Monster Mash: Gustavo Dudamel extends contract with L.A. Phil; Getty completes deal for J.M.W. Turner masterpiece

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Sticking around: Gustavo Dudamel has extended his contract with the Los Angeles Philharmonic through the 2018-19 season. (Los Angeles Times)

Health scare: Chicago Symphony Orchestra officials said conductor Riccardo Muti has been hospitalized but is not in immediate danger after he fainted during a rehearsal early Thursday. (Chicago Tribune)

Done deal: The Getty Museum’s $44.9-million purchase of a J.M.W. Turner masterpiece has been finalized after the sale cleared a British export hurdle. (Los Angeles Times)

Controversial: A painting depicting the Confederate flag, a hanged black man and Ku Klux Klansmen has been pulled from an exhibition at Gainesville State College in Georgia. (Online Athens)

Online initiative: The New York Philharmonic is releasing a mass of archival material on the Internet. (New York Times)

Money trouble: Financial problems are mounting for New York’s American Folk Art Museum. (New York Observer)

Star performance: Soprano Renee Fleming will help launch a $15-million fundraising effort by the San Diego Opera with a March 24, 2012, concert at the San Diego Civic Theatre. (San Diego Union-Tribune)

P is for partnership: The National Children’s Museum in Washington is partnering with the makers of ‘Sesame Street.’ (Washington Post)

Historical trivia: Dutch artist Rembrandt is believed to have used wheat flour to thicken his paints. (Discovery News)

Also in the L.A. Times: Theater critic Charles McNulty reviews Neil LaBute’s ‘Break of Noon’ at the Geffen Playhouse; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art adds Barbie to its collection.

-- David Ng