The American Youth Symphony, which shut down on Friday, is — or rather was — one of the few large national organizations involved in the vital transition between studying and starting a career in music. - San Francisco Classical Voice
"Museums have tried and failed in the past to assemble the (surviving) eight panels, spread among five museums in Europe and the United States, of the original 30-piece polyptych." The paintings are currently being exhibited at the Poldi Pezzoli in Milan. - AP
"Choose-your-own” subscription packages, in which attendees can opt for a handful of performances instead of an entire series, and membership models, wherein attendees pay a flat rate for access to shows, have leapt in popularity and could make up some of the lost subscription revenue. - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"The Floyd County (Va.) Public Schools have suspended a One Division, One Book community reading of Katherine Applegate’s Wishtree following complaints that the middle-grade novel depicts a monoecious red oak, a tree with reproductive parts that can pollinate and flower simultaneously." - Publishers Weekly
Player Kings, adapted by director Robert Icke from both parts of Shakespeare's Henry IV, is currently in Manchester and will run in London's West End from April through June before touring four other English cities in July. This is McKellen's first time in the role. - The Guardian
Piano lessons for children were all the rage not too many years ago, but that trend seems to have withered, while lessons in traditional instruments like the Chinese zither, bamboo flute, and the pipa (a Chinese plucked string instrument) are gaining popularity. - Sixth Tone
"In the fourth quarter of 2023, the video service lagged Snapchat, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. Yes, you read that right: The ancient big blue app grew faster than TikTok." How has this happened? Adulting, that's how. - Business Insider
Industry lobbyists, and the lawmakers on their side, insist that the subsidies create $6 or $7 of "economic activity" for each $1 of state expenditure or forgone revenue. Independent experts keep finding that state coffers get back between 15 and 35 cents for each of those dollars. - The New York Times
"The board now presents the San Francisco Symphony as a survivor forgoing experimental treatment and in need of a cautious caretaker. … What has changed over the years is that many boards have become increasingly corporate, increasingly powerful and increasingly clueless." - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
With due reference to Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Jeremy Reynolds reports on what The Pittsburgh Symphony, Opera, and Ballet Theatre are trying, such as design-your-own packages and flat fee/membership options. - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"With his distinctive lumbering form and droll delivery, Walsh was an ideal supporting player. A master of off-kilter comic delivery and dogged edginess, he excelled at roles that dwelled in the darker corners of humanity. No matter whom he played, he made a colorful impact." - The Hollywood Reporter
The 1987 Franco Zeffirelli production is one of the company's most lavish, and doing the opera without most of it really does diminish the experience. Still, only about 150 people left and requested refunds, leaving nearly 3,000 to watch the Puccini before a static set from Act II. - The New York Times
"A trio of paintings by Peter Paul Rubens will remain with their current owner, the Courtauld Gallery in London, the UK Parliament’s spoliation advisory panel ruled. … The panel, which determines the rightful ownership of contested artworks, rejected three separate claims for the Rubens works." - ARTnews
"A scared-sounding young man told me that there was a monster in his closet. Obviously, I was supposed to tell him to open the door and look inside, so that the story could begin. But something about the darkness, the solitude, and the persuasive fear in the actor’s voice made the call feel suddenly, uncannily real." - The New Yorker
