For a new OSB (03/12/2011)
By Nelson Rubens Kunze*
I’m following astonished the crisis in the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra
(OSB). As you all know, musicians rebelled against a process of performance
reassessment determined by the direction of the orchestra and the OSB
Foundation. The idea, according to what maestro Roberto Minczuk has insistently
repeated, is to reclassify the group artistically. Musicians are protesting and
boycotting the auditions, complaints are echoing on the internet and even the
blog of the influential British critic Norman Lebrecht came into the story
[click here http://www.artsjournal.com/slippeddisc/2011/03/brazil_in_a_nutshell_-_so_what.html to read].
It surprised me the extent that the subject took. We are talking about
the reassessment of a group of musicians that just over 5 years was a
simulacrum of an orchestra. Yes, a real simulacrum! Several times CONCERTO
Magazine regretted the shortage and neglect to which the OSB, one of the most
important orchestras in the country, was relegated. With the appointment of
conductor Roberto Minczuk, in 2005, things changed. There was a small
revolution, which had among its main achievements to revaluation of the
musicians and their work. Or isn’t this what it means the establishment of
symphonic seasons with international renowned soloists and conductors (Kurt
Masur would be enough, but it is a long list)? Or concerts in crowded venues
such as the Municipal Theatre in Rio de Janeiro or the São Paulo Hall? Or
salaries and wages paid monthly? That was not what was happening a few years
ago.
But it was not only a small revolution of conductor Minczuk. There was a
great effort to mobilize an active board for the OSB Foundation (this should
not be despised, the council today is formed by eminent personalities and has a
president with rare engagement), there was a commitment to achieve a modern and
efficient administration with professionals who are among the most prepared in
the field and, perhaps most importantly, they were able to gain major sponsors
and supporters. After years of struggle, the OSB began to breathe again. This,
in Brazil, is a small revolution. I suspect that in Rio de Janeiro it is a
cultural tsunami…
But let’s be realistic: the orchestra, on a scale of 0 to 10, went, say,
from 3 to 6. It is not little, for the effort it took and the movement it
caused. But it is far from what the city of Rio de Janeiro and Brazil deserve.
The Marvelous City wants a large and modern Brazilian Symphony Orchestra, that
generates culture and that is inserted in the contemporary debate. An orchestra
for what the country that will host the Soccer World Cup can be proud of, and
for what the city of the 2016 Olympic Games can be proud of. And let us admit,
for this it lacks anything.
The OSB Foundation is not proposing a re-evaluation of performance of a consolidated
orchestra in a major city in Europe or North America. Also this is not some reauditions
in the English countryside or an orchestra in a little city of the German
province. I believe the aim is to build – yes, we are in the process of
construction! – a modern international symphony orchestra in one of the most
beautiful metropolis in the world, in a country that recently reached the
seventh position of the global economy. The OSB, with its history of 70 years,
deserves this opportunity, and since some years there is a clear effort in that
direction.
That said, the decision of the OSB Foundation to promote performance
evaluation as a measure for the artistic classification of their instrumentalists
seems consistent. There will be not an unilateral imposition guided by the
authoritative will of the conductor or artistic director. Instead, there will
be an international banking, unbiased and impartial. And the process will have a
counterpart, which is a new wage level. So finally the OSB Foundation will
establish conditions never had before, that will also guarantee the necessary
security for future retirements.
I really expect OSB will keep the group of skilled instrumentalists they
have today, and which contributed decisively to the current level of their
achievements. And hope that this process also assists in the maturation of
modern management processes, appropriate to a symphony orchestra of the 21.st Century.
[Nelson Rubens
Kunze is editor of the Brazilian Music Magazine CONCERTO, licensing partner of
Gramophone in Brazil. This text was first published on the website of the
CONCERTO Magazine (www.concerto.com.br)]