Originally Posted by ecarroll

Chas,

The performance in question was a pension fund concert, not a regular subscription series. There's a strong argument to be made for allowing this sort of thing when it's a benefit for those onstage (and recently off). Additionally, instances such as the Charlotte Bergen story told above were quite acceptable at the time. The American Symphony was, and still is, a freelance band and paycheck no matter who was leading it (imagine Leonard Bernstein & Charlotte Bergen during the same season -- it happened).

The issue, as I see it, is one of context and appropriateness. Danny Kaye used to do pension fund gigs with the NYPhil and the musicians welcomed him and his program of comedy/music with open arms. Mahler 2, with large choir, soloists, off-stage brass & percussion, is quite another thing.

Again, this whole brouhaha smells to me of a decision taken by the suits with no feedback from the musicians themselves. You would be surprised by the amount of animosity that exists between musicians and management (a huge number of people and growing) within certain organizations. It's hard enough to suppress one's necessary musical ego if you're a rank-and-file string or section wind player. It becomes even harder when membership feels that those calling the shots are less qualified than they are regarding decisions that ultimately reflect on the brand name.

In the larger scheme of things we all have far more important things to worry about but to me this event, and the frenzy that it has caused, is the tip of a very interesting iceberg.

Snowbound in NH,
EC