Despite multiple rulings, Macri refuses to reopen AFSCA media monopoly watchdog office.

Martín Sabbatella, the AFSCA media monopoly watchdog director ousted by presidential decree December 24, tried to resume his activities in his office today after two federal judges ruled that the "emergency" decrees signed by Argentine President Mauricio Macri that rescinded the 2009 Broadcast Media Law and ousted its director, were null and void. Sabbatella, however, was barred from doing so by a large Federal Police brigade on orders of President Macri.

“We will go to court to file the complaints. When they talked about institutional quality, it was a brutal lie; they don’t care about the quality of democracy when it comes to defending the interests of the corporative sectors that they represent,” Sabbatella told reporters outside the AFSCA building in downtown Buenos Aires. He affirmed he will return to courts to “report that once again the administration is violating the Law.”

On Monday, judges Iván Garbarino, from the Buenos Aires Civil and Commercial Court, and Martina Forns, of the Commercial and Administrative Court of San Martín (Buenos Aires Province), stipulated that Macri’s decrees should be declared null and void. This rulings were preceded by a similar one last week by Judge Luis Arias of the La Plata (Buenos Aires Province) administrative law district.

The overturned Macri decrees included dissolving the AFSCA media monopoly watchdog in favor of a new Communications Ministry, creating the ENACOM national communications regulator under presidential control, and amending key aspects of the Media Law that barred monopolies — the latter decree being a central demand by the Clarín Group, Argentina's largest media conglomerate and a key Macri backer.

The injunction filed before the courts in the country’s capital was brought forward by the ADDUC consumers association, while the other was filed by FM En Tránsito, a community radio station from Castelar, Buenos Aires Province.

At: http://buenosairesherald.com/article/206587/they-are-violating-the-law-once-again
__________________________________________

Macri's starting to look, walk, and quack like a dictator - and international advocacy groups for freedom of expression have noticed.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/11741601
http://www.democraticunderground.com/110846650



[center]Never there when you need'em.[/center]

In Argentina, where culture is 'a right', a free new arts center opens.

A new tourist attraction in Argentina — The Néstor Kirchner Cultural Center in downtown Buenos Aires — has been posting some impressive numbers since it opened on May 21, 2015. As many as 10,000 patrons a day are trooping through an ornate, turn-of-the-last-century building that has been converted into what's said to be the fourth-largest cultural center in the world. Remarkably, everything in it is free, from video installations to comedy acts to symphony concerts.

They call the main concert hall La Ballena Azul, "The Blue Whale," and it swims inside a grand Beaux Arts palace where, for most of the last century, folks in Buenos Aires mailed letters: the former Central Post Office. The Blue Whale auditorium — blimp-shaped, three stories high, holding 1,750 people — floats in what used to be the package-sorting area. A chandelier-like structure made of frosted glass sits above the Blue Whale. It is large enough to house exhibits.

"Why does it float? Because the subway runs nearby," explains guide Federico Baggio. "So the vibrations would not enter the symphony hall. It ended up having a whale shape, so that's why they named it like that, but the purpose is acoustics." During his tour, Baggio notes that whenever the audience fills the building, Thursday to Sunday, it regains the feeling of all those people rushing to deliver mail, moving everywhere with this rhythm of rush hour.

The Blue Whale is the most eye-catching attraction in the new Kirchner Cultural Center, but even it can't upstage its surroundings. The Palacio de Correos, literally the "Postal Palace" — commissioned in 1889 — was the largest public building in Argentina when it opened in 1928. It's eight stories tall, occupies a full city block behind a French Second Empire facade, and contains almost 1 million square feet of marble hallways, stained-glass ceilings and windows. You can also find traces of original post office fixtures, such as mailboxes and grand marble counters where you could finish and address your letters.

And the grandest room — a spectacular vaulted space the size of a banquet hall that had been the office of the postal service director — became the headquarters for the Eva Perón Foundation, which dispensed charity and gifts to impoverished Argentine citizens. That space has been restored as a sort of museum exhibit, with everything from Eva Perón's desk to bottles of champagne, letters piled all the way to the 20-foot ceiling in one corner, dozens of toys, go-carts, and other gifts of the sort she dispensed.

Approaching the desk, you hear recordings of actors' voices re-creating what went on there — children excited over Christmas toys, or asking first lady "Evita" for something for their grandparents. It's a scene some older visitors can remember from real life, and occasionally prompts tears.

These historic details resonated with the late President Néstor Kirchner, for whom the cultural center is now named, and for his widow, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who succeeded him as president in 2007. They're from the Peronist Party, and like Juan and Eva Perón, who founded that party in 1945, as well as such cultural institutions as the Argentine National Symphony, the arts are baked into their worldview, says Culture Minister Teresa Parodi. "Culture is an investment for this government, not an expense," she says.

When The Palacio de Correos ("The "Postal Palace&quot opened in 1928 it was the largest public building in Argentina. So when Kirchner saw this abandoned building, the thought was "not to turn it into a shopping mall, or" — as happened to Washington, D.C.'s Old Post Office — "a grand hotel. Instead, they pictured a cultural space — an enormous workshop where people can be developers of their own culture."

The public sector in Argentina, says Parodi, operates on the assumption that the arts belong to everyone. "We consider culture to be a right," she says. That's why the Culture Ministry stages concerts and workshops for the homeless in shantytowns, and why, at the Kirchner Center, everything is currently free. There will eventually be a "symbolic payment," she says, noting that the building needs to be kept up, and artists paid for their work. But she says corporations will be invited to sponsor events and keep prices low and seats and galleries full, as they are now.

That rhythm is clearly benefiting the artists who play here. Especially the Argentine National Symphony. The Argentine National Symphony — which has never had a permanent home — has taken up residence at the Kirchner The Peróns may have founded it in 1948, but they didn't provide it with a home, and it has wandered for 67 years, from opera house to concert hall to auditorium.

Now, to the evident delight of the public, it has taken up permanent residency at the Kirchner Center. In July, the symphony hosted Argentina's own Martha Argerich, one of the world's great classical pianists. Parodi says 1.2 million people tried to access the ticket website (they collapsed it) for an auditorium that holds fewer than 2,000. "She was bigger than the Rolling Stones," Parodi marvels, "which speaks well for a country that is very cultured."

In keeping with the building's origins, that symphony concert also included music from the 1994 Italian movie The Postman, conducted by its Argentine composer Luis Enriquez Bacalov, as well as tango selections. And in keeping with the idea that culture should belong to everyone — and that 1.2 million people had wanted to hear Argerich — it was simulcast nationally on public radio and TV.

Parodi says that while in her career as a singer it has been moving to be onstage, in the case of the Kirchner Center she's also moved to be part of the audience and part of the process of creating a cultural center — "doing all the things necessary so all of this can keep going."

At: http://www.npr.org/2015/10/03/442664722/in-argentina-where-culture-is-a-right-a-free-new-arts-center-opens
__________________________________________________________________

This article, written by the legendary NPR cultural commentator Bob Mondello, was originally published in October.

Since then, unfortunately, the new far-right administration of President Mauricio Macri (a personal friend of Trump's) has laid off 600 employees at the cultural center layoffs, or 85% of its workforce. This could effectively shutter the world's fourth largest cultural center, which since it was inaugurated last May, has already hosted 2,300 events visited by 750,000 people.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/110846795

Unions and Kirchnerist leaders slam Macri austerity measures, repression.

As anger continued to mount yesterday over the sacking of between 12,000 and 15,000 state workers by President Mauricio Macri’s administration, Kirchnerist lawmakers and labor union representatives accused the government of deliberate repression and of trying to implement harsh austerity measures.

“The model of austerity and economic concentration can only be implemented with repression and shielding by the media,” Andrés Larroque, one of the leaders of the Kirchnerist youth group La Cámpora, said yesterday regarding the recent repression by La Plata police of protests convened by sacked state employees. La Plata, the capital of Buenos Aires Province, saw some 4,500 state employees sacked by Mayor Julio Garro (a Macri ally), leading to a mass demonstration on Friday to protest the measures which was dispersed by police forces with tear gas and rubber bullets, who injured scores of demonstrators in the process.

The move came just days after high-ranking government figures including Vice President Gabriela Michetti announced the sacking of 2,000 Senate staff and employees and the firing of 600 workers from the recently opened Néstor Kirchner Cultural Center (CCK) in downtown Buenos Aires.

Macri officials have described the downsized employees as “political appointments.” Larroque responded yesterday by calling the government's justification for the sacking of thousands of state employees as “political smoke screen.”

“In the last few days we have lived through madness in Argentina,” Larroque added. “Hopefully the government, both national and provincial, take action on the matter and reflect on these methodologies we thought we had left in the past, because repression against people is something that we though we would never see again in Argentina.”

Meanwhile, union leaders also joined the Kirchneristeopposition in slamming the mass firings of state employees. José Peralta, Secretary General of the CTA labor federation (Argentina's second largest) said the move was a deliberately punitive one taken by Macri’s right-wing coalition against workers.

The state employees were sacked “to discipline the working class in the immediate future, as a strategy to condition the situation ahead of the wage negotiations this year,” Peralta said, adding that the move was taken to allow the Macri administration to move the national discourse away from the key concerns workers faced in the year ahead.

“The government is seeking to change the focus of the discussion away from wages or job insecurity,” he concluded.

At: http://buenosairesherald.com/article/206500/unions-kirchnerite-leaders-blast-%E2%80%98austerity-measures-repression%E2%80%99
____________________________________

The 600 Néstor Kirchner Cultural Center layoffs represent 85% of its workforce, and would effectively shutter the world's fourth largest cultural center. The center, inaugurated last May, has already hosted 2,300 events visited by 750,000 people.

http://www.npr.org/2015/10/03/442664722/in-argentina-where-culture-is-a-right-a-free-new-arts-center-opens

Lionel Messi wins Ballon d'Or for fifth time

Lionel Messi reclaimed the FIFA Ballon d'Or award for the world player of the year on Monday, after watching his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo walk off with the prize for the previous two years. The Argentine-born Barcelona forward finished ahead of Ronaldo and Brazil forward Neymar as he scooped the award for the fifth time overall, having previously won it four years in a row from 2009 to 2012.

Messi helped Barcelona win a Spanish league, cup and Champions League treble plus the Club World Cup and also led Argentina to the Copa America final, where they lost to Argentina. "It’s incredible, much more than anything I dreamed of as a kid,” said Messi as he received the award. "I want to thank my team mates, without them none of this would have been possible.”

Barcelona's Luis Enrique was voted coach of the year. United States World Cup winner Carli Lloyd, who scored a hat-trick in the final against Japan, was named women's player of the year. Ronaldo ended last season trophyless with Real Madrid although he helped Portugal qualify for Euro 2016.

The ceremony, at the Zürich Kongresshaus Theatre, was held against the backdrop of FIFA going through the worst corruption crisis since it was founded in 1904.

Outgoing FIFA president Sepp Blatter, normally a central figure at the ceremony, was not involved after being banned for eight years by the Ethics Committee in December. Blatter was replaced by acting FIFA President Issa Hayatou who played a low-key role, reading a brief speech before the start of the ceremony.

At: http://buenosairesherald.com/article/206524/messi-wins-ballon-dor-for-fifth-time

Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo condemn dismissal of Victor Hugo Morales from Continental Radio.

The Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo condemned the dismissal of Victor Hugo Morales from Continental Radio, where he hosted a top-rated morning current events talk show (La mañana) since 2007. In a press statement, the Grandmothers expressed their "strongest rejection of censorship against journalist Victor Hugo Morales, whose program on Continental Radio was cancelled this morning without notice."

Morales, 68, was already a well known sportscaster when he emigrated from Uruguay at the depths of its military dictatorship in 1981. He had been with Continental Radio since 1987, and had renewed his yearly contract last November. The Grandmothers made it clear they believe President Mauricio Macri, who's dismissed dozens of public radio and television presenters already and whose right-wing ideology Morales is opposed to, had a hand in his dismissal as well.

"The interests behind this decision were exposed by Victor Hugo himself in the few minutes of air time he was allowed, after much insistence, to say goodbye to his listeners. The owners of the station, of course, want a friendly relationship with the Government and for this are willing to align their broadcasts with Macri even at the cost of losing a wider audience."

The Grandmothers also questioned the Macri administration itself. "The government, in just one month, has implemented a brutal austerity against working people, has laid off thousands of public employees, and has repressed those who dared stand up. He has unconstitutionally appointed two judges in the Supreme Court, has rescinded the anti-monopoly Law on Audiovisual Communication Services by decree, has threatened policies of Memory, Truth, and Justice (regarding the Dirty War), and the list could go on. The republican masks with which they were presented by the media for the elections have now fallen, and we are seeing their real faces."

"The neoliberal experiment of the 1990s in Argentina ended tragically in 2001, with fire and violence, with killings, famine, millions of unemployed and a destroyed country which cost a lot of effort put back on its feet. We must not forget or repeat history," they emphasized.

"The public has a right to hear all voices, not just the ones that the government and corporations want. The commitment and courage of so many years by Victor Hugo Morales are widely recognized in particular by colleagues who've had the opportunity to work with him, which makes it even more laudable. And for us, in addition to an extraordinary communicator, he is a friend to whom we give our embrace and our solidarity at this difficult time."

At: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://www.infonews.com/nota/275294/abuelas-repudio-el-despido-de-victor-hugo&prev=search

Argentine president under fire for 'anti-democratic' decrees

When Argentina’s new president Mauricio Macri assumed office last month, he did so with a promise to observe the rules of democracy and to open dialogue with the opposition, casting himself in sharp contrast to his populist predecessor Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.

But one month into his government, Macri has already drawn fierce criticism for bypassing congress with a rapid succession of controversial presidential decrees to push through measures including the appointment of two new justices to the Supreme Court and the rescinding of Fernández de Kirchner’s 2009 Media Law designed to reduce the size of the Clarín media conglomerate (which controls around half of Argentina's media).

The new justice minister, Germán Garavano, defended the decrees as “emergency measures” while the country’s Congress was on its summer recess; but they have been roundly criticised as anti-democratic. “Not even Cristina Kirchner did anything so absurd,” said one of Argentina’s chief constitutional experts, Daniel Sabsay, of the supreme court appointments. The appointments legally require approval by the Senate, which could have been convened for an extraordinary session, an option Macri seemingly ruled out because its majority is still held by Fernández’s Victory Front (FPV) party.

Macri finally delayed his two Supreme Court appointments until February; but the unprecedented move left a bitter taste in the mouths of even his supporters. “I’m very saddened because everything Macri had done had moved me almost to tears but this horrifies me,” said Sabsay.

Conscious of having won by only a slim margin, Macri promised a new era of political amity in contrast with Fernández, who was seen by opponents as politically adversarial. “We want everybody to play a part, people who feel themselves to be on the right and people who feel on the left, Peronists and anti-Peronists,” said Macri, referring to the movement founded by former President Juan Perón in 1946 to which Fernández de Kirchner belongs.

But it is a promise of dialogue that some observers have begun to feel still remains unfulfilled. “Sitting down to talk is not enough for a political dialogue,” said political columnist Beatriz Sarlo during an interview on the TN news channel. “Fundamental questions need to be the object of that dialogue,” Sarlo said, criticising Macri for appointing supreme court justices by decree without prior consensus.

Macri’s success will depend on the economy. Some business sectors have welcomed Macri’s removal of export taxes on soy and other major agricultural exports, coupled with the removal of foreign exchange controls that hindered trade and financial transactions. Unions, however, are already flexing their muscles to demand wage hikes to offset inflation, which jumped from 1.6% monthly to 6% following a devaluation by Macri. Argentina’s only two other non-Peronist presidents since the return of democracy in 1983 both failed to complete their terms due to economic upheavals and social unrest fanned by Peronist union bosses.

At: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/10/argentinian-president-mauricio-macri-anti-democratic-decrees
__________________________

Not only undemocratic but unconstitutional: Article 99 of the Argentine Constitution only allows presidents to take advantage of the congressional recess period in cases of real emergencies - and having too few right-wing lackeys in Congress doesn't count.

Uruguay, Argentina to seek joint 2030 World Cup bid.

Argentine President Mauricio Macri and his Uruguayan counterpart Tabaré Vázquez agreed yesterday to start working together on a joint bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2030.

This proposal is not new: it was first formally introduced by former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and former Uruguayan President José “Pepe” Mujica in August 2011.

Analysts believe the joint Uruguay-Argentine bid has a good chance of winning as 2030 will be the 100th anniversary of the first World Cup, which took place in Uruguay (the last one thus far hosted by Uruguay). Argentina hosted its first and so far only World Cup in 1978; both countries won the World Cup in each occasion.

Macri had arrived at Anchorena Ranch — the Uruguayan presidential country retreat — by helicopter at 1pm, accompanied by Cabinet Chief Marcos Peña, Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra, and Lower House Speaker Emilio Monzó. “We’ve decided to commit ourselves to filing a joint bid. We want this connection not only to strengthen our economic relationship but also our sports and culture,” Macri noted.

Relations between Argentina and Uruguay had been strained over Uruguay's approval a decade ago of a large UPM-Kymmene (formerly Botnia) wood pulp mill on the Uruguay River (which both countries share). As recently as April 2014, Former Argentine Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman had announced that Argentina would take the dispute back to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague after UPM-Kymmene announced plans to increase output at the plant.

Macri, however, stated that he wants to leave tensions in the past. “We are two people united by our history and affections, and we have a future to share,” he said.

At: http://buenosairesherald.com/article/206321/uruguay-argentina-to-seek-world-cup-bid

Dyed purple kitten rescued in South Bay after living as a live chew toy.

A tiny purple kitten in the South Bay (CA) is now looking forward to a better future after being dropped off at a Redwood City shelter this week.

The cat — nicknamed Smurf for his dark violet hue — was colored as a very young cat by a sort of undiluted garment dye intended for clothing. Vets found that the dye was more than just for show; it had been masking abrasions and deep bite marks. As Nine Lives Foundation shelter vet Monica Rudiger suggested to The Dodo, these types of injuries may be consistent with the practice of using very young kittens as live bait for dogs being trained to fight.

"In our area, cats are used as bait for pit bulls every day. It's just horrifying," Rudiger said. "That's why you don't offer free kittens out on the internet — they use them for whatever they want. I don't know what happened to him, but my best guess is that he was used as a chew toy."

"We have a cat with multiple puncture wounds and abrasions," Rudiger added. "He can't tell us what happened to him, but I've seen this before."

While it's too soon to tell if Smurf will fully recover, the shelter is optimistic. He'll be going into foster care next week, shortly after he has a procedure to fix a large wound. "This little guy will undergo surgery next week to repair the large wound on his right leg/ knee but all the other wounds are healing nicely!" the Foundation writes on its Facebook page.

For more on Smurf and other adoptable cats, visit Nine Lives Foundation's site: http://www.ninelivesfoundation.org/

At: http://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/pets/dyed-purple-kitten-rescued-in-south-bay-after-living-as-a-live-chew-toy/ar-BBo4iiX?li=BBnbfcL
____________________________________________

There's Smurf on the right, with a fellow rescue:

Police can detain without cause in Buenos Aires, according to a Municipal Supreme Court ruling.

Police officers in the city of Buenos Aires can request that any citizen present an identification card without any specific reason or suspicion, the Municipal Supreme Court ruled in a decision that was made public yesterday.

The ruling sparked heated controversy among human rights groups and progressive jurists who argued that the resolution gives a green light to security forces to carry out what would now be deemed lawful detentions with the sole purpose of checking someone’s criminal record. They also warned that it will enable security forces to harass the residents of impoverished neighborhoods.

“The ruling represents a sharp step backward,” Paula Litvachky, the Director of Justice and Security for the Centre for Legal and Social Studies (CELS), Argentina's most prominent human rights organization, told the Herald. “Courts are there to oversee police forces and not to sign blank cheques. These security policies are useless. They are only aimed at controlling the population and will lead to the worst practices of police harassment,” Litchacky added. “In this context, it is a terrible message given the transfer of the Federal Police (PFA) to the Metropolitan Police.”

The PFA, a federal entity since its creation in 1880, was subsumed into the much smaller Metropolitan Police by a decree signed yesterday by President Mauricio Macri. Macri established the Metropolitan Police in 2008.

The case

The case originated in the arrest of a man, Lucas Vera, who was apprehended in Constitución railway station two years ago with a revolver in his bag. The Second District of the Buenos Aires Criminal and Misdemeanor Court considered that the operation that led to the identification of the suspect was null and void as officers cannot detain people even briefly and to demand somebody to identify him or herself without probable cause.

Municipal prosecutors brought the case before the City Supreme Court. Justices Inés Weinberg, Luis Lozano, José Casás and, Ana María Conde agreed with the prosecutors and overturned the resolution issued by the appellate tribunal; Alicia Ruiz was the sole dissent.

“Requesting the ID card of a person should be considered an implicit faculty,” Weinberg de Roca wrote in her opinion. The magistrate was appointed to the City’s Supreme Court in 2013 by then-Mayor Mauricio Macri.

Lozano, who was appointed in 2004 by former leftist Mayor Aníbal Ibarra, agreed with his colleague; but with the caveat that the request for ID cannot be part of a persecution and that superiors should make sure that officers follow the laws. "Whatever decision is made," Lozano stressed, "it cannot contradict constitutional rights." Article 18 of the Argentine Constitution of establishes that no one can be arrested without a warrant.

"It cannot discriminate. It cannot be based on suspicious criteria such as skin color, clothes, age or gender; or be invasive in an unjustified way. This can be measured by taking into consideration the oversight capability and the level of risk. For instance, more intense controls of passengers in a plane can be justified,” Lozano wrote.

A dangerous precedent

Human rights activists said yesterday, however, that giving a green light to security forces to request that citizens show their ID cards was reminiscent of the 1991 murder of 17 year-old Walter Bulacio by PFA officers, still an iconic case of police brutality in Argentina.

Bulacio had been arrested after attempting to sneak in to a sold-out rock concert in the upscale Núñez neighborhood of Buenos Aires. Bulacio was brutally pistol-whipped by police, who used PFA guidelines at the time, issued in 1958, that allowed policemen 24 hours before informing magistrates that they had arrested someone.

A week after his arrest, Bulacio died.

The political firestorm over the Bulacio case led to the passage of Law 23.950, signed September 4, 1991, by former President Carlos Menem, which established probable cause as a minimum standard by which police can detain someone and made court warrants mandatory in all arrests.

CELS pointed out, moreover, that the City Supreme Court did not take into consideration a 2003 ruling issued by the Inter-American Court, which ordered the Argentine Government to prevent another case like Bulacio’s from taking place.

Criminal law expert Roberto Carlés, whose nomination to the Argentine Supreme Court by former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner was derailed last April by the opposition, regretted that “our country still debates the constitutionality of detention without probable cause.” Workers’ Leftist Front (FIT) lawmaker Myriam Bregman also condemned the decision.

“Police power has a sad record in Argentina,” she recalled. “It has always been used as a method to persecute the youth and the disadvantaged.”

At: http://buenosairesherald.com/article/206256/police-can-detain-without-cause-in-city

French conductor, composer Pierre Boulez dies at 90.

Pierre Boulez, the former principal conductor of the New York Philharmonic who moved between conducting, composition and teaching over a long career that made him one of the leading figures in modern classical music, has died at age 90.

A spokesman for the Paris Philharmonic, Hamid Si Amer, confirmed that Boulez had died in Baden-Baden, Germany.

Born in Montbrison, France, Boulez initially studied mathematics as a youth before switching to music. He studied harmony at the Paris Conservatory with composer Olivier Messiaen and had lessons from Rene Leibowitz in the dissonant 20th-century style known as twelve-tone composition.

Boulez led the BBC Symphony Orchestra from 1971 to 1975, and the New York Philharmonic from 1971 to 1977. In addition, he was the Music Director at the Ojai Music Festival on eight different occasions from 1967 to 2003. He then served as Principal Guest Conductor for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and stayed on as Conductor Emeritus until his passing. Boulez also worked with the Cleveland Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, and the London Symphony Orchestra. His recordings won more than 25 Grammys.

Even conducting extravagantly romantic music such as Wagner or Mahler, Boulez was a cool and contained presence on the podium, preferring a gray business suit and tie to tuxedo and tails, his gestures communicating logic over frenzy. His conducting covered an enormous range, from his own compositions and those of other moderns such as Stravinsky and Stockhausen to older favorites such as Mahler, Beethoven and Bach.

As recently as 2009, already in his mid-80s, he joined Argentine-born conductor Daniel Barenboim in directing the complete symphonies of Gustav Mahler at Carnegie Hall.

"Pierre Boulez made French music shine throughout the world. As a composer and conductor, he always wanted to reflect on the ages," French President François Hollande said in a statement.

At: http://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/french-conductor-composer-pierre-boulez-dies-at-90/ar-AAgqni7?ocid=ansmsnent11