Tag: 01.25.05

Saraste To Take The Reins In Oslo

Finnish conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste has been tapped to succeed Andre Previn as chief conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic. The ensemble has frequently been regarded as being among the finest in Europe, and Saraste’s task will be to raise it to the heights it enjoyed under the 20-year directorship of Mariss Jansons. Saraste’s contract calls for him to spend 10 weeks each year in Oslo conducting concerts, plus additional weeks spent touring and recording with the orchestra.

From Mail Room To Big-Time Publishing

“A few months ago, 28-year-old Dean Carter was a small cog in a very big machine. Hidden away in the basement at the grand old publisher Random House, he spent his days sorting mail sent by fans to such eminent writers A S Byatt and Tom Wolfe. Now, after a series of lucky encounters, he is the recipient of a five-figure, two-book deal, has senior publishers saving his emails as collectors’ items and could soon be considering film deals from the likes of Brad Pitt and Robert De Niro.”

American, Cuban Musical Ties Broken

“The Bush administration has severed the fertile connection between Cuban and American musicians—and audiences—by reversing American policy. The security crunch following 9/11 has given immigration authorities the excuse they’ve long sought to exclude many foreign musicians from the United States. But against Cubans, the resistance runs far deeper. This is a Cuban music crisis—a development that has more to do with the Cold War than the War on Terror.”

Hugh Grant On Being A Literary Prize Judge

“Grant, whose only literary claim to fame had been playing a bookseller in ‘Notting Hill,’ confessed that he felt like a student back at Oxford University when put under pressure to read the finalists for the Whitbread Book of the Year award. Asked if he felt insulted by critics who argue it is dumbing down to choose celebrity judges for big literary awards, he told Reuters at Tuesday’s awards ceremony: ‘It is not insulting to me. I am very dumb as everyone knows’.”

FCC Crackdown Confuses Broadcasters

American broadcasters are complaining that the FCC’s crackdown on content has left them unclear about what will be deemed acceptable and what will not. But the pressure group Parents Television Council is unsympathetic: “They’re lucky they got away with as much as they did. It reminds me of a person who has been speeding as much as they wanted and now they’re getting tickets.”

We’re Watching You (Always)

A new book details the extent of the new security realities in America. A ‘security-industrial complex” is being built to tie together massive amounts of private information about everyone. It details the “far-reaching consequences for ordinary Americans, who must cope not only with the uneasy sense of being watched (leading, defenders of civil liberties have argued, to a stifling of debate and dissent) but also with the very palpable dangers of having personal information (and in some cases, inaccurate information) passed from one outfit to another.”