German orchestras saved by parliament?
mainThe Landtag of Baden-Württemberg has ordered the management of SWR radio and television to go back to the drawing board and find a solution for the Stuttgart and Freiburg/Baden-Baden orchestras that works better than forced fusion.
The SWR boss Peter Boudgoust had argued that there was no alternative to abolishing one of the two orchs. Parliament has ordered otherwise.This could be the breakthrough we’ve been waiting for after more than two years of musical resistance to an unworkable scheme.
It comes on the day that the SWR Reiburg conductor, Francois-Xavier Roth pledged to remain with the orch untilo 2016, despite getting a better job in Cologne, chiefly in order to procure its survival.
Read on here (auf Deutsch).
I see a heartening analogue between this case and that of the Minnesota Symphony, in that, after much petitioning and arm twisting, the people’s representatives in government, namely in the legislature, ARE listening and responding to what the people have been demanding be done to protect its public benefit assets, despite what the bureaucrats and their cronies have been telling them.
A sensible initiative by the political leadership of the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg. Better late than never. But here it was lost in translation, that they didn’t “order” anything, they simply asked for development of alternative scenarios that would secure the future of both orchestras.
The state parliament can’t order the pubic broadcaster, since the public broadcaster is an independent public entity and not under executive power of the state.
Unfortunately, it seems like Boudgoust is digging his heels in. Here’s his response:
http://www.swr.de/unternehmen/presse/pressemitteilungen/17-stellungnahme-zum-beschluss-im-wissenschaftsausschuss-swr-soll-neue-modelle-zum-erhalt-der-rundfunkorchester-entwickeln/-/id=11165302/did=12889980/nid=11165302/1gaezx6/index.html
“Bei allem guten Willen: Wir haben sorgfältig und intensiv geprüft, weiteres Prüfen hilft nicht weiter.
Or
“With all the good will in the world, we have already examined all options carefully and intensively. To look at the issue again won’t help.”