Vienna Greens attack New Year’s Day ‘misogyny’
NewsUrsula Berner, culture spokeswoman for the Green Party in Vienna, has denounced ‘misogyny and ignorance about the situation of female musicians’ in statements made by the Vienna Philharmonic and its conductor Franz Welser-Möst.
She has called a public forum on January 17, titled ‘who sets the tone?’, to address comments by the Vienna Philharmonic chairman Daniel Froschauer ‘the ‘we will have a female conductor when the time comes’ and by the conductor that ‘it is an artistic question, not a political one.’
Berner (pictured) said: ‘I invite you to the Vienna Town Hall to discuss this topic. The Gender PayGap in the Arts Is Catastrophic. This is most evident in the #music industry. Although 50% of students at the musicians’ universities are women, women from the mid-30s mostly disappear from the Vienna music landscape: they receive significantly less funding, they have fewer engagements, they generate less income. How do we promote fair pay in the music industry?’
An important initiative that raises valid questions. Many thanks to Ursula Berner.
She seems nice.
Well done! Not before time.
All to the good, but she just discovered mysogyny in the Philharmonic?
Obviously, she has a point. I watched the New Year’s concert and several of my family members (who are not musicians) were asking me where are all the women? I told them that it’s an appalling situation: It’s been 25 years since the Vienna Phil allowed women to join and they only account for 17% of its members (per the NY Times). Rolex, the BBC, PBS and other sponsors/broadcasters should be ashamed for supporting this.
Even when the VPO had no women at all, NPR and PBS supported it whole hog.
The audition for a vacant orchestra position takes place anonymously and behind a curtain. So women just have to be better at auditions! It’s all about quality.
Musicians can only audition behind the screen if invited. That is how women and Asians were excluded. In 1997, the orchestra agreed to admit women, but accepted only harpists until 2007 when a violist was given membership. Since 2007, when a major change took place in the orchestra’s perspectives, the ratio of women has increased at about 1% per year which is close to the international norms for the inclusion of women in orchestras.
I’d argue that they need to do more to proactively boost the pipeline of women who audition. The management should make targeted outreach to women at international conservatories – maybe start with music sororities or other women’s organizations. Otherwise, at 1% a year, they may reach parity by what, 2050?
Sadly, slow personnel turnover is characteristic of orchestras. They also have a very strong belief in plain competition at auditions. Any form of affirmative action is anathema to them. A rise from 0 to 17% in the last 15 years isn’t too bad as far as new employment by orchestras go, though I agree that they slow rate of change is a problem.
The female violist you are referring to won the audition in February 2001. By 2007 there were several women members.
So what’s the solution. Tell some one you’re fired because you’re a man, and then replace with a woman?
You are aware of how tenure works right?
“Women from the mid-30s mostly disappear from the Vienna music landscape”.
It’s a mystery.
The new populism. Ideological finger food and clickbait, oversimplifying more complex matters.
Also, does she want equality everywhere (also for the most dangerous and physically demanding jobs) or just the money?
Equal opportunity for everybody based on their own achievements? Absolutely?
Equality? Never happening.
Ask the creators of this universe, or the natural laws of evolution, why ALL humans are different, while sharing a common humanity.
Stupid times.
so true it’s going crazy especially in the US and UK! The media without any knowledge like the Green politicians – it’s just pathetic and it won’t go nowhere but we need more hype it seems
what a world
Because stupid people confuse Equality with Equity.
And politicians do just politics, and want to keep their seat.
My son works in mining support and says women NEVER apply for hard jobs which involve working out in 46 degree (celsius) heat. And that for every man at the top there are (bottom of the triangle) thousands more; woman want to skip that bottom of the triangle and go right to the top. To get to the top many more women need first to be at the bottom, just like the men, else this is just entitlement and greed.
She looks like a barrel of laughs.
Sadly, these crazy zealots seem ubiquitous now in Austria. Think I need to stay away from now on.
That photo first thing in the morning made me **** in my pajamas. It will haunt my nightmares.
Ah the irony … Ms Berner’s complaints regarding ‘misogyny and ignorance about the situation of female musicians’ is simply met with more misogyny and ignorance by some here … Priceless.
Only now she heard about the Vienna Philharmonic?…
“You Wieners have been very, very naughty…”
If only Brahms was still here to tell us all exactly HOW naughty!!
Radiates love and compassion.
“Although 50% of students at the musicians’ universities are women, women from the mid-30s mostly disappear from the Vienna music landscape”… Did it ever occur to her that’s the time majority of women have kids these days? Being mid 30s myself and having a 1 year old I can say that not only my but also my husband’s ambitions and goals (we’re both professional musicians) have changed drastically since the little rascal came into the family.
It probably DOESN’T occur to her. Motherhood is a reactionary construct, not a natural reality, to her mindset.
Also, in the case of Vienna in particular, a sizeable proportion of the Music University female students are foreigners (mostly Asians), never intending to have a professional career in Europe, if a professional career in music at all. Not racist, but fact, ask anyone there.
1. No, a NATURAL construct
2. Yes, a LITTLE racist
It seems entirely reasonable that some Asian students would seek experience in Europe’s music capitals.
Some will return, many obviously stay.
Nothing racist about it. Can we please get out of this ridiculous, apologetic habit of seeing racism wherever a non European race is mentioned? It devalues the real thing. When everyone is racist, nobody is.
“Little rascal”?
The loony Left would have us believe that these days men can have children too; they can ‘chest feed’ as well!! (Is there no end to their talents??!!) But ‘the science’ is settled (pay attention you trans-activists); ONLY women can have children and breast-feed.
I know, I know; the ‘science’ is settled on climate change- but apparently not on human biology.
“ONLY women can have children and breast-feed.”
So who’s denying the science here? You should get off your soapbox against the “loony left”. You destroy your credibility.
Uhm, I‘m a very open minded and curious person. Please explain to me, where in science it is a shared position, that men can breast feed and carry babies from conception to birth?
The brainwashing some got makes Mao and Stalin look like a bloody amateur…
You misread my comment.
I don’t care about the sex of a musician. How good is that individual? And let’s take it from there.
But for the last 1000 years, people have cared about the gender of musicians. They even castrated boys to produce male sopranos. It is thus ironic when we question the VPO’s chauvinistic comments about women conductors and people suddenly proclaim a neutral approach to gender and music.