Category: today’s top story

“‘Billy Elliot’ racked up a whopping 15 noms for the 2009 Tony Awards, with the smaller-scale tuner perceived as its major competition, ‘Next to Normal,’ coming in at 11 nods. Among plays, the UK imports of revivals ‘Mary Stuart’ and ‘The Norman Conquests’ were neck and neck with seven noms each, while starry new offering ‘God of Carnage’ picked up six nods.”

“[T]wo German art historians, who have spent 10 years reviewing the police investigations, witness accounts and the artists’ letters, argue that Gauguin, a fencing ace, most likely sliced off [Van Gogh’s] ear with his sword during a fight, and the two artists agreed to hush up the truth.”

“People who hated history in grade school view the subject as a collection of facts. In a certain sense they are right: Historians trade (in part) in verifiable events that no person can own or copyright.”

“Jazz at Lincoln Center, the world’s largest performing-arts center for jazz, said it’s discussing a settlement with Pennsylvania insurance executive Andre V. Duggin over $327,500 in promised donations. On April 15, Jazz at Lincoln Center sued Duggin, … claiming he reneged midway through a five-year commitment to donate $500,000.”

“[I]t’s far from routine for an orchestra’s musicians to volunteer a cut of their own accord. Yesterday, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra announced that its players had unanimously agreed to forgo wage and pension rate increases and other promised elements of their 2009-10 contract packages, taking an 8 percent cut to make what amounts to a $1 million donation to the orchestra. The donation was presented in the form of a challenge grant.”

“Mention the fact that you’re finding it harder and harder to concentrate lately. The complaint appears to be universal, yet everyone blames it on some personal factor: having a baby, starting a new job, turning 50, having to use a Blackberry for work, getting on Facebook, and so on. … Winifred Gallagher’s new book, ‘Rapt: Attention and the Focused Life’ argues that it’s high time we take more deliberate control of this stuff.”

“The [U.S.] Justice Department has begun an inquiry into the antitrust implications of Google’s settlement with authors and publishers over its Google Book Search service … The inquiry does not necessarily mean that the department will oppose the settlement, which is subject to a court review.”

This year’s Turner Prize shortlist “is one of the strongest in the 25-year history of the prize. With two painters, a draughtsman and a sculptor, not only do these artists actually make things (as opposed to think them, lecture about them, photograph them or film them), but their work is often shockingly, breathtakingly beautiful. … The weakness of the shortlist is a lack of balance: it has three good artists and one great one.”

“The J. Paul Getty Trust will slash its workforce by 14% — a loss of 205 jobs — under a newly adopted budget for the 2009-10 fiscal year that begins July 1. In a statement released Monday, Getty officials said they expect to lay off 97 current regular employees, with the rest of the reduction to come from positions either now vacant or likely to come open through normal turnover.”

“Where commercial enterprise has stalled and shops shut out, artists and galleries are now taking the initiative and moving in – a development the government last week announced its support for, unveiling a £3m grant scheme to allow people to breathe new life into vacant shops. If this works, Britain’s high streets are likely to be transformed over the weeks and months ahead: shops that had closed their doors will morph into studio spaces, galleries and workshop venues.”