Klarinet Archive - Posting 000070.txt from 2008/11

From: "Forest Aten" <forestaten@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] After Drucker
Date: Sun, 09 Nov 2008 01:21:29 -0500


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Alexander Brash [mailto:brash@-----.edu]
> Sent: Saturday, November 08, 2008 6:16 PM
> To: klarinet@-----.org
> Subject: Re: [kl] After Drucker
>=20
> People seem confused about the debate of "fact as it is today" versus
> "is this the way it should be?"
>=20
> All I pointed out was that at one point, mandatory retirement was
> considered an acceptable practice. As of 2002, I've found at least
> one article that mentions that both Vienna and Berlin had mandatory
> retirement at age 65. That's fairly recent. Those are both respected
> institutions. I'd argue there seems to be enough support for the idea
> to merit discussion.
>=20
> And so far, I've not seen much cogent argument for why re-auditioning
> orchestral players after, say, a 15 year contract, is a "bad" thing.
> Likewise, I've seen no one give a cogent argument for why mandatory
> retirement doesn't "make sense." Other than that it's personally
> offensive to you, which frankly I don't care about. It's personally
> offensive to many young musicians that there aren't such term limits
> or retirement ages...so who is to say your sense of "offense" should
> have more stature than theirs? The fact that "this is the way it is
> right now" is not an argument.
>=20
> I'm hoping for some intellectual debate here.
>=20
>=20

Because it's "the way" Berlin and Vienna did it....doesn't make it a =
valid
way of doing things.=20

If you've ever been a member of a "major" orchestra....you'd know that =
the
work a player does everyday, is RIGHT there for God and everyone to hear =
and
evaluate. Auditioning over and over again...just isn't necessary. It's
expensive, time consuming and simply isn't a necessary evil. If people =
fail
to perform....they can and are often replaced...age related or not.

"Cogent".....how about this, people don't always fail to perform to a
particular standard at a particular age. Pretty simple. Some players =
don't
fail because they are "older"....but for other reasons.

You're not "na=EFve".....just bored. Most organizations, wherever...have
sorted this out. It took the legal world in some cases to force the =
issue.

I'm taking my almost forced into retirement body to bed now. I've been
rather busy playing lately. Started the Dallas Opera season, several =
church
orchestra free lance jobs performing some very interesting music....and =
a
big recital to be performed on Monday evening. Guess I should be =
thinking
about "packing it in" at 57 years old...huh?=20

You know...I really don't like folks like you trying to decided who =
should
and who shouldn't continue to perform....and for how long...and for what
reasons. Blanket policy regarding this kind of issue is a huge waste.

ZZZZZZZZ.....

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