Pamela Moberg

Today the Swedish Academy announced that the recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature will be the Romanian born German author Herta Muller. (To be absolutely correct, there ought to be two dots over the "u" in her surname, but my keyboard does not have it so you have to imagine it. It changes the pronounciation a bit). She was born in 1953 in a German enclave in Romania and did not learn to speak Romanian until she was 15. During the turmoil in the country she escaped to Berlin in 1987 and has remained there since, always writing in German. I must confess that I have not yet read any of her work, but I will certainly do so now. Her main theme is alienation and the feeling of nowhere being quite at home. She writes about a Europe that was, but will never come back. As far as I have gathered, she is not a "difficult" author and that her language is absolutely beautiful - of course to appreciate that she should be read in German. But she is translated into twenty languages so there should be no problems. The Swedish Academy has in the past made some very weird choices, but this year I feel that they have made a good one. Of course there has been rife speculation in the weeks preceeding today. The Israeli writer Amoz Oz was a favorite, so were Philip Roth and Joyce Carol Oates. There is a quite good article about Herta Muller here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/oct/0...rize-literature

How nice to hear from Berlin! Herzlich willkommen! Once upon a time I studied in Berlin (West - it was during the divided era). I went to Tatiana Gsovsky Schule fur Buhnentanz in Fasanenstrasse, and I lived in Lichtenrade in Bernauer Strasse if memory serves. Please tell us all about the dance scene in Berlin, should be good with two opera houses and two companies. Is it still like that? I and DD (dear daughter) have been planning a trip to Berlin for a long time. She is an ex ballet student and we want to see classical ballet only. Now I fear that we are going to lean heavily on you for advice on what is going on. BTW, we live in Sweden. Your English is fine, you just wait until you hear my German - alles vergessen!

Regina Beck-Friis. 1940 - 2009, has passed away. She was a Swedish dance historian who researched old dancing styles and mounted ballets for the ancient court theater at Drottningholm Castle. Together with her friend, the late Mary Skeaping, they reconstructed ballets by such ballet masters as Didelots and Gallodier. She was also a dance writer and published books on old dancing techniques.

I know of Pär Isberg, but I have only seen one of his works (on TV). Here also, Nutcracker is THE Christmas ballet, but Isberg changed it into something which he called "Petter's and Lotta's Christmas". I have seen excerpts of it and did not like it. OK, now I never like when they tamper with and modernize the classics. Nutcracker is an old classic and perfectly capable of standing on its own legs. Isberg threw in everything but the kitchen sink including some characters from Swedish fairy tales. I am afraid I dont know what he is doing right now, have you tried to Google him? I assume that masses of stuff in Swedish would come up, but if you find something that interests you, please dont hesitate to ask me to translate for you. I did have a brief look at the web site of the Royal Opera, but found it rather poor. There was only a brief summary in English. As for myself I havent seen them in years, last performance was Don Quixote, competent but no more. As I live on the West coast and Stockholm is on the East coast I rarely visit these days. Stockholm is rather far away and I no longer have any family or friends there. But I must admit I am very curious about their new star. She is called Jurgita Dronina (sp?). very young, and she is from one of the Baltic countries and was trained there. Friends have told me she is to die for Especially her Swan Lake.

My first true love was Toni Lander - but a couple of years later - I totally agree with Jane Simpson here - along came Svetlana Beriosova and for me she will always remain on the Mount Olympus of ballet. Hans:- you like Altynai Asylmuratova and I couldnt agree more, she has always been a favorite of mine. Maybe because she reminds me somewhat of Beriosova. But it must be said, I have never seen AA live. Nanarina:- Yes, I well remember Anita Landa and the LFB. Always liked her a lot and saw a lot of her too in those days.

Yes, Bart, I do remember the Beck series - now the Swedish commercial channel has made a re-make of those, but I havent seen a single instalment. They were wildly popular here once upon a time and I remember seeing a film called "Roseanna" when I lived in London. Trouble in those days were that Swedish movies - even Bergman movies - were always shown in some small backstreet cinema and there lurked a lot of odd old guys with trench coats and felt hats expecting to see a bit of flesh I suppose. As a young woman it was very unpleasant to go to such a movie theater, one always ended up being pawed (and worse) by the guy in the next seat. So I completely gave up seeing Swedish movies. As I have the proper keyboard, here is the correct spelling of the Beck authors: Sjöwall and Wahlöö. FYI, we also have ÅÄÖ in our alphabet.

Thanks, Bart, there must be forgiveness in this world. It is very important.

Today came the news that Swedish TV has lost the rights to screen the two follow ups of Stieg Larsson's films: "The girl who played with fire" and "The castle that blew up". (Please note that the title of the last one is my own translation). That is good news indeed, films should be seen on a proper cinema screen and not on a silly little television. No matter how big a TV screen you have, it is not the same. Very good news, but I dont really know how this will affect a foreign release. However, judging by the first film I saw, this is something to look forward to. If anyone of you sees any of these films I am very eager to know what you think.

Folks, are you ready for a confession? Yes, I am on my knees. Well, many years ago I went to the Vaganova school performance, wonderful stuff indeed and the second part was "The fairy doll". I was sitting in the Maryinski (now I think it was a dream, but I was actually there), in the very front row just behind the conductor who then happened to be Gergiev. I had a camera with flash and thinking that this is once in a lifetime - later I have realized that it was indeed once in a lifetime - I did indeed took a few pics with flash. I knew it was not the thing to be done, but considering the circumstances I threw all my manners and good behaviour to the wind. Worse was to come, the film in my camera was finished and then it wound back automatically. This winding back made a considerable noise, Gergiev turned his head and looked angrily (that man can really look mean if he wants to, otherwise I think he is very cute) at me. The damned camera continued whirring loudly, I put it under my skirt and finally I ended up sitting on the damned thing! Anyway, I got my pics, they were not so good, but a nice souvenir and memory for me. But I must admit, I behaved very badly and will never do so again, so I beg for forgiveness to both the performers and Mr. Gergiev for this lapse of good manners.

Thanks, Bart, for that photo! Isnt it rather fantastic! But I must add that approaching the building in winter isnt funny at all. The wind coming in from the sea is usually fairly strong and it is bitterly cold so one has to wrap up well. About the old opera house, it is still being used. It is owned by the municipality and can be rented so there are still performances there, ranging from revues to magician's shows to pop concerts to conventions and conferences and all sorts of things. Well, never mind, as long as the building is still there in all its white stucco. When passing it I always look up at the windows of the ballet class room and remember...

I have it as a general rule to read a book in the language in which it was written as I think so much disappears in translation. Now I noticed that sounded real snooty - didnt mean it that way at all. I read Swedish and English, can manage French, German and Spanish, but then I miss all the finer points so in those cases I have to resort to translations. The worst possible thing is of course a book, say written in Japanese, then translated into English and then into some other language. Wonder how much is left of the original then! No, I havent read Mankell at all, he is wildly popular here, but somehow I never got around to him. Anyway, BBC is making a series of his books about Inspector Wallander and they are shooting it in the south of Sweden in Wallander territory to get it as authentic as possible. I think Kenneth Branagh will play Wallander so I will most certainly watch it on TV. Once I conducted an experiment: I had two books side by side, the original and the Swedish translation - it was quite interesting how much was lost in rhytm, atmosphere and subtle details which are untranslateable. By the way, I just hate translating, I always want to improve things! Besides it is very badly paid.

Yes, Helene, the new opera house by the water, isnt it glorious! I understand that you had little time when you visited for the Ice Championships, yet, it was a pity that you couldnt avail yourself of the half hour conducted tour of the house which they have some afternoons. The restaurant is lovely too with its panorama windows overlooking the harbour. As much as I think the new opera is beautiful I still have sentimental feelings for the old one. Dont know if you noticed that, a white building dating from about 1850 at the very beginning of "The Avenue". That is where I took my first steps in ballet and made my debut in Marriage of Figaro. But, to be truthful, the interior (for the artists) was still very much 1850 - two showers for the entire crew! It was really awful working conditions, but at the same time I would be the first one to resist a demolition. Hope you can visit again soon and enjoy an opera (ballet is almost exclusively modern).

If you are interested in a more recent book about M.K. I would strongly recommend "Imperial dancer - Mathilde Kschessinska and the Romanovs" by Coryne Hall - Sutton Publishing Limited, 2005. Ms. Hall is also an eminent historian so the historical contents regarding the Imperial family are equally interesting. Dancing in St. Petersburg is M.K's own take on the proceedings, maybe not always so truthful. My advice is to read both and then compare!

At last, something to report from Gothenburg Sweden. End of August there will be an international ballet gala with: Gillian Murphy - David Hallberg - Daniil Simkin and Sarah Lane. So far so good, I am looking forward to that. Question is just how much time these eminent people will be given. Also participating in the gala evening will be Netherlands Dance Theater, Cullberg Ballet, Bounce (a very good Sw. street dance company), and Twisted feet. Unfortunately there will be a compere for the evening who as far as I know hasnt got a clue about ballet. Well, if it gets too tedious one could always repair to the opera bar. But I will certainly fork out cash to see Murphy and Hallberg and of course Simkin.

Thanks, Zerbinetta, you did post the correct title. it should be "The girl with the dragon tattoo". The original title in Swedish is: "Flickan som lekte med elden", which translates as "the girl who played with fire". On the book jacket there is a photo of a shoulder with a dragon tattoo on it - hence the change of title in English. OK, fine with me, but I dont see why they departed so far from the original title - why not translate it straight, after all it was possible. Still recommend the books, in spite of what some critics say.

The late Swedish author Stieg Larsson wrote three wildly popular books before his recent untimely death. These books have been translated into many languages and I know they sell very well in England. Wonder if they have found their way to the US? If they have, I certainly do recommend all three: "Men who hate women" "The girl who played with fire" "The castle that was blewn up" All the books have been made into movies and "Men who hate women" has just been released. I saw it the other day and was impressed, normally I am a bit dubious and never trust movies made from books. OK, if one sees the movie first and then reads the book it is usually a better idea. The audience must have liked it too, there was a round of applause during the final scene. So, I do recommend the books and the films, or at least the one I saw. Just to clarify matters: This is not kind of Bergmanesque morose stuff, it is violent, tough, murder, shooting - that kind of stuff. Highly entertaining and very good acting all round.

This is not really important at all, but I am just curious. Earlier tonight I posted about Flemming Flindt and that was supposed to be post# 349. So far, so good. I know I am not the most energetic poster on this board, but I found my output a bit poor. Then when I looked up previous posts I found that going back to 2003 it was also #349 and I have actually posted a few things between 2003 and today. Has anybody else noticed the same thing?

How very sad. I have vivid memories of him when he was with London Festival Ballet. He did a magnificent Drummer in Graduation Ball. I have never seen Nicholas Orloff who was supposed to be formidable, but I am sure Flindt was equally good if not better. After the performance I went backstage and got his autographed photo and I spoke to him in Danish. Need I say that my friends who didnt understand a word were very jealous.

A bit late in the day, admittedly, but a Very Happy New Year to all of you and many thanks for the past year with all your wealth of knowledge and information!

Having been to Vienna and seen all those old palaces I find it wonderful to remember. This year as it is the Haydn jubilee year I was sitting there waiting for some reference to Elssler - but no. Fanny Elssler's father worked for Haydn and for the Esterhazys. In the castle of Esterhazy there is kept the original costume that Elssler wore in "La Cachucha", it is now many years since I saw it, but if mem. serves it was pink with black lace. In recent years there has been a bit more boldness in repertory, many old favorites are played but they also endeavour to include some very unknown pieces by Strauss - many of those are in my opinion better than the usual fare. I have seen every concert since they started showing it on TV and one can notice a remarkable change. The choreography used to be an end-of-term-display variety, the dancers used to be (allow me to be rude now) rather pudgy, but today they look like any other company so on the whole there is a great improvement. The Vienna Philharmonic needs no improvement, they are always divine - I have heard them a number of times in London and in Vienna. This concert is a great tradition and I do hope they will maintain it. Probably so because it is awful hard to get tickets!

Very sad news. Reading Clive Barne's writings carefully one could learn a lot about ballet - he gave me a deeper understanding. Reading various critics' opinion of a performance one always read Clive first. I started reading him very early on when he was co-editor of Dance and Dancers. Luckily, I have an archive full of Dance and Dancers.

Once a year the Swedish Broadcasting Corp. most graciously shows what they call "An entire evening of dance". This year it was worse than ever before. It started with an announcer who cheerfully proclaimed that "there will be no dancing on point and such stuff". Indeed no... The evening started with some Cullberg stuff - didnt see this but I suspected that it was the late Birgit herself who did something to Abba music (she was then about eighty something). Then followed a documentary (French) about Isadora Duncan which was like most French documentaries I have seen, both well researched and well made. Then some hip hop and modern stuff. The evening ended with the movie "Isadora". Now Vanessa Redgrave is a very competent actress, I dont deny her that, but the movie itself wasnt much. Anybody has views on this, anybody seen this movie? Then, end of annual evening of dance. Switched off with a great feeling of disappointment.

Thank you, Paul, for clearing up at least that part of the world. Isnt it interesting how languages change from the "old country" to what those emigrating end up speaking. English of course is the prime example of this and sure a lot depends on the region where those emigrating came from. I have two other rather interesting examples: There were lots of Swedes going to the East Coast of the US, but I have heard that the old people there really have a hard time getting their youngsters to learn any Swedish. In Russia there is also a remnant (from a war in 1700 something I believe) of a people who live in a village that is still called on the map :"Old Swedish village". This is in the south, near the Black Sea and recent reports have it that a few very old people manage a conversation in some kind of ancient Swedish, whereas the youngsters couldnt care less.

No, I am afraid there is no particular work by Le Clezio that I would recommend. But for myself, I am going to start with anything that is about Mauritius. When I lived in London I had a lot of Mauritian friends and reading about the island I might understand them better. All those friends I had used to work in the GPO as it was called then (the national telephone company). In order to work there you had to speak both English and French fluently. Some French people I knew said that the Mauritian French was a kind of very old fashioned French which was normal in France in 1800 or so, the Mauritians themselves said that they did not really speak French, but Creole. Might be the same in Louisiana, any posters from there have any opinion on this? I am just curious and very interested in how languages change over the centuries.

I think it has become a kind of tradition here that I am the first one to report on the Nobel Prize in literature. At exactly 1 p.m. (Swedish time) the Secretary of the Royal Swedish Academy (who is a great ballet fan btw) opened the door and announced: JMG LE CLEZIO He is a contemporary French author writing a lot about his past life in Africa and Mauritius, 68 years old. Not at all a "difficult" writer and I can recommend his books. Personally I am very pleased.