Historically speaking, orchestras have tended to develop in more of an underbelly of music than as a part of its virtues. Arguments and tumult have been more typical than amicable environments. We need look no further than Gustav Mahler and the emerging NYPO for just one example. So, in that light, we may look in awe and with respect at orchestras that are being effectively managed, rather than expecting every one to be so.
Also, when it comes to the orchestras and the players, it seems easy to forget the mandate of ‘whatever the market will bear.’ We can only benefit by living in the real world of changing circumstances; a pretend would of entitlement tends to fall apart during a crisis such as this with the SFS and the MO/SPCO.
http://www.adaptistration.com/blog/2013/03/29/reader-response-you-want-specifics-about-work-rules-im-not-sure-why/#comment-31583
The SFO is officially on strike and has canceled its tour to the East Coast. They would have been performing the Mahler 9 at Carnegie Hall.
For those reeling in chagrin at the loss of an opportunity to experience the Mahler 9, which the SFO was slated to perform at CH , here is an alternative…
http://send.berliner-philharmoniker.de/t/ViewEmail/r/5AA86607A959679E2540EF23F30FEDED/0EE5689B032F8B89B3138EAD4DECE712
The Strib declined to post my comment on this article:
http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/music/192632281.html
I will post it here instead….
Ironically, the long-tenured musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra, such as Bill Shrickel (who is quoted in the article) in even the worse-case-scenario, might be offered a handsome retirement package. However, those musicians of similar, or even equal ability, who are outside the orchestra, would not have such an option open to them. One of them, in fact, who was acknowledged to be a supremely talented player named Eric, died homeless recently on the shores of the Mississippi River; ironically, almost at the doorstep of the MO iconic director’s condo.
I experienced the HD live stream of the Met’s new production of Parsifal by Richard Wagner today in the Twin Cities. (Because of solar interference, passes were given for the encore performance March 20.) It was an amazing experience for me, and a welcome change from the more traditional productions. The characters came to life, the voices were mellow and golden…still basking in the glow a few hours laster…
An breath of fresh air, speaking out about some tangential things connected to the Mo-lockout
Le Chant du Rossignol...(song of the nightingale) 