"A Finn who turned 28 in January, Mäkelä has had an astonishing rise in the music world. … Mäkelä will become CSO music director designate immediately and start a five-year tenure in 2027-28" — at the same time he begins as chief conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam. - AP
"It’s a massive undertaking that, among other things, includes the public relations team finalizing (materials) for marketing and advertising, the box office setting ticket prices and rolling out a calendar for announcements and sales, and the production team planning when load-in can start and what rehearsal schedules will (be)." - Dance Magazine
What has happened to Britain’s supposedly world-beating universities is partly the old post-Brexit story of the young suffering the consequences of something they overwhelmingly didn’t vote for. But it’s complicated by austerity, and arguably by some vice-chancellors biting off more than they can chew. - The Guardian
The measure approved by voters, Prop. 28, explicitly said that the money authorized must go for additional arts education programs. That means not using the funds for existing programs and reallocating the existing money elsewhere — which is exactly what some districts are doing, union leaders allege. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
In an effort to reduce the carbon footprint of each book, they’re tweaking fonts, layout, and even the ink used. And so far, these subtle, imperceptible tweaks have saved 245.6 million pages, equivalent to 5,618 trees. - Fast Company
"Any attempt to look at the company’s finances suggests a long history of issues at the very top. … Sources described a corporate culture with no discernible strategy and little of the necessary financial infrastructure or discipline. … While Vice execs were spending opulently, the newsroom struggled to pay its bills." - The Verge
"As part of a multi-year licensing deal, … The Independent will take over BuzzFeed’s sub-brands in the UK, including food vertical Tasty UK, black British identity brand Seasoned and HuffPost UK." - Press Gazette (UK)
"The financial crisis (is) so dire that the leadership is willing to take this huge public black eye (Salonen's departure) rather than let it go on a minute longer. … The perception that the (orchestra) is an organization in decline is likely to become a self-fulfilling prophecy." - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
"Puccini’s universalism was sincerely felt, even if it’s unfashionable today, and it deserves to be appreciated rather than cynically apologized for — as some opera companies seem to do while continuing to reap the ticket-selling benefits of his popularity." - The New York Times
The Mill at Limetz (1888) is expected to sell for between $18 million and $25 million at Christie's next month. The Nelson-Atkins owns only a two-thirds interest in the painting, and the heirs of the late owner of the remaining third chose not to donate it to the museum. - Artnet
The Guadeloupe-born writer didn't publish her first book until age 40, and she came to international prominence in her 80s: in 2018, she won the New Academy Prize, which Sweden instituted when the Nobel for Literature was suspended due to an internal scandal. - AFP (Yahoo!)
"The information watchdog is investigating the British Museum over claims it has been overly secretive about some of the most sensitive items in its collection – a group of sacred Ethiopian altar tablets that have been hidden from view at the museum for more than 150 years." - The Guardian
One in six live music venues closed in the past year, according to figures from the Music Venue Trust. But amid the gloom, there are venues opening, too – albeit with a broader remit than focusing solely on club nights or gigs. - The Guardian
Classics is no longer sleepy. The legacies of ancient Greece and Rome have reemerged as key cultural battlefields fought over by everyone from left-wing scholars to gun rights advocates. - LA Review of Books
Time was the problem, I assumed: There was enough of it; I just wasn’t using it right. Or maybe the problem was my attention span. I couldn’t focus. - Esquire
