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Thursday, September 05, 2002

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Mariss Jansons is the choice of the musicians of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. The Dutch newspaper de Volksrant reported this week that the members of the Amsterdam orchestra want the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra music director to be their next chief conductor.

This vote of confidence does not mean that management agrees. But PSO managing director Gideon Toeplitz says he believes the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra already has offered Jansons the position and that it is his for the taking.

He also thinks the musicians' vote may sway Jansons, who announced his departure from the PSO because he will be 60 years old and "must make changes in [his] life." "When Jansons was considering coming to the Pittsburgh Symphony, he constantly asked, 'Are you sure the musicians want me to come?' " said Toeplitz.

Jansons, who is touring with the Vienna Philharmonic, could not be reached. If hired, he'd succeed conductor Riccardo Chailly.

(By Andrew Druckenbrod,
Post-Gazette Classical Music Critic)

Internet Rosh Hashanah

Congregation Emanu-El in New York is broadcasting its Jewish High Holy Day Rosh Hashana services over the Internet (www.emanuelnyc.org).

The "Cyber Service" broadcast starts at noon tomorrow -- to coincide with sundown in Israel -- and will run for 24 hours, repeating once an hour so listeners in all time zones can log on.

In the past seven years, 1.5 million people in 85 countries have listened to Emanu-El's Rosh Hashana and Passover services via the Web.

(By Adrian McCoy)

Thursday, September 05, 2002