Author: Douglas McLennan

SING ALONG

John Eliot Gardner is performing and recording all of Bach’s cantatas this year. “Though Bach is best known now for his grand masterpieces like the “St. Matthew Passion” and the B minor Mass, it was the 340 cantatas composed during his five years, starting in 1723, as cantor at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig that drew the most notice when he died on July 28, 1750. They were the only pieces of music noted in the first paragraph of his obituary.” – New York Times

PERLMAN CONDUCTS

Itzhak Perlman has begun conducting, making his Tanglewood debut this weekend. “Of course, as a virtuoso violinist Perlman can do anything he wants to. As a conductor, Perlman is not a virtuoso, but he turns that into a virtue by approaching everything simply and directly, never attempting to juice things up or impose himself on the music, and by releasing the musicians to play as personally, responsively, and expressively as he has always wanted to. They in turn carry him over the rough spots, and they had to.” – Boston Globe

“That’s not to say Perlman should quit his day job, should trade bow for baton, anytime soon – despite his appointment as principal guest conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra starting in 2001. His conducting style is certainly idiosyncratic.” – Boston Herald

THE UPSIDE OF PIRACY

As the recording industry continues to mount legal challenges to Napster’s file-sharing technology, the publishing industry is assessing its own content – both its vulnerability, and its marketability. “It appears audio book publishers are poised to deliver the first insights. The MP3 format provides for a real variety of content – abridged, unabridged, something that’s 20 minutes long, something that’s six hours long.” – Publishers Weekly

ANOTHER WAY

Dave Eggers’ McSweeney’s Books intends to cut out the middlemen between writer and reader. It’s traditional hardback publishing, not e-books, although the writer doesn’t get an advance, he gets “whatever remains after printing costs and incidentals, not to mention foreign sales, film sales, etc. Eggers isn’t taking a dime.” – Inside.com

DOWNLOADERS COVER FREELOADERS

Frightened about being cut off from Stephen King’s latest online novel (that requires a $1 download fee), devoted fans have been sending extra cash to cover all the delinquent readers. King himself is surprised by the acts of generosity: “Publicly, I have always expressed a great deal of confidence in human nature, but in private I have wondered if anybody would ever pay for anything on the Net.” – Salon (AP)

NOT THE WRITE POLICY

The government of Scotland announced its long-awaited cultural strategy. “Aimed at providing a blueprint for the future of Scotland’s culture, key promises included an additional £7 million for the arts over the next three years, a feasibility study for a national theatre, support for a film studio and an audit of the nation’s museums and galleries.” But why no mention of Scottish writers? – The Scotsman

JUDGING WORK

“Readers and writers of the past – not just the geniuses, either; the intelligent, alert ones who kept current as we all like to think we do – remind us how culture and taste change. And why. What aesthetic, social and intellectual needs do beliefs serve in their time? Which ones serve us now, and why?” – New York Times