Category: today’s top story

“Death may be unchanging, but the human experience of it isn’t. If every age has its style of dying, its moral-ethical and literary view of it, from the “tame death” to the “beautiful death,” ours is surely the age of the “protracted death” — a slow, medicalized end, portrayed in documentary detail.”

“What we see in the Kansas City Symphony is a culture of mutual respect. A lot of orchestras talk about respect, but the Kansas City Symphony really practices it.”

“Why do some things seamlessly slip from their temporal context? When does something cross from historically appropriate to ‘dated’? And is there a time window for datedness, a kind of reverse statute of limitations, beyond which things are doomed by their historical patina?”

Laura Miller: ” If you’ve found the case difficult to follow, you’re not alone. Still it’s worth getting a handle on the basics because the suit – or, more precisely, the business deals behind it – have changed book publishing in significant ways. Furthermore, Judge Cote’s decision could have impact well beyond the book industry.”

“The deal is the latest twist for the 160-year-old piano maker, whose instruments can be found in concert halls and living rooms around the world. In recent years, the company, which is based in Waltham, Mass., has had to adjust to a weak economy and changing cultural tastes.”

“Guyard-Guillot was being hoisted up the side of the stage when she plummeted to an open pit below.”

“This movie has a lot going for it — car chase, sex, action. … But what it doesn’t have is time travel. Consider adding time-traveling aliens, or if that’s unrealistic, a regular alien and a time-traveling human.”

Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne “on Wednesday unveiled a 7 per cent cut to the media, culture and sport department budget but capped the reductions to museums and arts bodies at 5 per cent.”

Following a lump-sum payment by the orchestra of an undisclosed (and presumably donated) amount, a group of lenders led by Bank of America has canceled the existing $80 million mortgage on Schermerhorn Symphony Hall and issued a new mortgage in the amount of $20 million.

1677: “‘Why doth solid and serious learning decline, and few or none follow it now in the University?’ he asked. ‘Answer: Because of Coffea Houses, where they spend all their time.'”