Carl Rollyson: “After writing three biographies of Sylvia Plath, what more could I possibly say about her suicide? Yet … in Plath’s case, (there are) very different circumstances that separate her suicide attempt in 1953 from her second, fatal one nearly a decade later.” - The Hedgehog Review
It’s no secret, too, that the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra is the orchestras’ orchestra; the ensemble that makes hardened pros go wobbly at the knees, and sends critics spiralling towards Pseud’s Corner. - The Spectator
How big a threat is AI to quality children’s publishing, and does it also threaten children’s learning? In a sense, my questions—not all of which are answerable—boil down to this: What makes a good children’s book, and how much does it matter if a children’s book is good? - Mother Jones
A study by the Singapore Management University found that frequent interruptions to check our devices lead to more attention and memory lapses. Unlike total screen time, the frequency of smartphone checks is a much stronger predictor of daily cognitive failures. - Washington Post
“As AI technologies proliferate and become an increasingly inescapable fact of modern life, choreographers are not only experimenting with AI tools, but they’re also creating works that grapple with the potential repercussions of artificial intelligence and the existential questions it raises.” - Dance Magazine
A group of more than 130 musicians played in unison at Sherwood Phoenix piano shop in Mansfield on Saturday. Organisers believe the performance surpassed a previous UK record for the most pianos played at once, but said there was no "official" attempt made to verify their musical effort. - BBC
The study provides evidence that large language models, such as ChatGPT, are mathematically constrained to a level of creativity comparable to an amateur human. - Psypost
The study mapped neural connections and how they evolve during our lives. This revealed five broad phases, split up by four pivotal “turning points” in which brain organisation moves on to a different trajectory, at around the ages of nine, 32, 66 and 83 years. - The Guardian
When they were called to Parliament and questioned by the House of Commons Media Culture and Sport Committee on Monday, they minimized the allegations of bias at the network which they had spent the past few weeks trumpeting. - Prospect (UK)
The structure itself is tilted toward collectors, dealers, and institutions. It is not designed to support artists. But artists who understand the language of the market can sometimes turn that knowledge into a form of protection. - Hyperallergic
Artists and songwriters, according to the companies, “will have full control over whether and how their names, images, likenesses, voices, and compositions are used in new AI-generated music”. - Music Business Worldwide
If no one has heard of the Tampa-based AAC, this is because it was founded only in July of this year. The press release is so poorly edited that it repeats the same quote by executive director Jenni Parido twice. - Artnet
“The British Theatre Consortium report, titled ‘British Theatre Before & After Covid’, examines 2019, the last full year before the pandemic, and 2023, the first full year after theatres reopened. It draws on anonymised data from 139 theatres across the UK.” - WhatsOnStage (UK)
“That has become our key bit of outreach,” says Ruben Valenzuela, director of the Bach Collegium San Diego. And with no complete Spanish version available, Valenzuela and Tijuana-based choral conductor Mario Montenegro translated the libretto themselves. - Early Music America
“The abrupt firing earlier this month of a senior fact-checker and New Yorker union member, Jasper Lo, has set off a swell of outrage among magazine staffers and contributors, including some of the most famous writers in America.” - The Washington Post (MSN)
