The Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has exposed his racial contempt for Armenians, a resident minority who were massacred by his country in the world’s first state genocide 99 years ago.

Here’s what Erdogan said: ‘I was called a Georgian. I apologize for this, but they even said [something] worse: They called me an Armenian.’

This man needs to be put into international isolation.

There’s a world dance premiere by Ivo Dimchev and the DV8 Physical Theatre.

Do not try this at home. Slippedisc is uninsured for reader accidents.

The Metropolitan Opera has forecast a ‘significantly larger’ deficit for the year ending July 31, exceeding last year’s $2.8 million budget gap.A financial-disclosure document released last night blames the fall on lower than expected contributions and a dip at the box-office.

Whose responsibility is that?

WSJ reports: The Met’s budget grew to $327 million last year from $222 million in 2006, when Mr. Gelb took the helm. To cover its operating costs, it has drawn heavily from its endowment, which now stands at $267 million, compared with $306 million in 2006.

Gelb is demanding 17 percent wage cuts from musicians, chorus and stage workers.

Anton Gerashteschenko of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry has announced an entry ban on 500 Russian artists who backed the annexation of Crimea. No names yet. No guesses, however, who will top the list.

The Ukrainians are also taking about banning Russian books and films, in order ‘to block Russian propaganda’.

That won’t win them many friends. Nor will it help counter Russian claims that Ukraine is turning fascist.

Told of the ban, the Russian culture minister Vladimir Medinski said: ‘I hope Ukraine has not completely lost its mind’.

In an end-of-festival symmary, upbeat director Martin Egstroem is calling it ‘our fourth best year’, after 2013, 2007 and 2011. But there’s no denying that numbers were down. Only 17 percent of tickets were sold during the festival itself, despite stellar attractions.

Engstroem blames bad weather. That’s Verbier for you.

The Munich Philharmonic has patched together a concert season following the death of their music director.

Semyon Bychkov will open, spending three weeks with the orchestra after the summer break and conducting four programmes.

Others deputising are the 2015 music director Valery Gergiev, along with Zubin Mehta, Asher Fisch, Michael Sanderling, Pietari Inkinen, Eivind Gullberg Jensen and Christoph Eschenbach. Three young conductors make their debut: Michał Nesterowicz Robert Trevino and Andris Poga.

A concert of Maazel’s compositions scheduled for his 85th birthday in March has been replaced with Richard Strauss.

This just in from the Seattle Symphony. I’m in trouble by the end of the second row.

In honor of Arnold Schoenberg, whose Piano Concerto will be performed tomorrow and Sunday by Jonathan Biss, we present: 12-tone sudoku. Submit a photo of your completed puzzle to facebook@seattlesymphony.org and you could win tickets to the Seattle Symphony’s June 20 performance of Stravinsky’s “Firebird.”