• austriantimes.at
• croatiantimes.com
• salzburgtimes.at
• viennatimes.at
• austrianindependent.com

01. 09. 10. - 16:00

• more Panorama news...
• RSS Feed Panorama

01. 09. 10. - 16:00

Holender gets ORF job after ATV axe

Romanian Times

Outgoing Vienna State Opera director Ioan Holender will host a radio talk show on national broadcaster ORF after private rival ATV scrapped his chat format, Austrian Times reports.

The Romanian will interview high-profile personalities such as Burgtheater head Matthias Hartmann, comedian Andreas Vitasek and Social Democratic (SPÖ) parliamentary president Barbara Prammer. There will be one show per month, it was announced.

ORF said today (Weds) that the first edition of the Holender-hosted "Apropos Musik" programme will be aired on radio station Ö1 on 19 September (3.05pm), adding that ORF boss Alexander Wrabetz will be the outspoken opera expert’s first guest.

The state-owned company said the Holender shows will be recorded in front of an audience at Vienna’s Radiokulturhaus. It added guests of the new format will be asked to pick the show’s music to uncover their personal cultural preferences.

ATV, the ORF’s biggest private competitor, ditched plans to produce more editions of the acclaimed "Termin bei Holender" (Appointment with Holender) programme after just four shows earlier this year. A spokeswoman for the channel explained in July ATV had to accept that the programme was "not economical".

The TV format had Holender speaking to politicians, musicians or sport stars. The 74-year-old had a phone next to him which rang when the director reminded him not to talk too much or stop the conversation to allow a commercial break being screened.

Holender – who released his book "Ich bin noch nicht fertig. Erinnerungen." (I’m not finished yet. Memories.) a few weeks ago – headed the Vienna State Opera for a record 18 years before Frenchman Dominique Meyer took over this morning.

The infamously outspoken former opera singer has caused controversy over the years by opposing the media hype around the glamorous Opera Ball held at the State Opera. Holender tried to keep the number of days the opera house needed to stop performing because of the event as few as possible. The tennis enthusiast also criticised ORF’s live TV coverage of the high society get-together of being "boring", expressing surprise about how many people watch the broadcast lasting several hours year after year.

Miserable plot
Jilted hubby Florin Dan Munteanu, 38, who allegedly tried to kill his wife with a bomb hidden inside a copy of the book 'Les Miserables' has been arrested after it blew up his mother-in-law instead, say police in Petrosan, Romania.

Woman's torso found in basement
The torso of a woman was found at the basement of a block of flats in Botosani, northern Romania.

Football champions stranded in snow
Nine players from Romania's football champions team - who met Manchester United in the Champions League playoffs - have been stranded for over 20 hours on a train, after they had left Galati for Bucharest on Monday, it emerged today (Tues).

New Prime Minister forms his team
The new prime minister (PM) will present his team tonight (Tues), after consultations with the political parties.

Former deputy sentenced to 5 years in jail
Former Romanian Chamber of Deputies member Emilian Cutean, from the Social Democrat Party (PSD) was sentenced definitively to five years in jail by the Court of Appeal in Bucharest today (Tues).

Seven buses caught up in snow
Seven buses with 450 passengers were stuck in the snow for more than seven hours in southeastern Romania, last night (Mon/Tues).

Central bank hikes inflation prognosis
Romania's Central Bank Governor Mugur Isarescu said today (Tues) the central bank had hiked the inflation prognosis from 3 per cent to 3.2 per cent in 2012.

Millions of Euro losses per day due to snowy roads
Losses of as much as 100 million Euros per day are estimated by the Associtation of Importers and Exporters in Romania (ANEIR), due to the weather conditions, as tens of national roads are blocked by snow and blizzards.

AA introduces new flights from Bucharest to Vienna
Austrian Airlines (AA) announced today (Tues) that it would increase the number of flights from Romania in the summer season.

Anti-corruption chief prosecutor's mandate extended
The chief of the National Anti-corruption Department (DNA), Daniel Morar, has his mandate prolonged for another six months the General Prosecutor Codruta Kovesi, said today (Tues).