Berlin Philharmonic Ready To Vote On New Leader

“No, there will be no white smoke, and these are not cardinals in the Sistine Chapel. These voters are the tenured musicians of the Berlin Philharmonic, and they are set to meet at 10 a.m. on Monday at an undisclosed location in Berlin to make one of the most prestigious appointments in classical music: a new chief conductor and artistic director, who will succeed Simon Rattle when he leaves the orchestra in 2018.”

Charlie Hebdo Staffers Get Standing Ovation At PEN Gala, Despite Controversy Over Honoring Them

“Two members of Charlie Hebdo, the French satirical magazine, took the stage to a thundering standing ovation at PEN American Center’s literary gala on Tuesday night, capping a 10-day debate over free speech, blasphemy and Islamophobia that started in the cozy heart of the New York literary world and spread to social media and op-ed pages worldwide.”

Alessandra Ferri is Still Dancing Lead Roles At 52

“Only a handful of ballerinas have danced into their 50s, and … Ferri said she hoped to blaze a trail for older dancers but suggested that the over-40s face age discrimination in the ballet world. Younger choreographers ‘are unable to see that you are unique and to enjoy that fact. Some of them hardly even look at you in the rehearsal studio.'”

25 Years Of Playing Mayor LaGuardia Onstage

When Tony LoBianco starred in a one-man show about New York City’s 99th mayor on Broadway in 1989, the production closed after 12 performances. Then the actor started rewriting the script, kept at it, and now has spent a quarter-century taking the piece, now titled The Little Flower, everywhere from Manhattan to Moscow to Milan.