In the 1990s, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra was the first to offer a $100,000 starting wage, setting off an inflationary spiral across the sector.
Now the CSO has bucked the current trend of tight settlements and, in a deal brokered by federal negotiators, conceded a 5 percent pay increase over the next three years, a 4.3 percent pension rise and no cut in health benefits. That looks like win-win-win for the musicians.
We’ll leave it to others – Drew McManus? – to crunch the numbers, but two trends emerge.
First, the deal leaves Chicago musicians with pride and conditions intact but still well short of the top-paid US orchestra, which is the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Second, this could be a game changer. The musicians held close to their starting position and the new management blinked. It went to the feds before they settled. This is the third or fourth recent orchestra deal that went all the way to Washington. It’s starting to become a habit.
Official deal announcement below:
(CHICAGO)—The musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO)—members of the Chicago Federation of Musicians (CFM), Local 10-208 of the American Federation of Musicians—and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association (CSOA) announce the ratification of a new three-year collective bargaining agreement, effective September 14, 2015, through September 16, 2018.
The members of the CSO and the CSOA Board of Trustees voted today to accept the terms of the new contract. The agreement includes wage and pension increases and scheduling provisions that will provide more flexibility during the season and on tour.
“The city of Chicago is so very fortunate to be the home of one of the world’s great orchestras,” said Jay Henderson, Chairman of the CSOA’s Board of Trustees. “The musicians’ dedication to performing at the highest artistic level makes the Chicago Symphony Orchestra an exceptional ensemble. This new agreement recognizes the preeminence of our Orchestra while ensuring long-term financial sustainability, and we appreciate the musicians’ willingness to work constructively in this process.”
“I have the greatest admiration for the musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and am pleased we have come to an agreement on a new contract,” said Jeff Alexander, president of the CSOA. “The Orchestra serves the greater Chicago community and the world with extraordinary performances, recordings, broadcasts and educational activities. It is an honor to be part of this distinguished institution, and to work on a daily basis with the members of the CSO. I look forward to continuing to work together to advance the activities of this great Orchestra.”
“The Musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra are pleased that an agreement for a new contract with the Association has been reached,” said Stephen Lester, chairman of the CSO Members Committee. “We are optimistic that this agreement will lay a foundation for dynamic growth and continued success into the future.”
“For many decades, the CFM and CSOA have had a productive relationship,” commented Gary Matts, president of the Chicago Federation of Musicians. “The parties have always worked diligently to reach contract agreements reflecting the status of the CSO as one of the world’s great orchestras.”
Under the terms of the newly ratified agreement, CSO musicians’ annual salary will increase by 1% in the first contract year and 2% in each of the second and third years. The pension benefit will increase by 4.3% and there will be no changes to health care plans or contributions.
Negotiations between the CSOA and the CSO Musicians’ Negotiating Committee began in July of 2015. The previous collective bargaining agreement expired on Sunday, September 13, 2015. A tentative agreement was reached on Monday, September 28, 2015, and ratified by both parties on Tuesday, September 29, 2015. A mediator from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), Javier Ramirez, assisted the parties in the final stages of negotiations.
Throughout the contract discussions, the CSO Musicians’ Negotiating Committee was represented by Chicago Federation of Musicians Local 10-208 President and Vice President Gary Matts and Terryl Lynn Jares, and legal counsel Kevin Case of Case Arts Law. The CSOA was represented by legal counsel Ross Eberly of DLA Piper.
The parties would like to express their gratitude to their Negotiating Committee members—for the CSO, musicians Stephen Lester, Chair of the CSO Members Committee; James Smelser, Vice Chair; Roger Cline; Robert Kassinger; and David Sanders—and for the CSOA, President Jeff Alexander, Vice Presidents Isabelle Goossen and Vanessa Moss, Kelly Cater, John Deverman and Sameed Afghani. The parties also extend special thanks to Mr. Ramirez and the FMCS.
Rachel Barton Pine, was trying to fly home from Phoenix, Arizona, when a flight attendant decided that her 1742 Guarneri del Gesú would not fit in the overhead bin.
The result was that Rachel and her family had to sleep the night in the airport, waiting for another plane.
Don’t we just love US Airways?
UPDATE: The full story in Rachel’s own words is here.
Harmonia Mundi will be under new ownership from Thursday.
Press release:
London, September 29th 2015 – [PIAS] one of the world’s leading independent music companies has announced the acquisition of harmonia mundi the respected classical, jazz and world music specialists.
This acquisition comprises the music assets of harmonia mundi but does not include its book publishing interests or retail operations. With over 100 staff and offices in key territories harmonia mundi, which comprises record labels, music publishing and distribution divisions was founded in 1958 by the charismatic and visionary Bernard Coutaz (1922-2010), who guided the group to its position as a globally successful music company. Eva Coutaz, who has been involved in classical music production since the 1970’s, will remain a consultant to the harmonia mundi board.
This acquisition will be effective from October 1st 2015 and will see [PIAS] add harmonia mundi’s catalogue, infrastructure and expertise to its already successful portfolio of music interests. Founded in Belgium by Kenny Gates and Michel Lambot, [PIAS] is celebrating 33 years as one of the world’s leading independent music companies in 2015. The company has 3 core divisions: [PIAS] Recordings, that signs and develops artists, [PIAS] Cooperative, an associated label group that partners with labels to help fund and develop their repertoire on an international basis, and [PIAS] Artist & Label Services, a sales, distribution and marketing team that takes repertoire to market, physically and digitally, on an global basis.
From my Album of the Week on sinfinimusic.com:
Given the music industry’s preoccupation with complete sets, it’s remarkable how few recordings exist of the eight books of Songs Without Words for piano by the great early-Romantic composer Felix Mendelssohn. Mendelssohn seems to have dashed the Songs off in spare moments between 1829 and 1845, sending them to be published six at a time. But there’s nothing random about the series.
The total number of songs – 48 – is a homage to JS Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier and the changes of key from one to the next suggests that, across the short span of his adult life (he died in 1847, aged 38), Mendelssohn conceived the set as a complete cycle. Which makes it all the more surprising that famous pianists have not hammered at label doors demanding to record the set.
Andrew Haveron, concertmaster of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra has been given a 1757 Guadagnini violin to play, purchased at his selection by SSO supporter, Vicki Olsson (pictured), and given to the orch on longterm loan.
Andrew says: ‘I arrived at the showroom of the first dealer I’d contacted and he had six instruments on the table for me to try. I picked up the first one, played one note and just thought: Wow!’
Union negotiators for musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra have reached what is described as ‘a tentative agreement’ on a new contract after federal mediators got involved. The deal still needs to be ratified by the muscians themselves. More here.
press release:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Allison Beck, Director of the U.S. Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), announced today that representatives of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Federation of Musicians have reached a tentative agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement under the auspices of FMCS mediators.
The parties are not commenting regarding details of the agreement until both sides have ratified the new contract later this week.
As is Agency practice, the FMCS also is not releasing information about the contract until the ratification process has been completed.
The Los Angeles Philharmonic music director is frequently under pressure over his perceived alignment with the radical regime in his native Venezuela.
In an article for the Los Angeles Times today (click here), he declares both his patriotism and his political neutrality: As a Venezuelan and a public person, I often end up in the center of such political theater. Because I have been reluctant to speak out on events in my home country, I have been much criticized. Many have tried to define me and my political beliefs, or to tell me what I ought to believe. Now I wish to speak for myself.
I am neither a politician nor an activist. Although I am aware that even something as benign as conducting an orchestra may have deep political ramifications, I will not publicly take a political position or align myself with one point of view or one party in Venezuela or in the United States.
Venezuelan media, meanwhile, have made great play of a picture of Dudamel conducting the Bolivar Youth Orchestra at the United Nations this week, overshadowed by a huge portrait of the country’s former president, Hugo Chavez.
Expect to see that dress some time soon at Carnegie Hall.
Yesterday, the principal bassoon of the Orchestre Symphonique de Bretagne which I direct did something extraordinary – I mean really extraordinary. He ran 100km (62 miles 2/12 marathons) in support of music education. We hope that every kilometre that he completed will have its sponsor.
And – he completed the whole race – 25k in 3 hours, the marathon in 5 hours, 71 km in 10 hours and the last stretch at night to finish 100km at 16:20:55! An inspiring performance by Marc Mouginot. Support him and us, in our effort to have every kilometre sponsored in favor of music ed. Go here to show your support and 100 Bravos for Marc.
We were sent this promo vid for a forthcoming series ‘Classical Music in Modern Dress’.
All well and good, but what does it add to the music?
The organiser tells us:
Musicians and researchers from London College of Music, UWL will be creating an extraordinary immersive sonic and visual world of classical music re-imagined for the 21st century at King’s Place, London on October 7th. Pieces by Chopin, Debussy, Franck, Haydn, Ravel and Shostakovich will be performed on digital keyboards and an electric string quartet and mixed and processed live into a surround sound audio system. This UK Arts and Humanities Research Council funded project is experimenting with fresh interpretations of music from the classical repertoire by taking a leaf out of the book of modern Shakespearian theatre and staging Classical Music “In Modern Dress”.
Professor Simon Zagorski-Thomas, the leader of the project, says: “We’re using our interpretations of these familiar pieces to devise dub mixes, multimedia surround-sound projections and expressive audio visual processing that we think sheds new light on old favourites. We’re performing Shostakovich’s dramatic 8th string quartet through a battery of guitar effects pedals. We’re drawing on Haydn’s playful wit and imaginative variation in his Piano Sonata in C to vary the sounds as well as the pitches and rhythms – getting inside the piano and scratching, scraping and hitting it. And we’re expanding on the impressionistic aspects of the Ravel and Debussy pieces to create sensuous and evocative surround sound environments that conjure up the various magical, whimsical and wistful narratives of the music.”
Professor Zagorski-Thomas will be joined in the performance by Dr. Andrew Bourbon, Dr. Emilie Capulet and Nataša Šarčević of London College of Music, postgraduate students Trinh Lu, Sulhee Kim and the Konvalia Electric String Quartet.
This weekend the Detroit SO launched a pilot scheme by opening its first rehearsal of the new season to a group of students with special needs from Glen Peters School of the Macomb Intermediate School District. The initiative was held in memory of Nathan Suida, who passed away at DMC Children’s Hospital of Michigan in June. A music lover, Nathan’s desire to see the DSO live sparked a conversation about ways to make performances at Orchestra Hall more accessible and enjoyable for individuals with special needs.
Way to go.
Singer of the year (f) is DiDonato and (m) is Kaufmann. So far, so respectable in the German Echo Klassik awards.
But you’ll never guess orchestra of the year. Click the link above.
