Dylan finally gets his hands on Nobel prize
STOCKHOLM, April 2, (Agencies): Bob Dylan finally has his hands on his Nobel Literature diploma and medal.
Klas Ostergren, a member of the Swedish Academy, said the 75-year-old American singer-songwriter received his award during a small gathering Saturday afternoon at a hotel next to the conference center where Dylan was performing a concert later that night.
Ostergren told The Associated Press that the ceremony was a small, intimate event in line with the singer’s wishes, with just academy members and a member of Dylan’s staff attending.
“It went very well indeed,” he said, describing Dylan as “a very nice, kind man.”
Other members of the academy told Swedish media that Dylan seemed pleased by the award.
During his show hours later, Dylan made no reference to the Nobel award, simply performing a set blending old classics with tunes from his more recent albums.
Dylan had declined the invitation to attend the traditional Nobel Prize banquet and ceremony on Dec. 10 — the date of Alfred Nobel’s death — pleading other commitments.
But in order to receive the award worth 8 million kronor ($894,800), Dylan must give a lecture within six months from Dec. 10. He has said he will not give his Nobel lecture this weekend but a recorded version of it will be sent later.
Taped Nobel lectures have been occasionally presented, most recently in 2013 by Canadian Nobel literature laureate Alice Munro.
“I think he has said it all already as you heard in the acceptance speech. And you know, Dylan didn’t apply for the Nobel prize. People seem to forget that. It wasn’t a competition, he didn’t ask for it, he was bestowed it. It’s not for the giver of a gift to expect something in return,” said Shmuel Burger, a 61-yearold physician and die-hard Dylan fan who traveled from Israel for the concert.
Awarded
The 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Dylan “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.” He had expressed awe at receiving the Nobel Prize and thanked the Swedish Academy for including him among the “giants” of writing.
Besides his two concerts in Stockholm, Dylan will also play in the southwestern city of Lund on April 9.
Details of Dylan’s receipt of his Nobel literature prize were being kept under close wraps on Saturday leaving those wanting to know more about it blowin’ in the wind.
It’s not that the times kept a-changin’, it was that no one would say what was happening.
The prize-givers also said they planned to show up at one of Dylan’s performances — on Saturday and Sunday in Stockholm and on April 9 in Lund.
But that was it. A blackout. Probably until someone says it’s all over now.
The decision to give the bard the literature prize caused controversy that only deepened when Dylan was silent about the award for weeks afterwards. He then said he would be a no-show at the annual anquet in December.
“Getting ready for Dylan’s concerts in Stockholm this weekend,” Academy secretary Sara Danius said in a blog post on Friday.
Danius said earlier this week that the notoriously media-shy Dylan would not hold the traditional Nobel lecture this weekend, but that a taped version would probably be sent at a later point.
In order to receive 8 million Swedish crown ($903,000) prize, Dylan needs to give a lecture within six months from Dec 10. It does not necessarily need not be delivered in Stockholm.
When British novelist Doris Lessing was awarded the Nobel literature prize in 2007, she composed a lecture and sent it to her Swedish publisher, who read it at a ceremony in the Swedish capital.
The decision to award the prize to Dylan, whom the Academy said had “created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition,” was seen by some as slap in the face by some mainstream writers of poetry and prose. But others saw it as an affirmation of a generation of cerebral lyrics that often stand alone without the music.
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The Boston Pops Orchestra is kicking off a series of performances devoted to the music of John Williams with concerts on April 7 and 8. Williams served as the ensemble’s conductor from 1980 to 1993 and is its conductor laureate.
“Raiders of the Lost Ark” star Karen Allen is hosting the April concerts. The Pops plan to turn them into a live album to be released in May.
The Pops will dedicate 11 performances this year to works by Williams, which also include the music scores for “Jaws,” “Superman”, “E.T.”, “Schindler’s List”, “Jurassic Park,” and some of the “Harry Potter” films.
The 85-year-old Williams will also make appearances.
WASHINGTON: The US Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear a bid by major record labels to revive copyright infringement claims against video-sharing website Vimeo LLC for hosting content that included songs by famed bands such as the Beatles, the Jackson 5 and the Beach Boys without permission.
The high court’s action was a blow to Vivendi SA’s Capitol Records and units of Sony Corp, which warned of rampant online copyright abuse if a ruling by a lower court shielding Vimeo from liability remained in place. Vimeo is owned by media mogul Barry Diller’s IAC/InterActiveCorp.
The case was being closely watched by Hollywood and the recording industry, which are seeking stronger protections for their copyrights, as well as high-tech companies wary of having to police user-generated content.
The dispute centered on the interpretation of a 1998 US law called the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or DMCA, which protects internet service providers from liability when users upload copyrighted content, so long as they remove infringing material once they receive notice or otherwise become aware of it.