In Brief

Here is your regular Sunday dosage of interesting items, from Blogville and beyond:

• Musicologist Martin Geck writes book on Bach. Professional stuffed shirt William F. Buckley reviews it. It's War of the Worlds. Musicologist Phil Ford explains what Buckley got wrong. [Dial M for Musicology]
  
• Anne-Carolyn Bird buys some scores at Patelson's, that famous temple of music in Manhattan. [The Concert]
  
• What are the top five American orchestras? According to Fred Kirshnit, in no particular order, Pittsburgh, Boston, Cincinnati, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago. [NY Sun] Hat tip to Poor Richard's Anorak
  
• After a year of speculation, Nicolas Joel, director of the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse, has indeed been tapped to replace Gérard Mortier as head of the Opéra National de Paris, effective in 2009. [Bloomberg]
  
• Some exciting news about contemporary operas to be produced soon in the United States. The Met will mount Philip Glass's Satyagraha in Spring 2008 (in conjunction with an avant-garde theater company? -- we are talking about the Metropolitan Opera here, right?), and Ionarts favorite Santa Fe Opera will give the American premiere of Kaija Saariaho's Adriana Mater in Summer 2008. Both are excellent operas, which I have only heard and not seen (the former on recording and the latter by radio broadcast). I would probably have opted for Akhnaten instead of Satyagraha, if it were up to me. [Out West Arts]
  
• Jessica Duchen wants you to sign a petition if you like the music of Erich Korngold, or rather, she wants you to leave your name with the Web site of the Korngold Society, to petition Amadeus Press to reprint Brendan Carroll's Korngold biography, in time for next year, the 50th anniversary of Korngold's death. [Jessica Duchen]