"Shot in just over a week in September 2022, Opus is a spare and intimate film. In stark black and white, the concert is just a man performing behind a grand piano. Off camera, though, there was a crew of over thirty people." - The Verge
"Everything radiated outward from this central core across two carpeted floors, in diminishing order of importance: the slightly smaller publishing houses, then the ones whose best years are behind them, then the niche ones, then the flatly obscure." - The New York Times
"Key insights: States with higher proportions of rural population tend to have lower levels of arts vibrancy – with some notable exceptions. States ranking higher on arts vibrancy generally have lower poverty rates; but having low levels of poverty doesn’t guarantee a top arts vibrancy ranking." - SMU Data Arts
“I have decided not to continue as Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony, because I do not share the same goals for the future of the institution as the Board of Governors does,” Salonen said in a statement. - San Francisco Chronicle
The Philadelphia Orchestra is averaging 78 percent attendance so far this season, compared with 63 percent before the pandemic. The New York Philharmonic is averaging 85 percent attendance this season compared with 74 percent. - The New York Times
"How to keep murals thriving while keeping them from intruding illicitly into neighborhoods, how to keep businesses from simply ginning up wall-sized ads and calling them art, how to distinguish legal from illegal handiwork, and, frankly, good from bad. It’s a seesaw we’re still riding." - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
"While one hardcover copy of (Robin) Cook’s latest novel costs (a) library $18, it costs $55 to lease a digital copy — a price that can’t be haggled with publishers. And for that, the e-book expires after a limited time, usually one or two years, or after 26 checkouts." - AP
Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and HNTB designed the planned 33,000-seat arena for the team currently known as the Oakland A's, which is moving to Nevada. Ingels himself describes the structure as a "spherical armadillo." The stadium will be on the Strip, on the current site of the Tropicana. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
"I mean, it’s not like we tried to make it look like an armadillo." On comparisons to the Sydney Opera House: "I’ll definitely take it as a compliment. I think it’s one of the most beautiful buildings on Earth. And I think, in all fairness, this is a very different building." - The Athletic
During the '00s, Gabo went through several drafts of Until August and planned to publish it. But by 2012, afflicted with dementia and unable to finalize the book, he asked that it be destroyed. A decade later, his sons decided it could be salvaged. Were they right to try? - The New York Times
"Groupe Juste pour rire Inc. said that it is seeking protection from its creditors as it begins formal restructuring under Canada’s Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. … The company plans to continue operations in what it called a scaled-down format as it restructures (and) hopes the festival will return in 2025." - AP
"Across a five-decade career, Yamamoto has dedicated himself to fostering community in Japan’s rapidly expanding cities. From housing projects that coax residents into spontaneous interactions to a glass-walled fire station that invites passersby to peer inside, his architecture appears intent on 'blurring boundaries between its public and private dimensions.'" - CNN
“If Broadway is sustained by tourists, to use a sweeping generalisation, Off-Broadway is where the locals can be found, given the primarily limited run nature of what is offered. Losing theatres to high rents and redevelopment only contributes to the hollowing out of the city." - The Stage (UK)
The IATSE president "addressed one of the key issues in the negotiations — artificial intelligence — saying it should not be used to replace workers, but also that it has the potential to lighten the load." - Variety
Wolff "is the last living representative of what’s known as the New York School of composition, a group that included John Cage, Morton Feldman, Earle Brown and David Tudor. Their tight-knit circle shifted midcentury American music away from classic European models. And it radiated out." - The New York Times
Contrary to popular belief, copyright does not exist for the benefit of creators. Its purpose, according to founding documents and recent interpretations, is to foster a culture that produces great works of science, art, literature, and music. - The Atlantic
"A newly formed nonprofit, composed of prominent local arts leaders and backed by philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs, purchased the 93,000-square-foot campus through a limited liability company, BMAI LLC, for roughly $30 million, or $322 per square foot." - San Francisco Chronicle
Improving DTLA desperately needs advocates - and a focus, which the area could provide. “The sorry fact is that the hall has never been the best it can be, and there seems to be far too little motivation to take the place to its necessary next step." - Los Angeles Times
Thinking about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, for instance, “to come close to the feeling and texture of war as it is lived behind the lines – and behind front doors – it is necessary to turn to the work of Ukrainian artists, writers, playwrights and filmmakers." - The Guardian (UK)
“The institute’s decision to continue to fight the efforts by Manhattan prosecutors to retrieve its Schiele work makes it a lone holdout among the museums and collectors who received warrants from investigators telling them they possessed stolen property." - The New York Times
