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Pianist Alfred Brendel, 94

“His technique was sufficient but rarely dazzling, and his tone was full and generally attractive but not especially lustrous. ... What attracted listeners was his musicianship — his distinctive mixture of welling songfulness and formal rectitude, his willingness to take listeners deep into the heart of anything he played.” - The Washington Post (MSN)

Reworking A Nouveau Circus Show On Short Notice After A Key Performer Gets Injured

In this case — the Montreal-based troupe The 7 Fingers, rehearsing in New York for a show opening in two days — the injury didn’t happen to the aerialist making a daring drop from a trapeze to the ground. It happened to one of the guys on the ground catching her. - The New York Times

Report: More Than Half Of Americans Now Get Their News From Social Media

More than half (54%) of people get news from networks like Facebook, X and YouTube - overtaking TV (50%) and news sites and apps (48%), according to the Reuters Institute. - BBC

Tourists Sit On, And Break, Crystal-Coated “Van Gogh Chair” In Museum

A couple visiting the Palazzo Maffei museum in the Italian city of Verona was caught on closed-circuit TV sitting on artist Nicola Bolla’s Swarovski-encrusted “van Gogh” chair. The piece folded under the man’s weight, and the pair promptly ran from the room - ARTnews

In May, Streaming Viewership Beat Broadcast And Cable Viewership For The First Time Ever

Streaming accounted for 44.8% of viewership via TV screens during the month, the report said, while broadcast (20.1%) and cable (24.1%) together represented 44.2% of overall tune-in. - Deadline

The Cultural Implications Of The UK National Gallery Rehang

A rehang tends to elicit strong reactions from anyone with a stake in the collection – and in the case of a public gallery, “anyone” means “everyone”. Unsurprisingly then, it has only been done twice at the National Gallery since the second world war. - The Conversation

How The Fake Research Publishing Game Works

The paper mills have various techniques to take advantage of desperate or lazy researchers and to trick publishers: some operate as a marketplace in which extra authorship slots on already--accepted papers are up for grabs. Others take published papers and use AI to tweak text and graphics to escape plagiarism detectors. - Nature

How Did A Giant Water Pistol Get To Be The Symbol, And Preferred Weapon, Of Europe’s Movement Against Overtourism?

It started as a joke, of course.  The first really angry protest on the issue happened on a hot summer day in Barcelona, and demonstrators brought water guns along to cool off. Then things got a little (ahem) heated, tourists were shot at with H₂O, and an icon was born. - AP

Defining The Art Of Genius

Generally, we want geniuses to be good with their minds rather than with their hands, but we can make an exception for a surgeon or a chef. We expect them to discover new realms of knowledge; Their talent should be incomprehensible to the masses, unless they’re a politician. - The New Yorker

Egypt’s Grand Egyptian Museum Opening Is Delayed Due To “Regional Developments”

“In light of the current regional developments, it has been decided to postpone the official opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum,” the GEM explained in a statement on social media. - ARTnews

Met Opera Attendance This Spring Was Down, Probably Due To Reduced International Tourism

The company sold 72% of capacity this past season, the same as 2023-24 but below projections. General manager Peter Gelb said that attendance was down in April and May, when overseas visitor numbers to New York fell sharply. - AP

Opera Montreal Picks A New General Director

The company announced that the Board of Directors chose Jen-Pierre Primiani, who currently serves as Chief Philanthropy Officer, for the position and will begin Nov. 1, 2025. - OperaWire

Rural Public Media Stations Will Close Or Be Greatly Reduced As Federal Support Goes Away

“That would mean an almost immediate disappearance of almost half our operating budget,” David Gordon, executive director of KEET in Eureka, California, said of the rescission proposal. “Assuming would continue, it would be in a very, very different form than it is right now.” - Politico

The Urge To Isolationism Isn’t New

This exaltation of self-sufficiency and the downgrading of the value of trading links amounts to a profound break from the orthodoxy of globalisation – the idea that ever-greater interconnections between nations through trade would enhance the security and prosperity of all. - Aeon

Trump Administration, Having Shut Down Voice of America’s Persian Service, Races To Restart It Amid Israel-Iran Conflict

“The U.S. Agency for Global Media told employees placed on administrative leave to immediately return to their roles providing counter-programming to Iranian state media as the conflict between the two nations escalated Friday.” - Politico

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