News just in: 44 musicians sacked in Rio
mainThe Brazilian Symphony Orchestra has dismissed 44 players for ‘insubordination’, according to representatives of the musicians who have contacted me by email.
See here for details.
The orchestra is now officially a war zone. Foreigners might be well advised to stay away.
The orchestra is not a war zone anymore, since these soldiers are now in martial court, they were dismissed, expelled from the orchestra. This is a relief for those who undertook the evaluation.
The musicians were sacked by the union and the commission which decided to fight even if they had no legal basis anymore. As anywhere else, if you go against the law you pay the consequences, this is now the reward, thanks again to the union of Rio de Janeiro.
Dear Mr. Wulitchka, I don’t know if the OSB is a war zone right now, but I extremely dislike your “martial court” analogy, even if it unwillingly describes the situation very well.
And the information that the protesting musicians were sacked “by themselves” or that their doing was illegal is completely wrong: Yes, the FOSB has found a judge who declared the re-audition process for legal (amazingly quick, don’t you think so?) and that’s pretty much all, from the legal front. At the end, all this legal discussion only enlightens us that it’s not yet so far with the rights of orchestra musicians in Brazil, so no breaking news here. Laws do differ ewerywhere and, only as an example, I wouldn’t advice a woman to commit adultery in Iran…
What gives more to think is that the FOSB and partisans celebrate their “victory” ignoring any of the ethical, moral and artistic (yes, music is still an art!) aspects of the case.
It’s also curious that after the actual firings Mr. Minczuk must be, among actual conductors, holder of the world record of fired musicians! Surely not testimony of a very “modern” or “efficient” style of leadership, don’t you think so? I, at least, would prefer not to be token care by a surgeon who proudly affirms “the surgery was very successful, but the patient is dead”…