Naxos's Klaus Heyman Wins Suit Against Norman Lebrecht

[Scott]

An article in the New York Times:

British Critic's Book is Withdrawn

By Daniel J. Wakin
Published: October 20, 2007

For years, the British critic Norman Lebrecht has been throwing firebombs in the world of classical music, denouncing what he sees as industry evils in a provocative style that has sometimes been described as accuracy-challenged.

On Thursday, in an unusually crushing act of contrition, his publisher agreed to recall his latest book, destroy it, say "Sorry" and promise not to do it again ­ all over a few pages discussing Naxos Records and its founder, Klaus Heymann.

The book, "Maestros, Masterpieces & Madness: The Secret Life and Shameful Death of the Classical Record Industry," was released in Britain in July. Mr. Heymann sued the publisher, Penguin Books, in the High Court of Justice, saying the book wrongly accused him of "serious business malpractices" based on false statements. He cited at least 15 statements he called inaccurate.

[The article continues. The full article is here:
http://tinyurl.com/2eohuq ]

Scott Morrison

[Mark]

From what I've read of Lebrecht (about and by him), the guy sounds like a total *****.

[Scott]

From what I've read of Lebrecht (about and by him), the guy sounds like a total *****.

I sometimes find what he writes to be interesting and thought-provoking, and he certainly has a lively style. But I'm glad Heymann (and I apologize for misspelling his name in this thread's title) had the guts to stand up to him in court.

Care to say what '*****' stands for? 

[longears]

Good news.  Any time a pompous blowhard like Lebrecht gets a comeuppance is occasion for a prayer of thanks.  "Accuracy-challenged"--a charmingly PC way to say he's a fatuous liar. 

[longears]

Care to say what '*****' stands for? 

dork?

[springrite]

It's about time. I only wish Mr. Heymann wasn't so nice as to let him off so easily!

[BachQ]

Care to say what '*****' stands for? 

Fuckhead ?

[Mark]

Fuckhead ?

Oooh, so close. It was 'prick'.

[BachQ]

It was 'prick'.

Such language.  This is a familly website, Mark.  Tsk tsk ......

[springrite]

Such language.  This is a familly website, Mark.  Tsk tsk ......

Well, prick isn't necessarily a bad word at all. It all depends on how it is used. As Sir George Carlin so eloquently pointed out: "You can prick your finger. But don't finger your prick!"

[Brian]

*jaw drops*
Unbelievable! Thanks for the link ... I love how Heymann, almost as an aside, notes, "Also, he really doesn't understand the record business." 

(My university has a stash of New York Times copies every day but one, and look what I miss.)

[DavidW]

Well that should teach him to write libel.  But the person who really needs to slap is the editor that approved.  That's part of the editor's job is to make sure that kind of crap doesn't happen.

[Scott]

Oooh, so close. It was 'prick'.

Actually that word sometimes appears in the hallowed halls of classical music newsgroups and the like because there is a German conductor named Christoph Prick. But in English-speaking countries it's generally cleaned up and he's called 'Perick.' 

[max]

Actually that word sometimes appears in the hallowed halls of classical music newsgroups and the like because there is a German conductor named Christoph Prick. But in English-speaking countries it's generally cleaned up and he's called 'Perick.' 

Nerver heard of him. What did Herr Prick use for a baton??

[RebLem]

Oooh, so close. It was 'prick'.

Reminds me of George Carlin's routine about "The seven words you can't use on [American] television."  He also said some words were OK in some situations, but not others.  "You can prick your finger, but you'd better not finger your prick," he said. 

[The new erato]

Reminds me of George Carlin's routine about "The seven words you can't use on [American] television."  He also said some words were OK in some situations, but not others.  "You can prick your finger, but you'd better not finger your prick," he said. 

Reminds me of the following wisdom: "A balloon is like virginity; one prick and it's gone".