Mirga: Let’s bring more babies to rehearsal
mainYou have not heard this before from a music director:
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Let’s not bring babies to rehearsals. There are enough distractions as it is.
She has a point. And better rehearsals than the actual gigs.
well, that s nice. but, please, many (male) conductors today have an open mind toward this question, of course. also, you have to say, Celibidache allowed and wanted to have open rehearsals at any time and especially allowed young mothers to follow his rehearsals . (he also gave a lot of money to the young green party in Germany in the 80s) .
He also had a woman as one of his conducting students: Zahia Ziouani. That was more than 20 years ago!
And he also waged open war on his female solo trombone player because “we need a man for solo trombone.”
Yes, Emil. I find it strange that people have disliked your comment because the court case which the trombone player won is a matter of public record.
The statement by “male conductors” is false. In July of 1991, a mother’s group in the Munich Philharmonic wanted to discuss tour-sharing and unpaid vacations, which were guaranteed by their employer, the city of Munich. Mr. Celibidache angrily told them: “If you wanted children you chose the wrong profession.”
To say Celi was willing to accommodate women with children in the orchestra would be a plain lie.
I had been seen such intense covering of everything a brandnew conductor do, even small daily routine things that won’t change anything musically, but just overexpose the “star” to backlash after too much hype. I think it is time to stop and leave Mirga to develop naturally. Unless you want to see her stucked in the same place 10 years later and after Grammophone include her/him on a recent list of top conductor, 85% of subscribers on average deeply criticizing this choice
Judging by the comments and related votes, there is already a backlash in this blog.
Would it be possible to give all this – frankly- superfluous reporting about Mirga a rest? It is getting irritating and boring and does her no good. Her job is to conduct. No more, no less. Basta.
If you’d rather read about the work Mirga is doing in Birmingham in the Orchestra’s Centenary (the first season of which we announced yesterday), which includes her conducting A Child of our Time (as part of a British music festival), Mahler 8, the War Requiem and loads of Varese, as well as premieres by Adès, Chin, Widmann and Musgrave (forming part of an overall plan to commission 40 new works across the 2 seasons)…
well you just have to click here: https://cbso.co.uk/whats-on/season/1920.
Erich, that’s exactly what I said just above you. She isn’t the first hype”Messiah” of the classical music, reason why backlash will come early.
Probably should bring puppies, too. They’re adorable.
Which composer is she conducting in that picture? Humperdinck?
I am for orchestras carefully allowing young people at rehearsals. Even have special sessions for babies.
I wish I knew how effective aa rehearsal of, say, the last section of Mahler’s 9th symphony would be if a baby had a tantrum at a pianissimo passage.
Absolutely, I agree with Mirga. She is way ahead of the curve. Babies are the beginning of mankind and flourish in an environment which fosters sensitivity to the beauty and teamwork of an orchestra at work. I greatly admire what she has accomplished and the philosophy she embodies.
Stokowski had children sit at their father’s feet in rehearsal and then he’d pick on the fathers and belittle them in front of their children.
Children have no business in an adult workplace. End of story.
Alan has spoken. So I guess that’s the final word, the “end of story.” Except not. Depends on the child, and on the workplace. What a pigheaded comment.
Good, Mirga, continue being on the news for things like this… that will distract all music-lovers from your lack of musical and conducting talent!
PS: just so you know, we, the musicians who have to suffer you in rehearsal and concert, are not fooled. We know what you bring when you conduct us: media coverage (= more sponsors). No more.
Hello, it is apparent from your title that you have issues anyway.
Have you any recent experience of working with her or worked regularly in any of the orchestras for which she is music director?
She seems willing to take on new challenges and is developing her repertoire and style of conducting. The musicians appear to like her.
Give her time, It is so easy to criticise anonymously and who knows what she is capable of doing.
You may have experience and facts to back up your opinion and be well placed to have formed such a view.
If that is the case, it would be interesting to hear more to support your comments.