FIRST OFF . . .

By a 2-1 vote, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston decided late Wednesday that the Boston Symphony Orchestra violated the civil rights of actress Vanessa Redgrave when it canceled a series of concerts she was to narrate. The orchestra canceled scheduled narrations by Redgrave of Stravinsky’s “Oedipus Rex” in 1982 after management reported it received threats that performances would be disrupted because of Redgrave’s support of the Palestine Liberation Organization. The appellate court ruling overturned a U.S. District Court decision and was hailed as “a tremendous victory on the civil rights claim” by Redgrave’s lawyer, Daniel J. Kornstein. The decision noted that adopting the orchestra’s position “would be to give free rein to those seeking to intimidate artists engaged in political activity.”