28 March 2009

Say It Ain't So, Paavo!

Back in mid-March, Paavo Jarvi, the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, was charged with OVI, operating a vehicle while intoxicated, or for my purposes operating-a-radio-in-a-parked-car-while-intoxicated. The full story can be found here. Apparently, Maestro Jarvi attended an event at Blackfinn Restaurant, where he consumed two glasses of wine. While his car was stopped at an intersection for some time, police approached his car and questioned him. He claimed to be listening to music and fell asleep. The officers said his speech was slurred, but the guy is Estonian, and anyone who has heard him speak knows he sounds slurred when not intoxicated. He has pled not guilty. This video was from the cruiser cam was recently released and shows him being questioned for suspicious behavior at an intersection, and then being administered a field sobriety test. I have not been able to determine what he was listening to as the officers approached.