While he stands in front of an orchestra, his entire being is focused like a laser on the music. But that focus requires an extraordinary responsibility, and the conflicted responsibilities toward the well-being of El Sistema children and the political realities of Venezuelan are here seen as greatest test. - Los Angeles Times
The marriage combines WarnerMedia’s premium assets, including HBO, CNN, Cartoon Network, TBS, TNT and the Warner Bros. studio, with Discovery’s mainstream channels, Food Network, HGTV, Animal Planet, TLC and Investigation Discovery, among others. - Los Angeles Times
The Zelensky “minifig,” as the figures are known, retailed for $100 each and sold out in hours, as did Molotov cocktail accessories bearing the Ukrainian flag, which sold for $20 each. All proceeds from the sales were donated to the nonprofit humanitarian organization Direct Relief. - Hyperallergic
Adding all those plays and musicals — 16 new productions plus three returning from hiatuses are opening over a five-week stretch — was always going to be a gamble, since no one knows, in this not-yet-post-pandemic era, whether there are enough tourists and theatergoing locals to sustain that many shows. - The New York Times
The Central Philharmonic marked the 150th anniversary of Beethoven’s death by performing his Fifth Symphony. The last two movements were aired across the country. Some have remarked that, for music lovers, this broadcast marked the real end of China’s decade of political turmoil. - The Observer
Of the six books now in contention for the prestigious translated fiction award, five were written by women, with three translated by women too. - The Guardian
“There is no ‘I’ in AI.” Computers can beat a grandmaster in chess, but they don’t know that chess is a game. Jeff Hawkins argues that we can’t achieve artificial general intelligence “by doing more of what we are currently doing.” - GatesNotes
On the face of it, the gamification of reality looks like fun. But when everything becomes a game, it turns out, that game ends up dissolving into its merely apparent opposite: work. - Hinternet
Today, teams of archivists and librarians are working to save Ukrainian library and museum collections. Their efforts echo the work of the Monuments Men who, during the Second World War, gave “first aid to art and books” and engaged in the recovery of cultural materials. - The Conversation
“The more successful we were in selling the pictures, the higher we set the bar and the more extra stories we came up with, because we were really enjoying this game. Sometimes we laid trails so elaborate that nobody would ever have discovered them.” - The Observer
Can you really reach a larger audience by getting on a background jazz playlist than taking home the most coveted Grammy? I hate to share the bad news, my friends, but the world has changed. - Ted Gioia
TikTok is a new frontier for investors and producers to find new works—and for creators to create and promote them—but it remains to be seen whether it can translate into a viable new model for live theater. - Fast Company
What began as a SCI-Arc panel on the professional aspects of working in architecture mushroomed into a full-blown controversy that has led to the suspension of two faculty members at L.A.'s famously avant-garde architecture school. - Los Angeles Times
The musical, a high school adaptation of the Broadway show “Be More Chill,” was scheduled to run Thursday through Sunday, according to signs posted at the school. The signs advise “mature themes - parental guidance suggested.” - Modesto Bee
While the world debates whether to cancel or to welcome artists and writers who suddenly feel like leaving Russia amidst its economic collapse, it neglects the crucial question: will Russia succeed in executing Ukrainian culture once again? - Eurozine
