"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working with Sarasota officials on plans for a new performance space, arguing that the 54-year-old Van Wezel Hall is outdated and beyond repair.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
The fact that art styles and techniques are now transferable in this way is immensely disruptive and extremely upsetting for artists. As technologies like Lensa become more mainstream and artists feel increasingly ripped-off, there may be pressure for legislation to adapt to it. - Science Alert
