Real Lyrics to Great Songs

Daniele Gatti has been selected to fill in for ailing conductor James Levine at Carnegie Hall's season-opening concert Thursday night.

Carnegie's announcement Wednesday comes a day after the 67-year-old Levine withdrew from upcoming performances through December, while he recovers from back surgery for a herniated disk.

Gatti, 47, who is music director of the Orchestre National de France, will lead the Boston Symphony in the gala concert that inaugurates Carnegie Hall's 119th season. Most of the program will remain as planned.

At the Met, Milwaukee Symphony music director Edo de Waart will replace Levine in performances of Strauss' "Der Rosenkavalier" on Oct. 13, 16 and 19. The Met expects Levine to return for its new production of Offenbach's "Les Contes d'Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann)" that starts Dec. 3.

Officials say a U.S. Grammy Award-winning producer has died after sustaining massive head injuries in a fall.

Cyprus police say Greg Ladanyi fractured his skull in a 13-foot (4-meter) fall last week at Nicosia's GSP stadium during a concert by Greek pop star Anna Vissi. Nicosia General Hospital doctor Anna Vavlitou says he died Tuesday.

Vissi is signed to Ladanyi's Los Angeles-based Maple Jam Music Group.

Paraskevaidion Transplant Center director George Kyriakides said Wednesday Ladanyi's lung and liver were being removed for transplant to patients in the U.K. and Israel.

Maple Jam Music says that 57-year-old Ladanyi received 16 Grammy nominations and won the Best Engineered Recording - Non-Classical Grammy in 1982 for Toto's 'Toto IV' album.

American rap artist and actor Will Smith and his wife, the actress Jada Pinkett Smith, will co-host this year's Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, organizers said Wednesday.

The Dec. 11 show - a day after the award ceremony - will feature performances by Wyclef Jean, Toby Keith, Donna Summer, Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi as well as Amadou & Mariam, a blues and jazz duet from Mali.

"The opportunity to recognize the laureate's contributions to the world peace movement will be an awe-inspiring experience," the Smiths said in a joint statement. "We are both humbled and honored to take part in the Nobel Peace Prize Concert this year."

The winner of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize is to be announced in Oslo on Oct. 9. The award is always handed out Dec. 10, the anniversary of prize founder Alfred Nobel's death in 1896.

"We're excited to have Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith join us as hosts for the Nobel Peace Prize Concert," said Geir Lundestad, secretary of the Norwegian Nobel Committee. "Together they've had a global impact on the arts and philanthropy and will be excellent ambassadors for peace."

Smith, 41, rose to fame in the 1980s as a rapper under the name The Fresh Prince and as the star of a popular television comedy show. His many films include "Men in Black" and "Independence Day."

His wife, 38, is an actress, model and singer-songwriter. Her film career has included roles in the "The Nutty Professor," "Ali," and "The Matrix Reloaded."