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Kurt Masur steps into the dispute in Rio



 
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alexwill
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 12, 2011 5:12 pm    Post subject: Kurt Masur steps into the dispute in Rio Reply with quote

Just a little background here. Minczuk was principal horn in the Gewandhaus a long time ago under Masur. Masur's wife is Brasilian. I think she played in the OSB in the past, but I'm not 100% positive(maybe 99% sure.)

http://www.artsjournal.com/slippeddisc/2011/03/brazil_crisis_-_now_kurt_masur.html

Dear music lovers in Rio!

1970 I started my first concert series with OSB.

For 40 yeas I followed the changing fate and ups and downs of this
Orchestra. Yet, there were always enough music lovers in the audience
to fill the concert houses. Most of the musicians, even until now, used
to take several other jobs in order to be able to feed their family.
Everybody has been dreaming of having better situations as an orchestra
musician.

And now we have been given sensational better situations!
Soon will be the cidade da musica reopened, and orchestra
musicians will be paid much better fee, as good as some professional
Orchestras in London or in good orchestras in USA!

And I am surprised that some members of orchestra are refusing new
auditions for bringing the artistically level to the necessary highest
standard as those well paid orchestras in the world!

I know the current music director, Maestro Roberto Minczuk as a great
and honest human being and he handsels everything honest and careful. I
trust him that he will be able to bring the orchestra then up to the
highest level of music making which gives great benefit to all music
lovers in Rio de janeiro.

His talent and his vision of the future is for me absolutely
convincing.

As a proof what I mean, you should read his letter and statement he
gave to the blog of Norman Lebrecht on March 8th. This letter of
Roberto Minczuk makes you think about the great chance of future music
life for all of you in Rio.

Every body of you has the responsibility about the future music life in
Rio. I recommend strongly to the members of OSB, if you are also in
concern of the future of music life in Rio, you should sit together and
talk your concerns.

Don?t miss this great opportunity and chance in the history of this
orchestra and I beg you all not to be uncontrolled emotions but act
wise and careful.

With Love

Kurt Masur


Last edited by alexwill on Sun Mar 13, 2011 6:24 am; edited 1 time in total
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Musicman
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 13, 2011 5:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Alex, I believe it was the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. Here is a response to Maestro Masur's letter from Ole Bohn, Concertmaster of the Norwegian National Opera:

Quote:
Dear Maestro Masur!

I have read your letter concerning the crisis in the Orquestra Sinfonica Brasileira with great interest. Anything coming from such a wonderful musician and respected person like you,  will be taken seriously anywhere in the world. However, I would like to allow myself to make a few comments, since I am like you, a great friend of the music scene in Rio de Janeiro.

We all know that you have been the great mentor of Roberto Minczuk for years. You arranged for him to come to DDR as a very talented French horn player a long time ago  and brought him later to New York as your assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic. Now, when he is on his own feet, you, of course, cannot follow every step he does. Neither you nor I have experienced his daily work and treatment of his orchestra in Brazil. But the musicians of the OSB know, they experience it practically every day. I don’t like what I hear. To me the most serious issue is that Mr. Minczuk doesn’t work together and for the musicians, but obviously against them.

It is fantastic that the musicians of the OSB finally will have salaries similar to colleagues from major orchestras in New York and Europe. They deserve it ,as you say, with many years of delayed payments etc. This of course puts great demands on the orchestra. Good salary is equal to good performance, however, I have never heard the OSB intentionally play badly, even though they hadn’t been paid for months ! With a good conductor you work together to achieve better artistic results. In my opinion there is a great arrogance that Mr. Minczuk claims that the orchestra commission has only a consultative function. In today’s world music directors work together with their musicians. The days of dictatorship are over.

In every orchestra, even in the very best, there will always be the “ weakest” member, regardless how many substitutions you make. That is a fact. There are many ways of making personell changes, the most common and best ,is having a change the natural way ,by having good retirement conditions. I don’t say that a musician necessarily doesn’t function well with age, a wonderful example is the solo trumpet player of the Chicago Symphony who stood in his position in his 80’s !However, normally when a musician reaches 70, he or she would like to retire with honor. With the new salaries for the OSB, some of it could go to a good pension plan for the older musicians. But, instead, the administration of the OSB sends out letters with threats of being fired . This is harrasement, Mr. Masur !

In every country it is forbidden to substitute people in a work conflict with other labor. This goes for musicians as well. What does Mr Minczuk do? He lets the OSB youth orchestra replace the senior orchestra ,while he has suspended the official OSB. This is not only illegal ( I am not a lawyer), but highly unethical.

Many orchestras invite leading musicians to work with different sections of the orchestra. At the Norwegian National Opera, we have done it with great success. We have had seminars with woodwind and brass players and I especially treasure the seminar we in the string section had with the concert master of the Berlin Philharmonic, Leon Spierer. We learned so much, and I personally got fantastic feedback, which was very helpful. Unfortunately Mr. Minczuk prefers to call in a jury and let the musicians be humiliated to reaudtion , for later being fired. This is unfortunately his intention, even if he now claims “no one will get fired”. The scheduled international auditions tell us differently.

If we are talking about augmenting an orchestra with new members, there will of course be auditions. Every country has an obligation towards its own musicians, otherwise the educational institutions would be useless. But, we live in a global world, and when we cannot fill the vacancies with qualified musicians, we recruit internationally. Personally I treasure the different sound and personality of the major orchestras. In my opinion I can still hear it is the Vienna Philharmonic ,regardless who is conducting. I haven’t heard, however,that they are holding auditions in London and New York, before  Vienna.

At the Norwegian Opera and in many other orchestras in the world , we have sectional rehearsals. Here is the ample opportunity to work closely to achieve the best homogenous sound and intonation. These rehearsals have made the standard of performance much higher. I don’t know if Mr. Minczuk has been interested in this.

In most companies, musical and non- musical, the employees are at least called in once a year for a confidential talk. Here the administration and the employee can discuss mutual concerns, wishes etc. Here is the time when the music director can talk directly face to face with each musician. Both parties have the chance to express their opinion. The OSB music director doesn’t do this. Instead he gives out written warnings ! Otherwise, as you, of course, know, musicians are constantly under evaluation. During rehearsals we all try to accommodate all the wishes of the conductor and at the concerts we do our utmost to perform as well as possible.

Mr. Minczuk claims that he cannot hear how individual players actually perform in an orchestra. What a terrible thing to say! He has learned from you, Mr Masur, and he cannot hear? This is absurd and I am sorry that he belittles you as the  great professor you are. . If Mr Minczuk should be unable to evaluate individual players, he has his own section leaders in the orchestra to depend on. Instead he calls in an international jury to humiliate his musicians.

Maestro, you are not only a great artist , but a fantastic orchestra builder. The orchestras you have led have all grown considerably under your leadership and your name is closely connected to them. As far as I know, you have never fired musicians and held reauditions. Even , quite unlikely, if that would have been your wish, you would never have been allowed to do so.  Why do you support Mr. Minczuk ?

Maestro, I have always admired you as a great conductor and musician. At the same time I  will never forget your contribution to the fall of the tyranny of the dictatorship in the DDR. Dictators should not be allowed anymore and this goes also for  orchestras. I am sure you agree.  Since you are so close to Mr Minczuk, you have the best opportunity to tell him to follow the Norwegian slogan: “It is never too late to go back “.

Dear Mr. Masur, I feel ashamed that I feel compelled to write to you in this way. You have my utmost respect. Orchestras around the world are closely monitoring what is going on in Rio de Janeiro; the German orchestra union  has spoken in favour of the musicians, the case will be brought to the International Federation of Musicians’Union,, there are in one day 1500 signatures against Mr. Minczuk’s behaviour etc.  The musicians’ world is small. Please, help to stop the craziness, so that everyone can go back to their work and make music in peace and dignity.

In deep respect,

Ole Bohn

Concertmaster Norwegian National Opera

Professor Sydney Conservatory of Music
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alexwill
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 13, 2011 6:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Of course you are correct. It is the Gewandhaus I think that when I am tired that I think one thing and type another! The Gewandhaus came to Charlotte with Masur, and Minczuk was playing principal horn with them!
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Musicman
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 4:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
(1)Re:Masur--a source in Calagary, where Minczuk conducts, e mails to say what was supposedly written by Maestro Kurt Masur was "lifted" or borrowed from the Calagary orchestra website where Masur praises his former pupil.


http://www.artsjournal.com/slippeddisc/2011/03/brazil_in_a_nutshell_-_so_what.html#comments

Found this tidbit interesting. It was posted in the comments section by Harold Emert oboist of the Brazilain National Orchestra and Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional-UFF. For the sake of objectivity, I haven't found it yet on the Calgary Phil website. Maybe it was published in a program? If anyone finds it, please post it.

]
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trumpetera
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 11:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This so-called "maestro" acts like a *****. Every orchestra should refuse to work with him(although he would maybe describe it as "play under him"-this kind of'em tend to be like that).

A few things makes me think about the loyalty amongst musicians, though.

About eight years ago, this very thing happened to about 15 handpicked members of the said orchestra. They had to audition for their own jobs-all were fired. The rest of the orchestra did not protest.

About five years ago, they started getting in principal players from abroad, making the former principals move "down the line". Among others, the principal horn was replaced by a ex-empire brass hornist. The rest of the orchestra did not protest.

Now it happens to everybody in the orchestra.

What is going on is truly awful, and the conductor should be carried out of town om a railwayrail covered in tar and feather, but it kind of shows what I have learned over the years; loyalty can have a very short memory.

Of course, what I write here will not help our poor collegues in Rio, but if they'd reacted to this kind of managemental missbehaviour eight years ago, maybe the door wouldn't have been as wide open to do what the bastards are doing now.

It's a downright mess that will leave scars in the orchestra for years to come, the players who choose to participate in the jury will have this sticked to their name for many years to come, maybe forever, and the "maestro" will hopefully end up conducting mirrors.
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