Daniel Barenboim backs Chicago strikers

Daniel Barenboim backs Chicago strikers

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norman lebrecht

March 20, 2019

A message read out on the Symphony Hall picket line:

‘The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is a cultural jewel of the world. I would like to encourage the Board, the Musicians, the public and the City of Chicago to resist any attempt that will reduce that status. I offer my full support to the Musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.’

~Daniel Barenboim, Former Music Director, Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Barenboim returned to conduct the orchestra this season for the first time since his departure in 2006.

 

Comments

  • Tristan says:

    he wasn’t so much missed….one of the most overrated conductors of our time and another one you can’t get enough – lucky chap that ‘me-too’ hasn’t caught him yet

    • TM says:

      If you would only know what you are talking about….

    • David says:

      Your words direct me to the opinion that you truly are a moron or a union buster willing to say anything to screw the working public.

    • Bruce says:

      Well, as long as we’re talking about matters unrelated to the strike… I think he’s done a pretty good job managing his hair as he ages — e.g. avoiding the increasingly translucent puffy cloud that Levine kept long after it was time for it to go.

  • anon says:

    No one would care if Carl Reiner and Georg Solti themselves reincarnated joined the picket line. This is the 21st century, and economic reality is economic reality. Barenboim quit America 25 years ago for socialist Europe.

    Someone making $159,000 is striking because his friend is making $160,000 is too rich (pun intended).

    • CSO fan says:

      Carl Reiner? Don’t you mean his son, Rob?

    • Novagerio says:

      You mean Fritz Reiner. Carl is an actor! 😉

    • That Other One says:

      Fritz Reiner, perhaps?

    • Yossel says:

      Carl Reiner is, baruch Hashem, alive and kicking. He turned 97 just yesterday. Fritz Reiner, on the other hand……

    • Richard G says:

      Fritz Reiner, perhaps?

    • Arthur says:

      Strike is about their pensions, not salaries. The musicians and their actuaries proved to the management that the current plan is 11 million more cost effective over the next 10 years than what the management is proposing. Do some research.

      • Vanessa says:

        How about you do your research, Arthur? Yes, the CSOA’s current defined contribution offer costs more over the next 10 years…but it’s also MUCH more cost effective in the years following. Continuing to fully fund the pension beyond the next 10 years will not be possible when you look at current cost projections. The CSOA has to think about more than just the cost over the next 10 years if they want to have a financially viable institution well beyond 2029!

  • Stringfellow says:

    How is an orchestra going to lose its world class status if they don’t get a raise or have their bloated pensions fiddled with? You know how many qualified (yes, good enough to be in the CSO) musicians would be willing to take their jobs at half the pay?

    • Novagerio says:

      The attraction in joining the CSO is of course the prestige and the salary. For half the salary they would rather go to Orange County where the weather is better…

      • Annoyed says:

        For half the salary they would still make over twice as much as the band in Orange county and significantly more than many of the other fantastic orchestras in America.

  • Drummer guy says:

    Actually anon , I love Carl Reiner… especially when he teamed up with Mel Brooks!

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