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The 20-Year-Old Transcribing Performances Into Detailed Notation

George Collier takes snippets of videos from live performances by well-known artists like Wynton Marsalis and Celine Dion, or bedroom musicians who’ve posted clips online, and adds detailed directions for what’s being played. He turns sounds into wildly detailed notations and shares the results. - The New York Times

Is TikTok Really An Agent Of The Chinese Government? In Today’s China, It’s Not That Simple

"Simply put, there’s no clear line between the state and society in China in the same way that there is in democracies. The Chinese Communist Party – which is synonymous with the Chinese state – both owns and is the nation. And that goes for private enterprises, too." - The Conversation

A Statistical Portrait Of Artists In Canada

The 202,900 professional artists in Canada represent 1.0% of the national labour force. A finer analysis shows that 1 in every 102 Canadian workers is an artist. - Hill Strategies

Actors From The Bombed-Out Theatre In Occupied Mariupol Return To The Stage

"A small group of actors and staff from the theatre have resurrected the troupe in Uzhhorod, in the far west of Ukraine. Performances take place in the vast, boxy auditorium of the city’s main theatre, which has offered its stage for the Mariupol troupe. There are also occasional tours." - The Guardian

Putin Has Sent His FSB To Go After Russian Artists

"The (secret police) have reportedly searched at least 30 artists’ homes and studios across at least eight cities. … Among those targeted were members of feminist punk collective Pussy Riot, members of the art activist project Party of the Dead, Yav Art Group members, and renowned conceptual artist Anatoly Osmolovsky." - Artnet

For The First Time, A Full Wagner “Ring” Cycle With Historical Instruments And Singing Practices

"In 2026, it will be 150 years since Wagner premiered the full Ring at his festival in Bayreuth, Germany. Each year until then, (Kent) Nagano and Concerto Köln … are touring installments of their historically informed Ring operas," based in large part on Wagner's own writings about performance. - The New York Times

How Britain’s Labour Party Can Fix The Arts Funding System That The Tories Have Wrecked

"Labour’s first easy (and free) win would be to talk proudly about arts and culture – and especially the biggest cultural powerhouse the country possesses, the BBC. That would be a good start. But in the longer term, here are the more concrete matters it should focus on." - The Guardian

Even 34 Years Later, Tips Still Come In About The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Robbery

"About 20 tips (were) reported to the museum over the past year from people who thought they saw one of the two most recognizable stolen paintings, (Rembrandt's) “The Storm” or Vermeer’s “The Concert,” in homes across the country that were staged for ... real estate listings." - The Boston Globe (MSN)

Andrew Crispo, Gallery Owner Involved With Murders And Financial Crimes, Is Dead At 78

"Though he lacked formal training in art, he was widely respected for his exacting eye, which he used to identify promising young painters. … (Yet he was) brought low by a long series of tabloid-worthy scandals, including tax evasion, extortion and implication in (a) grisly 1985 murder." - The New York Times

EU Passes Landmark AI Legislation, And Will Regulate Use Of Copyright Material

The act places a number of legal and transparency obligations on tech companies and AI developers operating in Europe, including those working in the creative sector and music business. - Billboard

Gen-Z’s Poor Mental Health Comes From Smartphone Culture. We Should Stop It

Once young people began carrying the entire internet in their pockets, available to them day and night, it altered their daily experiences and developmental pathways across the board. Friendship, dating, sexuality, exercise, sleep, academics, politics, family dynamics, identity—all were affected. - The Atlantic

AI – Understanding Versus Finding Patterns

How can these powerful systems beat us in chess but falter on basic math? This paradox reflects more than just an idiosyncratic design quirk. It points toward something fundamental about how large language models think. - The New Yorker

Will Rethinking Liberal Arts From A Conservative Tradition Make Them Better?

Classical education is premised on the idea that there is objective truth, and that the purpose of school is to set kids on a path toward understanding it. - The New Yorker

Remembering America’s Most Notorious Art Heist

The legacy of the heist is always apparent to museum visitors who, decades later, still confront vacant frames on the gallery walls where paintings once hung. - The New York Times

How Private Equity Companies Are Wrecking The Music Industry

Private equity — the industry responsible for bankrupting companies, slashing jobs and raising the mortality rates at the nursing homes it acquires — is making money by gobbling up the rights for old hits and pumping them back into our present. The result is a markedly blander music scene. - The New York Times

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