Klarinet Archive - Posting 000116.txt from 2005/11

From: "dnleeson" <dnleeson@-----.net>
Subj: RE: [kl] The Vienna Philharmonic and Women -- Bad News
Date: Tue, 08 Nov 2005 11:58:58 -0500

Not to make too much of a point to it, the reference to Mahler by
Ken Wolman as a Jewish composer is incorrect. He was a Catholic
composer, and a great one, too.

Dan Leeson
DNLeeson@-----.net

-----Original Message-----
From: Ormondtoby Montoya [mailto:or3mondtoby@-----.net]
Sent: Tuesday, November 08, 2005 8:48 AM
To: klarinet@-----.org
Subject: Re: [kl] The Vienna Philharmonic and Women -- Bad News

Ken, thank goodness there's always more than one way of looking
at
things. Otherwise the human race probably would've inbred
itself out
of existence by now.

> Ken Wolman wrote:

> Three years ago I saw/heard the VP (Vienna
> Philharmonic) in Carnegie Hall. [snip]
> I bought the tickets. I went for the music, not
> the politics which are nevertheless
> deplorable. One of the works was Mahler's
> Titan Symphony (No. 1). It was a colossal
> performance. Viennese orchestra, no women
> in sight unless they brought along the harpist,
> Jewish composer. "Dr. Laura, I've got a moral
> dilemma"...sort of like Otto Klemperer or
> Daniel Barenboim conducting Wagner.

> Short answer: I know the failings, I love the
> music. Where do I draw the line at where
> politics overcomes aesthetics?

One of the people who was interviewed (in the transcript cited
earlier)
asserted that there is a direct conflict between "purity of
gender and
culture" and "results". That is, a single-gender orchestra of
culturally uniform musicians can do better than an orchestra of
mixed
gender and cultural background, and this improved result excuses
the
bigotry. (Perhaps there should be a Ladies' VPO ?)

In this sense, your words (quoted above) can be interpreted to
reinforce
the transcript's claims. You describe the situation as a
conflict
between beautiful music and ethics.

BUT THERE *IS* ANOTHER WAY OF LOOKING AT THIS WHICH IS EQUALLY AS
DEFENSIBLE !!!

We could say that VPO is a great orchestra (I've never heard them
live
myself, so I don't know what I would think of their performance)
simply
because they pay more money than most orchestras and therefore
they
attract superior performers. Or perhaps they rehearse more
often, or
play only German system clarinets or whatever.

But it is also possible that they could perform better if they
did not
limit themselves to a narrow category of performers !! Is there
a
musician in the VPO who could be replaced by a better performer
if only
they allowed themselves to accept a female <name an ethnicity>
musician
!?!

And wouldn't this be the ultimate 'put down' if you're looking
for a
put-down? "Too bad you aren't able to hire <so-and-so>. Then
you'd
be the best orchestra around, and I'd probably come to Vienna to
enjoy
your music."

-----------------------------------------------------------------
--
Klarinet is a service of Woodwind.Org, Inc.
http://www.woodwind.org

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Klarinet is a service of Woodwind.Org, Inc. http://www.woodwind.org