"Since (host Dennis) Moore’s termination, the Tribune spoke to nine WFMT employees, current and former, many of whom shared Moore’s concerns about the station’s increasing marginalization within its parent company. … (His) dismissal, they say, only aggravated long-held anxieties and worries about job security.” - Chicago Tribune
“A statement posted to Facebook reads: ‘As many of you may already be aware, Johnny Mathis is approaching his 90th birthday this year. So, it’s with sincere regret that due to Mr. Mathis’s age and memory issues which have accelerated, we are announcing his retirement from touring and live concerts.’” - The Guardian
“Wigmore Hall currently receives £344,000 of public money a year from (ACE), but will stop taking the funding from 2026. Director John Gilhooly said: ‘The current policy is just too onerous, and they seem to have no interest in what's happening on the stage, (or) in the great artists of the world.’” - BBC
“He faces two counts of sexual assault. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison and a fine of €75,000. … For many in France, the case marks a cultural reckoning. Can a nation famed for its culture of seduction — and long criticized for shielding male artists — hold one of them accountable?” - AP
"I worried that all the tinkering would leave the grande dame of mansion museums like a movie star whose cosmetic procedures had gone awry: recognizable and rejuvenated but somehow horribly off. Instead, the architect has performed a therapeutic intervention, helping the museum to grow, mature, and adapt without rejecting its past. - New York Magazine (MSN)
The company has announced that it’s under contract to buy the former headquarters of the Caleres shoe company in the suburb of Clayton. If the sale is completed following due diligence, OTSL expects to demolish the building and construct a purpose-built opera venue. - St. Louis Magazine
The ACLU and plaintiff organisations are challenging the NEA’s implementation of Trump’s order directing that “federal funds shall not be used to promote gender ideology”. - The Guardian
The Polish parliament is set to vote on a reform that allowing dancers to draw their state pension 20 years earlier than most workers because of ‘constant injuries’ - The Times
The Four Sibyls were completed in 1933 at a fancy women’s club in Los Angeles — but too many of those fancy women found Albro’s work overly bright, and after two years of debate, the club covered the frescoes over. They remained hidden for 90 years ... until now. - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
"The wealthiest universities, in particular, must pledge to use all available endowment funds as a backstop for any federal funding cuts to research, educational programs or student financial aid at their schools, barring any donor restrictions." - The New York Times
Infinite announced today a definitive agreement to buy Napster for $207 million. The Norwalk, Connecticut-based company plans to turn Napster into a “social music platform that prioritizes active fan engagement over passive listening, allowing artists to connect with, own, and monetize the relationship with their fans." - Ars Technica
Imagining what it would be like to be a first-time art collector at the twice-annual Metropolitan Pavilion event, I told myself I’d mentally purchase artworks that would amount to my $3,372.30 retirement savings. - Hyperallergic
As a musician, he was a founding member of the Lenox and Vermeer String Quartets and the Orpheus Trio. Over the years he directed and curated chamber programming at BAM, the Spoleto Festivals, the New World Symphony, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. - The Strad
