newly intense across society—in art and everywhere—is in how social-media numbers (clicks, likes, shares, retweets, etc.) seep into everything as a shorthand for understanding status. - Artnet
In August 2021, Apple purchased the classical-only streaming app Primephonic and immediately shuttered it, announcing that it would be reconfigured as an Apple product; 17 months later, that product has arrived. Here's a look at what's included in the new version — and what's missing. - Musical America
For the past few years, social-media platforms have used creator funds to lure content creators from their rivals with the promise of money to be made on top of the usual sponsorship dollars. But they seem more and more like empty PR stunts. - Variety
The excavated imperial tomb also had extra bricks, slathered with lime, which isn't usual. The combination of nails, bricks, and lime "strongly implied the use of protective charms to keep the 'restless dead' from interfering with the living." - The New York Times
"His artistic breakthrough came with 'John Somebody,' a playfully inventive work for solo electric guitar with taped accompaniment, which he assembled from 1980 to 1982, and which, as performed regularly and recorded in 1986, won him considerable acclaim." - The New York Times
When the BBC announced plans to close the UK's only full-time professional chamber choir right before its century mark, 140,000 people signed a petition - and alternative funders stepped in. - BBC
Hope Carasquilla was ousted from Tallahassee Classical School after several parents complained about the lesson in a Renaissance art class. (One parent called the sculpture "pornographic.") Carasquilla was the charter school's third principal since it opened in 2020. - HuffPost
The process is difficult even for organizations with strong financial and administrative support. For smaller companies with less funding, it is daunting. - Broad Street Review
Watching these wounds being inflicted is painful. People who work in culture and the arts in this country are exhausted. The 30% cut to Arts Council England in 2010, when the now chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, was culture secretary, has done huge and long-term damage. - The Guardian
"The artisans there — including a gold-leaf specialist, coppersmiths and wood carvers — fear that their meticulous work will be destroyed, as has happened in years past. Their frustrations have been intensified by the tighter control Israel has exerted over the compound in recent years, making repairs more difficult." - The New York Times
