A little over a year ago, Minnesota Public Radio bought a competing classical music station in the Twin Cities and changed its format, much to the consternation of some classical music fans in the area. But in the year since MPR launched the station now known as The Current, it has been the talk of the local radio scene. With its DJs picking the songs they play, focusing on local rock bands and national acts that don’t get the time of day on most corporate-controlled FM stations, the station has cultivated a seriously loyal following, and affected nearly everything about the music scene in the Cities.
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Turkish Government Declines Charges Against Author
The Turkish government won’t approve charges of “insulting Turkey and Turkishness” against Orhan Pamuk, the country’s most prominent author, leaving the decision to a local court that could drop the case.
Global Recorded Music Sales Down
Global music retail revenues fell about 2 percent last year. In 2004 they remained flat at $33.6 billion, punctuating a four-year slide. The drop in overall sales came “despite a threefold increase in digital music revenue to $1.1 billion from $380 million, while illegal file-sharing volumes changed little. The new downturn, based on data from three-quarters of the global market, underlined major challenges facing record companies…”
Museum Removes Five Klimts After Anonymous Threat
Vienna’s celebrated Belvedere Museum has taken down five paintings by Gustav Klimt after receiving an anonymous threat from an individual who threatened to destroy them. “Sources in the gallery said the mail had threatened the paintings would be destroyed to stop them being restored to heiress Maria Altmann, niece of their orginal Jewish owner who was driven out of Vienna and stripped of his possessions by the Nazis in 1938.” The Belvedere had agreed to return the paintings earlier in the week.
Man Jailed For Harry Theft
A man has been jailed for 4 1/2 years for stealing pre-release copies of Harry Potter las summer. “Aaron Lambert, 20, stole two copies of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince from a secure distribution centre on June 2 last year, six weeks before the JK Rowling novel’s much awaited publication.”
Ulysses Tops 20th Century Poll
James Joyce’s classic 1922 novel Ukysses tops a poll selecting the most valuable books of the 20th Century. “According to the poll, which was published in this month’s issue of the Book and Magazine Collector magazine, the 1922 first edition of Joyce’s account of Bloom’s day in Dublin is now worth £100,000.”
What Makes Sam-I-Am A Classic?
“There are two ways to interpret ‘Green Eggs and Ham.’ The first–to which I do not subscribe–was suggested to me by a colleague with small children. It is as a terrifying torture-and-kidnap story… The second way to interpret the book is as a celebration, albeit a mischievous one, of two particularly American traits: salesmanship and open-mindedness.”
Marilyn Horne Treated For Cancer
Mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne has localized pancreatic cancer and is undergoing treatment that offers an excellent chance for full recovery, her manager said Thursday. Horne, 72, was diagnosed in mid-December…
St. Lawrence Get A New Violinist
The St. Lawrence String Quartet has a new violinist. It’s University of Toronto faculty-member Scott St. John. “When Barry (Shiffman)informed us he was leaving, we put together a short list of ‘dream’ candidates, Scott was the first name on that list, and when we sat down to play with him, we all realized he really is the perfect fit for the SLSQ.”
GM Quits Stratford Sponsorship (Wants A Different Vehicle?)
“In recent years GM had partnered with the Stratford, Ont., Shakespeare festival to provide it with more than $100,000 each season in money and in-kind assistance. GM vice-president of corporate affairs Dave Paterson said the decision to stop backing Stratford was made last summer in response to what he called “our very rapidly changing vehicle lineup.”