Klarinet Archive - Posting 000682.txt from 1999/02
From: KlarBoy@-----.com
Subj: [kl] Fwd: News from Vienna
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 02:46:43 -0500
From: orchestra-l@-----.org (orchestra-l)
Reply-to: orchestra-l@-----.org
From: William Osborne <100260.243@-----.com>
Below I have translated a press release issued by the Orchestra Committee
of the Vienna Volksoper. This orchestra shares a common administration
with the Vienna State Opera Orchestra and does many performances in the
Staatsoper.
Some background will help you better understand the press release. The
Vienna Philharmonic recently hired a second woman harpist and has portrayed
this to the press as progress concerning its discrimination against women.
Th Volksoper Orchestra, which is 27% women, issued the press release below
to counter the Vienna Philharmonic's claims that it is making progress.
One should also know that the Vienna Philharmonic's press release said that
the new woman harpist played "so beautiful that it made one cry". The new
harpist will replace Adelheid Mueller, who retired in 1998, and who did not
play with the Philharmonic due to a conflict she had with them.
Please distribute this email to other lists, individuals, and journalists
so that the Vienna Philharmonic's misinformation does not mislead people.
Journalists can obtain a signed copy of the press release by contacting
Gabrielle Mossyrsch, Volksoper Orchestra Committee Chairperson at tel/fax:
+43 1 317 86 53
William Osborne
100260.243@-----.com
PRESS RELEASE
>>From the Orchestra Committee
of the Vienna Volksoper
Waehringerstr. 78
1090 Vienna
February 14, 1999
Subject: The Orchestra Committee of the Vienna Volksoper corrects the
Vienna State Opera's, and thus the Vienna Philharmonic's, factually
distorted representation of its personnel politics.
CRYINGLY BEAUTlFUL???
We congratulate our male colleagues of the State Opera Orchestra, who are
also members of the private organization of the Vienna Philharmonic, for
employing a woman as harpist starting in September 2000.
Even though the equal right of women to employment in key orchestral
positions has long been self-evident worldwide, we would like to show
understanding that the Vienna Philharmonic apparently needs considerable
time to overcome deeply ingrained traditions.
We thus allow ourselves to point out that the employment of a woman harpist
does not in any respect represent progress. In this century the harp
position in the Vienna State Opera/Vienna Philharmonic has typically been
occupied by women. Anna Lelkes, for example, has played harp in the
orchestra of the State Opera since 1971 and in the Vienna Philharmonic
since 1974. The fact is, that in these orchestras it has been impossible
for women in any instrumental group outside of the harp, to take part in a
fair audition procedure. The State Opera Orchestra, with 149 members, has
at this time only ONE WOMAN; this indicates a 0.7% representation of women.
With the recent engagement of a second woman harpist, the representation
of women in the State Opera Orchestra reaches 1.4%, the same percentage it
had from 1977 to 1998.
In addition, we note that 40 additional women would need to be employed,
to approach the same representation of women that exists in the orchestra
of the Vienna Volksoper, which with 27%, has the largest representation of
the Viennese orchestras.
The public portrayal of the employment of ONE woman harpist as a success,
stems from a cynical contempt for women.
signed,
Gabriela Mossyrsch, Orchestra Committee Chairperson
Sibyllee Honeck, Treasurer
Mag. Michael_Clifford Wolf, Orchestra Committee Vice Chairperson
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