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- The Cecilia Chorus of NY, Carnegie Hall, April 17.
The Cecilia Chorus of New York, Mark Shapiro, Conductor, presents the world premiere of A Call for the Battle to Cease by Robert Sirota and Victoria Sirota, featuring pianist Simone Dinnerstein; the New York premiere of Grammy-nominated Mass in Exile by Mark Buller, Leah Lax, and Beth Greenberg, featuring guitarist David Leisner, baritone Shavon Lloyd, and Every Voice Children’s Chorus; and excerpts from Haydn’s Mass in Time of War. Saturday, April 17 at 8 PM in Carnegie Hall.
- Good Morning
Banksy’s identity is out, and the art world has a counterintuitive take: prices should go up (The Wall Street Journal). Turns out anonymity was the brand, not the precondition for the brand. In the category of DEI-era reckoning: Playwrights Horizons has settled a lawsuit filed by a white ticket buyer who felt excluded by a discount program offered to buyers of color — the joint statement ran six sentences and did not mention money (The New York Times).
In the UK, the Culture Secretary is moving to give the BBC something it has never had in its history: a permanent charter, protecting it from the decennial renegotiations that have left it perpetually exposed to political pressure (The Guardian). SXSW, by contrast, has never recovered from the pandemic, sold a controlling interest to Penske Media, and after last year’s event watched key staff walk out the door. Now serious observers are asking whether it can survive at all (Texas Monthly).
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater has been leaking, essentially, since the day it opened in 1937. A $7 million conservation project is on track for completion next month. The house is called Fallingwater and is built over a waterfall, so we will note this with cautious optimism (The Art Newspaper).
All of today’s stories below.
- St. Paul Chamber Orchestra Adds Another Artistic Partner: Violinist Alina Ibragimova
The Russian-British violinist joins five current artistic partners: harpsichordist and conductor Richard Egarr, pianist Richard Goode, cellist Abel Selaocoe, conductor Gábor Takács-Nagy, and violist Tabea Zimmermann. Ibragimova’s term begins next season. – The Strad
- A Sea Change In Australian Orchestra Programming
Overall, works by women made up 14.6 percent of programming in 2025, an increase on 2024’s 11.9 percent after a dip from 13.2 percent in 2023. – Limelight
- Gen Z Is Returning To The Movie Theatre
Gen Z is buying up a higher percentage of movie tickets, rising from 34% of the overall box office in 2019 to 39% last year. – The Star-Tribune
- The Weathermen Who Have Left Broadcast TV For Streaming
“From New Jersey to California to Louisiana, weather journalists are leaving traditional TV newsrooms to form all-digital platforms. … The Digital Weather Network, … which started in 2022, now has nineteen members, … working from well-equipped studios or from their homes,” with dozens more interested in joining. – Columbia Journalism Review
- Inclusivity And The “Elitist” Problem
Many advocates of culture today would proudly describe themselves as anti-elitist. They argue that art should be inclusive. They promote the doctrine of diversity. The reality could not be more different. – The Telegraph (MSN)
- Can Wisdom Be Taught?
The study of wisdom dates to antiquity, but only in the past 40 years have researchers begun to apply the scientific method to probe what wisdom is and how it develops. – Knowable
- Reconsidering Dopamine’s Effects On The Brain
Where once there was a simple model that explained how dopamine works in the brain, now there are challenges that seek to amend the theory — or even to overturn it. – Nature
- Now That We Know Who Banksy Is, The Price Of His Art May Soar
“The art world’s reaction: Go ahead and be known. Rather than undermine any mystique, the revelation could actually give his market a much-needed boost, art-world insiders say.” – The Wall Street Journal (MSN)
- What Is Philosophy In The Age Of AI?
Understanding language as something defined by public use—rather than private intention—helps us grasp how simply scraping text from around the web and finding patterns in the way words fit together can form the basis for passably imitating a human. – Prospect
- LA Theatre Is Ailing. What To Do?
Lofty and pragmatic in equal measure, these leaders are reconstituting Los Angeles’ theater culture, fighting for the survival of nonprofit theater in America and shaping the future possibility of the art form, here and beyond. – Los Angeles Times
- The State Of Dance On TV and Film
Four prominent dancemakers working in film and television discuss the current state of the industry. – Dance Magazine
- The Leaking Problems At Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater Have Finally Been Fixed
Well, so we hope. “Almost 90 years after the house’s completion, conservators are still working on stabilising Wright’s experimental design — including endemic leaking problems unrelated to the waterfall. The latest in these conservation efforts, a three-year, $7m project to repair and protect the house, is scheduled for completion in April.” – The Art Newspaper
- Man Causes $240K Of Damage To Chihuly Glass At Museum
A security guard found the man damaging colorful glass plant sculptures around 11 p.m. in an outdoor area on the museum’s grounds, according to a police blotter post. – Seattle Times
- Meet The Three-Time Champion Of Native American Hoop Dancing
“Josiah Enriquez (Pojoaque and Isleta pueblos, Navajo Nation) has been distinguishing himself on what is widely considered to be the most prominent stage in competitive hoop dancing — the Heard Museum’s annual World Championship Hoop Dance Contest in Phoenix — winning his third consecutive world title in February.” – Santa Fe New Mexican
- Len Deighton, Bestselling Author Of Spy Thrillers, Has Died At 97
He wrote more than two dozen novels, from The ICPRESS File (1962) through Billion-Dollar Brain and the trilogies Berlin Game/Mexico Set/London Match (1980s) and Faith/Hope/Charity (1990s). He also wrote historical nonfiction, including a book about JFK’s assassination and Fighter: The True Story of the Battle of Britain. – AP
- SXSW Never Fully Recovered From The Pandemic. Have The Times Now Passed It By?
After the financial hit the organizers took in 2020 and 2021, they sold a controlling interest to Penske Media — which, after last year’s event, fired the chief programming officer and other staffers, losing a lot of institutional knowledge. Now many observers are wondering if SXSW can survive at all. – Texas Monthly
- There’s Now An Official BookTok Chart
“(The) chart is set to launch later this year in the UK, offering a monthly rundown of the most popular titles on (the) social media platform. The ranking will combine verified retail sales data with social media engagement. … The charts were first trialled in Germany and are being expanded to the UK.” – The Guardian
- Major Off-Broadway Theater Settles Discrimination Lawsuit Over Discount For Ticket-Buyers Of Color
“’Playwrights Horizons regrets that Mr. Lynch felt excluded because of his race,’ the theater said in the six-sentence statement issued by both parties. The statement did not specify whether the theater paid any money to Mr. Lynch, but said (the parties) ‘have agreed to resolve the matter out of court.’” – The New York Times
- Retired Lead Detective On Gardner Museum Robbery Gives Current State Of The Case
The 1990 theft of 13 artworks, collectively worth over $500 million, from Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum has never been solved. Former FBI agent Geoffrey Kelly says the “whodunit” part of the crime is solved and he has a probable motive, but that probably nobody now alive knows the artworks’ whereabouts. – CBS News
- UK Culture Secretary Promises To Give BBC Something It’s Never Had: A Permanent Charter
For its entire history, Britain’s public broadcaster has had to have its charter renewed by Parliament every ten years; in effect, the BBC must renegotiate its existence every decade. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has promised “to future-proof this vital institution … (against) the ongoing, exhausting culture wars.” – The Guardian
- Good Morning
We apologize for the drip drip drip of bad news from the Kennedy Center, but here’s a good explainer of the toxic Ric Grenell reign. Trump just decided Grenell was generating too much heat doing making changes (The Atlantic). Separately, Democratic senators are pressing the GSA about what happens to the artwork inside 46 federal buildings tagged for “accelerated disposal” — among them, Philip Guston murals that could simply disappear with the sale (ARTnews).
The AI copyright fights kept moving. Britannica — which owns Merriam-Webster — is suing OpenAI for scraping roughly 100,000 articles without permission (TechCrunch). Grammarly, caught using writers’ and teachers’ names as fake “experts,” apologized — and it turns out was also facing a lawsuit (Futurism). Humanities scholars meanwhile are calling AI an existential threat to higher education itself (The Guardian).
Peninsula Ballet Theatre — 59 years old, rooted in San Mateo County — is closing (San Francisco Chronicle). And at the Vatican, a restorer removing a forgery found an El Greco underneath it, in the papal apartments (Artnet). The painting had been hiding there since roughly 1590.
All of our stories below.
- Jack Kerouac’s 120-Foot-Long Typescript For “On The Road” Sells For $12.1 Million
“It’s one of the most mythic icons in American letters — and now the most valuable. The 120-foot-long scroll on which Jack Kerouac hammered out the 1957 Beat Generation classic On the Road has realized an astounding $12.1 million at auction, setting a record for a literary manuscript.” – Artnet
- Democrats Question Disposal Of Artworks In Federal Buildings Listed For Sale
In the letter, the senators note that the GSA has posted 46 buildings that have been identified for “accelerated disposal,” a process that expedites the sale of the properties, which are home to numerous artworks. – ARTnews
- Head Of UK’s National Theatre Wants To Bring More Of India To Its Stages
Indhu Rubasingham remembers the long lines when she brought Bollywood legend Shabana Azmi to the NT in 2000. “You can put people on this stage and that means something to different communities. It is like a beacon, and it opens its doors for different audiences depending on what you put on the stage.” – Variety
- The Benefits Of Audiobooks
Audiobooks offer significant benefits, primarily increasing reading accessibility, enabling multitasking during daily chores or commutes, and boosting comprehension for auditory learners. – Good E-Reader
- Scholars See Serious Threat Of AI In The Humanities
In the “humanities” – most scholars see AI as a unique threat, one that extends far beyond cheating on homework and casts doubt on the future of higher education itself in a fast-approaching machine-dominated future. – The Guardian
- Dictionary/Encyclopedias Sue AI Companies Over Copyright
Britannica, which owns Merriam-Webster, retains the copyright to nearly 100,000 online articles, which have been scraped and used to train OpenAI’s LLMs without permission, the publisher alleges in the lawsuit. – TechCrunch
- No More “Free-Speech Barbie”: Salman Rushdie Is Tired Of Being A Symbol
“It’s a subject I’m anxious to change. I don’t feel symbolic. I feel actual. I feel like I’m a working writer trying to make his work.” The comments come almost four years after the knife attack that wounded his liver, intestines, and right eye. – The Guardian
- How Do We Calibrate The Use Of AI In Education?
So what does “getting learning right” look like in the age of generative AI? It involves a lot of experimentation and leaning in with students as a co-learner when I don’t have all of the answers, while remaining staunchly committed to sharing my expertise in writing, critical thinking and learning. – The Conversation
- AI Is Showing Where The Gaps In Education Are
With AI, students can generate code that looks polished and sophisticated in seconds. But the ability to produce a solution has become decoupled from the ability to explain it. When asked to reason about performance, memory behavior or design trade-offs, many students struggle in ways that were less visible before. – InsideHigherEd
- This Orchestra Has Stopped Doing Something That Audience Members Just Hate
“Sydney Symphony Orchestra has removed the $8.95 (Aus) booking fee on all tickets to its performances purchased from it directly, arguing the impost disproportionately impacted students and other lower-price ticket buyers.” – Australian Financial Review
- The Case Against Streaming
It is not simply that Netflix and co are killing cinema – although, yes, that is a thing that is objectively bad. It is that the advent of streaming has made watching a movie in your own home more costly, more restricted and often incredibly annoying. – The Guardian
- Study: Use Of AI Leads To Greater Creativity In Humans
When people were shown AI-generated design suggestions, they spent more time on the task, produced better designs and felt more involved. It was not just about efficiency. It was about creativity and collaboration.” – Science Daily
