Can’t help with Linux. Been in the Mac universe since the mid 90’s. Probably for the same reason you went Linux… stability and freedom from viruses and malware! I have NEVER used any virus software and never got a virus in over 30 years of daily use…

I’m not doing as much with MIDI as I used to, I use Reaper because its audio handling is pretty good, and it works natively with mp3 files (rather than most DAW’s convert them to .wav’s first, making project backup quite heavy on the storage). But for MIDI it’s not as elegant and mature as Cubase or Logic. It can get the job done, but it’s not pretty!😍

I’m not sure it has a score editor, and to be honest I find even the best of them useless unless you’re trying to print out parts for a session. Music notation is interpretive, not literal, so for editing MIDI the piano roll display is your best solution.

Most DAW’s have a trial version or a free limited version. Give them all a go, see which one ‘clicks’ with you. It’s often more a case of aesthetics rather than sheer power. They all CAN do pretty much the same thing, it’s more a case of finding the one that does it the way your brain thinks it ought to be done… 😂🤔