Strike crisis: Chicago calls in actuaries
mainYou know it’s serious when the mathematical futurists get involved.
Chicago Symphony president Jeff Alexander told media last night that both sides in the day-old strike had asked their actuaries – who specialise in pension projections – to get back together this week in order to review details related to the proposed retirement benefit.
Voices might get raised in a strike, but no-one hits the actuaries.
Local sources say that pensions are the main sticking point to a settlement.
photo: H. Edgar/CCR
Ha ha the paradox is that the CSO musicians hope that their actuary will show that they die a lot sooner than the average population, while the board hopes that classical musicians live well into their 90s (which is true by the way).
(which is sometimes true by the way)
Let me ask everyone a question, what’s the last CSO recording you bought? . . . I tried the Muti/CSO Bruckner 9. It was OK, but not as good as Giulini/CSO. The Muti “Symphony Fantastique”? . . . no, because I have the Barenboim one for the “La Marseillaise” with Domingo that’s coupled with it. Verdi Requiem? . . . it’s probably good, but there a million of those already (including Muti’s earlier one). Probably the most interesting disc they’ve done with Muti, so far, is the “Italian Masterworks” one (Verdi, Puccini, Mascagni, Boito – the usual suspects).
As an actuary, I had to smile at this story!