Category: people

“He started his career as a violinist, joining the Vienna Philharmonic (in which his father, also Walter, was a violinist) at the age of 17, and at 22 became joint concertmaster with Willi Boskovsky. … In 1977 he was appointed Principal Conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and … led the Scottish National Orchestra from 1992 to ’97.”

“I have a fear of everything – of not fitting into that slot, of not fulfilling that piece you are asked to do. I get more frightened [the more I do]. The more you do, the more frightening it is anyway as you are much more aware.’

“Officially titled the American Museum of Tort Law, the nonprofit attraction will focus on aspects of the legal system that handle wrongful actions that result in injury, otherwise known as ‘torts’.” (Unfortunately, Nader rejected the idea to have “a clock that marks time by having a life-size Pinto erupt in flames every hour, on the hour.”)

An encounter that changed literature for good.

“Sixty years ago, Ferlinghetti … was the principal publisher of an iconoclastic band of writers and poets known as the Beat Generation. Today, he’s still co-owner of City Lights, one of the most celebrated independent book stores in America. These are quieter days for the internationally acclaimed poet and painter. His eyes are going, but his mind and humor are sharp. And while he may have slowed down some, he’s still publishing three books this year.” (includes audio)

“Today may be the last day of your juvenile delinquency, but it should also be the first day of your new adult disobedience. … Think about it: I didn’t change. Society did. Who would’ve ever thought a top college like RISD would’ve invited a filthy elder to set an example to its students?”

“Christie’s had estimated a sale price of between $150,000 and $250,000, but bidding started at $80,000 and ended at $90,000, far short of the reserve price.”

“Mr. Szajkowski (pronounced shy-KOV-skee) took home disturbing memorabilia, too, like Hitler’s stationery and antlers from Hermann Göring’s hunting lodge. He sometimes tore apart books to cram them into shipping containers. ‘I’m doing my barbaric work with a clean conscience,’ he wrote to a friend in 1945.”

“By managing many of the leading maestros of his era — over the years his clients included Herbert von Karajan, James Levine, Claudio Abbado, Seiji Ozawa, Riccardo Muti, Kurt Masur and Colin Davis — Mr. Wilford was able to wield enormous influence in many of the world’s top concert halls and opera houses, often simultaneously, for decades.”

“In a 2013 audit, the library’s inspector general warned that millions of items, some from as far back as the 1980s, remained piled in overflowing buildings and warehouses, virtually lost to the world. In addition, just a small fraction of its 24 million books are available to read online, 200 years after Thomas Jefferson laid the foundation for a vast national library by selling Congress his personal collection of books after the War of 1812.”