Posted by Jay Bertolet on January 25, 2003 at 00:05:32:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Houston Symphony Cutting Jobs, Salaries posted by JoeS on January 24, 2003 at 21:13:49:
I would agree that my post could have been perceived as arrogant. The truth is that I just got fed up with the nonsense that some people are posting. For example:
"Obviously anyone/everyone balks at salary cuts, it appears that the (now-lapsed) contract the AFM players negotiated had a very good salary level for their full-time players."
And in a later post:
"And in a country where a lot of people are also coping with change, these orchestral players who allowed their contract to expire without exercising legitimate good-faith in preventing such an exposure (by GETTING a contract) have no one but themselves to blame for such a woeful state of affairs (note, most of my adjectives are being sarcastically chosen here)"
Taken from dp's posts in this thread, it suggests that the musicians were somehow to blame for the fact that the contract expired. Has he actually been in a contract negotiation in a symphony orchestra? Even one? My bet is no. Further, I have been in these types of negotiations. Several of them, in fact. I can tell you with total certainty that if the management and board wanted to make changes in contractual terms or personnel (or both), they could easily have stalled negotiations past the deadline of the contract. I'm not talking about a bunch of hard-headed musicians who won't accept a fair offer either. In our strike two years ago, the board precipitated the conflict, specifically by not making any kind of contractual offer during the negotiations. At that point, what are musicians supposed to do? You actually have two choices: continue playing both to show good faith and to give the situation every chance to resolve amicably; or immediately strike. Since none of us here knows the dynamics of the situation, speculation on the motives of either party is foolish. But the foolish speculation gets better:
"In my town it took years to get rid of dead-wood that was tenured and no longer a musical
complement to the ensemble. Believe it or not it's possible that this is just possible that the decision to "cut jobs" is not as harsh as it sounds, given the wide range of variables that the whole enterprise has to contend with."
That quote is also from dp. Now read this one from Joe Baker:
"And do you REALLY think an orchestra that size is going to be devastated by the loss of the WORST violin, viola, cello and bass in the orchestra (that apportionment is just my guess, BTW)? I doubt if anyone, including the conductor, could tell the difference."
Besides the completely insulting aspect of this comment that somehow these musicians being cut are somehow inferior, I am reminded of the line from the movie "Amadeus". To paraphrase:
"Herr Mozart, are all those notes really necessary?"
So, the Houston Symphony spends years (and dollars) building itself a great orchestra, recruiting some of the greatest players in the world, and doing all the other things a great symphony needs to do. And then they decide (for whatever reason) that it has all gotten too large and they start trimming away. Is there really no consequence to that? Does anyone really believe that?
Throughout the years, folks with money have been spending it to create great art in many forms. That's what the Houston Symphony is right now, a great piece of art. Should we slice some of it off because it is too expensive to maintain? Since I'm not writing that check, I'm not the person to make that decision. But do we think it is appropriate to throw rocks at one side or the other without knowing the facts of this situation or without even having ever been in this situation? I won't.
I hope that none of us ever forgets that we're not making widgets in the symphonic world. We're creating art, live, in front of an audience. Since orchestras generally earn 50% or less of their income via earned income (ticket sales, contracted services, etc.), somebody must think this music is a good idea. A good enough idea to write the check. Perhaps that person (or persons) has decided it no longer is such a good idea. My most sincere hope is that both sides can come to an agreement that both sides can live with and that will preserve the Houston Symphony's greatness. I trust all of you feel the same horror I do when a piece of great art is damaged in any way.
My SYMPATHETIC AND SADDENED opinion for what it's worth...