i don't read books (zero attention span), but i LOVE sunday newspapers. i subscribe to the San Francisco Chronicle and the New York Times. my ideal sundays are spent sprawled on my carpet, surrounded by newspaper sections, sorted into three piles: "serious"- front page, opinion; "fun"- sports, travel, food, arts, comics; and "ads"- coupons + grocery store ads.
today's Chronicle included an article by Joshua Kosman about the Vienna Phil ("Top orchestra must answer for exclusion" ), a group that restricts its repertoire to european classical music- brahms, strauss, mozart, schubert, and company. apparently the secret to preserving the integrity of this fine institution's musical soul consists of reserving its seats for males of european descent (in their photo, everyone looks white). in 1997, they buckled under the winds of change (organized protests during an American tour) and decided to admit women to their roster. oh, the times, they are a-changin.
one musicologist quoted in the article insists that the VPO's policies- while admittedly sexist and racist- are essential for attaining + maintaining the orchestra's caliber. the VPO's conductor, Semyon Bychkov, describes the group's famously viennese sound as "a musically genetic thing".
ok, so i'd never make it into the VPO. i'm curious how long they can maintain their genetic purity in light of the previous century's immigration patterns. how many generations of family members living in europe must a musician have in order to qualify as being "european"? in other words, when will europeans of color become acceptable to this organization?
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