Protection of jobs at BSO

by Antonio J Augusto on Wednesday, March 2, 2011 at 5:13pm

Ole Böhn, norwegian violinist

I am horrified how the administration can treat its musicians. This could never have happened in Norway, where we have a

very strong musicians' union.

In an orchestra the musicians contribute differently in order to achieve a result. Some are very strong players technically,

others have experience as their strongest quality . However, the fact is that everyone has made an audition in order to enter

the orchestra and have been accepted. The conductor has to accept the musicians he has to his disposal and show his

capacity to develop them. In my experience it was always the older and more experienced players who managed to keep a

performance together, when something went wrong. At an audition you cannot test this quality. Therefore an audition in

order to dismiss musicians is absurd. In every orchestra there is a so called “weakest member”. This will of course continue

no matter how many people you dismiss.

Shame on an administration and conductor who even are thinking of applying such a measure!

The best thing is if everyone, I mean everyone refuses to make the audition. They might fire everyone, but make sure that

no Brazilian musician will take a job, if offered. Send out to the international community warnings not to accept any offer

from the OSB and have international orchestras boycott your conductor. Write to the agents to not send any guest soloists or

conductors. Send out warning to all international orchestras to not hire your musical director. Send a warning to the different

musicians unions in the world.

There have been incidents similar to yours in the past, and the international community will respond.

http://www.olebohn.com/biografia.htm

Alison Balsom: Protection of jobs at BSO

by Antonio J Augusto on Saturday, February 26, 2011 at 2:21pm

"From playing with the Brazilian Symphony last Autumn, my impression was of a world class ensemble - artistry and

energetic music making at it's best.

Every player has something unique to add to the great atmosphere and team spirit within this orchestra. This is something

quite rare in any international orchestra, and is the reason they are life affirming to listen to. Playing with these musicians

was one of the highlights of the season for me - and it has to be said - even more remarkable in light of the stresses they are

constantly put under away from the stage.

I wholeheartedly support this organisation and hope that they are not treated as apprentices, but as the talented

professionals they all really are."

Alison Balsom Soloist 2011 season

Open letter to the Music Director of the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra, Roberto Minczuk.

by Alex Klein on Friday, 04 March 2011 at 01:12

Dear Roberto,

I write in an open letter format to support your intention to renew the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra, OSB, and establish a

higher artistic level. The OSB used to be a leader among Brazilian orchestras, but thanks to your work and leadership during

these past years as well as the dedication of the musicians who kept the orchestra alive for so many difficult years, we see

that the orchestra is now receiving its deserved high recognition.

However, I beg you to reconsider the strategy of imposing internal auditions to the entire orchestra, or even to a single

musician. This strategy has been used before in Brazil, at OSESP, leaving scars on the music market up to this day that affect

musicians and the conductor himself. At that time, however, the OSESP internal auditions brought in judges from outside the

organization, reducing or eliminating the perception that non-artistic standards - that is, a personal preference of the

conductor – would be used in the process of choosing musicians.

To justify these auditions, much is said about the need to raise the level of our orchestras to international standards.

Ironically, there is no precedent of great international orchestras going through internal auditions to reach that level. Instead,

the major orchestras in the world reached a high plateau after the onset of labor movements that gave support to the

musicians, giving them job security and reasonable working conditions that foster this high standard. The Berlin Philharmonic

began its journey as a significant leader among orchestras of the twentieth century after a movement in 1882 when 54

musicians complained about working conditions and formed a new group, leaving behind their conductor. And Chicago

became a leading international orchestra after the departure of Fritz Reiner and the formation of its musician’s committee

which defended the labor rights of its members. In fact, Chicago’s first international tour was only in 1971, eight years after

the departure of Reiner, a period in which the Musician's Committee established the foundations for better working

conditions. Against this historical movement you cannot fight. The days of the "Godfather" in factories and industries is now

long gone. Today, modern enterprises value the feedback within the firm, with "bosses" and "employees" in constant two-

way communication toward a better quality product. Neither Embraer nor Petrobrás order the re-interviewing of all its

engineers. This is the secret of the success of large companies as well as major international orchestras. The election of

internal auditions goes in the opposite direction to these modern ideas, and makes the OSB under your leadership look at

the year 1950 as an example for the future. You do not deserve this comparison, Roberto, and you need to change the

course of this discussion.

The auditions have other negative consequences. They create a work environment of "us against them" where the first

possible opportunity is used to score points against the other party, generating distrust, unnecessary friction, and none of

that is commensurate with good music, where harmony should reign, mutual respect, artistic cohesion, and that great

moment where the orchestral conductor and orchestra are "one", and form a magical partnership. A "partnership", however,

indicates a horizontal working strategy, side by side, between conductor and musicians. And not something vertical where

the maestro is on top and his decisions are untouchable. The respect musicians must have for a conductor is not really

different from that which an engineer has for the administration at Embraer or Petrobras, and it depends on a two-way street

where the leadership "makes sense" for the highly trained technicians who assemble the company's product. If, from the

point of view of musicians the leadership of the conductor "makes no sense", this musician will not produce his best work,

unless the desired product is merely that of 100 musicians playing together. But looking at your career, Roberto, you know

how to achieve more, and you deserve more than that. Perhaps other conductors settle for less, just as well as some

companies accept a lower standard. But for a top-notch institution, we demand the highest quality in everything we do, on

all fronts.

It is also wrong, therefore, for musicians to demand the immediate dismissal of a conductor. You have a 6-year contract, and

you should have the right to carry it through without interference or internal strife against you. Shouldn't you also lead by

example and give the musicians their own permanence without the presence of internal strife that threatens their job

security and livelihood? Wouldn't it make more sense to ensure the reasonable job security for all - musicians and
conductors as contracted - leaving them free to create music without wasting time and resources, and the wear-and-tear of

internal auditions and dismissals?

Mind you, Roberto, your situation is quite different from Neshling’s when he did the auditions at OSESP in the 90’s. You

conduct the world's finest orchestras, Philadelphia, New York Phil, and have an important position in Calgary. All of these

modern orchestras have "horizontal" agreements with their musicians. You need not be equal to Neshling to uphold your

reputation as a great orchestral leader in Brazil, and do not need to use techniques which are discredited internationally to

command respect and discipline from your orchestra. A wrong choice now could cause complications and raise suspicions in

your reputation abroad. You do not deserve any of this after devoting so much to your career, and we need you in Brazil as a

modern leader.

The OSB is an excellent orchestra, and includes many of the best orchestral musicians in Brazil. The institution itself owes

them a big thank you for keeping this orchestra alive through many years of labor conditions that fell way below

expectations. If there are musicians who no longer keep up with the work demands, maybe you can bring to OSB the

separation principles already existing in Calgary and other foreign orchestras that you have already conducted. A musician

facing dismissal deserves to know the reasons for his impending termination, and a real chance to offer improvements. If the

termination is still desired, the musician deserves to defend his case through the Musician’s Committee, so as to prevent

non-artistic reasons from permeating the decision to fire him. After that, if the dismissal is truly inevitable, then please give

the musician some mercy and the dignity of a proper separation, with a round of applause, a certificate of appreciation, at

least some recognition that his days in OSB were of value, for which the institution thanks him. Please consider the human

being inside this musician because this message will then be clear to those who are remaining in the orchestra, that it

appreciates those who actually produce its sound.

These musicians have families, Roberto. They have bills to pay. The path to the desired major renovation of an orchestra is

not through the removal of musicians, but by encouraging them to produce the best music they ever played, nurturing their

self-esteem. I agree, however, that it is much more difficult for a conductor to work under these conditions, where 100

musicians have their own opinion and often opposed to that of the conductor. It is also much harder for Dilma Rouseff to

govern our country than it is for Kim Il-Sung to govern his. For this is the system we live in: a democracy, where there is

freedom of expression. An orchestra or company is not a democracy, but we Brazilians are democratic people, it is in our

veins. We breathe the dialogue and free expression in all our affairs, and it is up to the smart leader to know how to

transform all this energy into productivity. The experience with democratic values has its price, especially for those who

lead. We cannot cede to autocratic values simply because or whenever they suit us. We are Brazilians, we do not respond

well to autocracy, and that's a good thing. The orchestra, as a micro-society, also breathes democratic values even if the

format of the organization is contractual and business-oriented.

I ask you, my dear friend, to reconsider and cancel those auditions. You are in an excellent position to bring to Brazil the

standards of an international orchestra. Do it. Bring to your country the true standards that made a Philadelphia or Cleveland

Orchestra what they are today. Raise the level of productivity of the musicians, but please do it with respect and dignity.

Let's turn the page and close this chapter of layoffs, misunderstandings, biases, authoritarianism, and the inevitable lack of

artistic consensus it brings. No more mass layoffs of musicians, and no more demands for the immediate departure of the

conductor.

We count on you, Roberto, on the musician who you are and what you represent for the future, to lead the OSB without

internal auditions, not because it's easy but because it is difficult. But it is the right thing to do.

Best,

Alex Klein