Bassoon prof sets up pupil for $55k win
OrchestrasMatthias Racz, principal bassoon at Tonhalle Orchester Zurich and professor at the city’s music academy, had no trouble deciding who should win the SFr50,000 ($55k) Muri competition, which he was chairing.
Obviously it had to be his own student Enrico Bassi, principal bassoon of the radio orchestra in Lugano.
You wouldn’t imagine these things still happen, but they do – and Racz is boasting of it: ‘I m so proud of you. My student Enrico Bassi just won the first price of the Muri Competition 2023. You deserve it !! You played 4 wonderful rounds and you showed us so much music out of your heart. Keep going like that and always put the music on first place !!’
Second Prize, Nur Meisler, is also a student of jury member Mor Biron
And should have won, played much better.
Scandalous
Jury members shouldn’t serve on the jury if they have students participating.
Competition organizers should avoid inviting prolific teachers to serve on juries.
Now, this is the good side of Slippedisc. This is ridiculous, something you would expect in Caracas or Moscow… not Suisse.
Unfortunately, this is how the most competitions work… it is definetely NOT the music first but rather connections
Ora vedete che bricconata,
che, che, che bricconata!
Chi se l’avrebbe mai immaginata,
mai, mai immaginata?
Questa è un’azione da mascalzone,
ed al suo impegno non dée mancar.
How does one jurist secure the win of his student when there are six colleagues in the jury? (… and by the way the six colleagues are some of the most famous bassoon players in the world).
Maybe he should have recused himself; however, there were SEVEN people on the jury. Maybe all seven people on the jury thought the winner should be the winner. Before you make accusations like this you should find out how it was judged! This is a typical clickbait slippedisc headline!
and isn’t it in the realm of possibility that maybe, just maybe, he deserved to win?
and pure coincidence that the winners from the previous two Muris were also Racz’s pupils?
Yes. And that’s why it’s such an obvious disservice for all parties to have such an egregious conflict of interest.
I work in academia, and we offer several prices for best thesis (BA, MA, PhD) in our field. Every once in a while one of my students applies for one of the prizes – and, of course, I recuse myself in those cases and let another colleague take my space on the jury.
It is not encouraging to see that musical juries operate on very different ethical premises.
Without knowing the specifics and hearing other candidates, and knowing how the voting was structured – why doesn’t SD interview other members of the jury when publishing stories like this – the story is incomplete. In other words, conjecture. Or, do you know for sure another player was thought better by the majority of the jury? If so, let’s hear more information.
This is the definition of corruption. This man should not preside in competitions. Never.
The MURI competition used to stand for something – now it is just another fiasco-show, like the GRAND-PRIZE-VIRTUOSO snd other quazi-competitions. Matthias Racz and MURI organizers – shame on you!
Norman Leberecht does not do his research! Race was not “chairing” the Muri Competition. “He” did not award the prize to his student. There was a jury at work. The picture Norman posted shows Enrico Bassi on the left and a Russian oboist on the right.
Of course he chaired the jury. The MURI website states it clearly on their website. Also, it is very easy to divert the decision toward your preferred contestant, simply by giving a low grade to others.
Actually., the grading system they used made it harder for that to happen.
This sort of parochialism is relatively normal in Switzerland. The German-speaking population is 5.48 million, about one third the size of metro London or Paris. Imagine a competition confined to just Paris or London to get a sense of the situation. This small population, combined with Switzerland’s extreme insularity and ethnocentricity, makes cultural incest unavoidable. Due to secret banking, the country is also filthy rich with filthy money which it freely passes out to its incestual arts community. It’s quite a racket. Stunningly beautiful mountains though.
1) All 14 of the juries (7 bassoons, 7 oboes) voted in the semifinals and finals except for their own students, as this was not allowed.
2) The first price was lowered to 20,000 CHF this year.
3) People I know who watched the finals said it was a clear winner. Same for the Oboes.
Nothing wrong with that, got to make sure your student can keep paying the tuition. (Speaking of which, time to hike up the annual tuition to $55K.)
Not an unusual turn of events, as Racz‘s students have almost always been the winners in past editions of this competition
As we say in Chicago,
“If I can’t pick my own students, who do you expect me to pick?”
Before I comment the vacuous commentary to which I am replying, allow me to introduce myself. I am Simon Styles and for 40 years I was Principal Tuba of the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, during which time I served variously as as board member (including chairman) for a period of nearly 20 years. Mattias Racz is/was a colleague of mine for nearly 20 years, one whose playing I admired and indeed still admire greatly, albeit nowadays from the stalls from where I now, as a recently retired member of this fine ensemble, I still enjoy his artistry, and that of my (former) colleagues.
On reading the nonsense spun as fact perpetuated by Mr. Lebrecht, I contacted, immediately, Matthias to ask for his opinion on the matter and a verification of the facts.
This was his his reply, the brackets […] are mine for clarification:-
“14 international jury members [for both categories] and I was obliged [the standard practice at all international competitions and auditions where one’s own pupils are involved] to step back for the voting [I make the assumption that this was the case for all jury members]….. Yes I decided it alone!!!!!!”
“My students seem to be winning a lot at the moment, I must be doing a lot of manipulation”
To “Unspoken Truths” I would say the following- you have no idea about what you are writing. The Tonhalle Orchester, when you imply cultural incest, employs about 15 different nationalities (I myself am English) , making up about 50% of the membership of the orchestra. Central funding which is in all cases of Swiss culture, from local government makes up less than 50% of the operating budget this is in comparison to most “continental orchestras” uniquely minimal, the rest being generated by sponsorship which does include money received from banks (is the situation any different anywhere else on the planet? Are there any non filthy banks to which you could direct me? I would gratefully receive your financial advice, and by the way as far as I am aware secret bank accounts belong to the era when Sean Connery played James Bond, try opening an account as an American….) as well as ticket sales. Our audition process is complex but extremely fair so that no one candidate can win an audition without receiving a 2/3 vote from 3 separate parties, the section involved, (ie woodwind, strings, brass or percussion) a panel formed of soloists and members of the whole and a selection ca 40 members of rest of the orchestra and the Principal Conductor. Impossible then for one person to push in his own student, mother, grandmother, uncle, sister etc etc as he/or she is permitted neither a vote or a voice in the discussion of relations or students. I would be grateful if you would clarify your statement “This small population, combined with Switzerland’s extreme insularity and ethnocentricity, makes cultural incest unavoidable” providing backup data and facts.
To Mr Lebrecht I would say the following:- You have printed as fact half truths, you have either failed to research or you have distorted what you learned and you have done so in a way which in my interpretation borders on being libellous. You have done so knowing that many being less well informed on the workings of the the classical music world will take on board your word as being the truth. This represents to me a gross manipulation of both the truth and of your readers which, to me at least, beggars all belief. I have noticed in the past a condescending antipathy towards the Tonhalle and it’s orchestra and have often asked myself why this might be- were you at some point refused free tickets? I would remind you in particular, and anyone reading this, that classical music is facing an unprecedented barrage of ill wind from outside, not just in the UK but worldwide, even in Switzerland. Our detractors are many, battering the ramparts of our wonderful and cherished art form, from the outside, it does no good at all to have detractors within masquerading as “whistle blowing do-gooders” sawing at the very legs of the chairs on which we sit.
What utter Zurich rubbish, Mr Styles. If you can’t see that it’s wrong – morally and perceptually – for a teacher to act as judge for his own students in an international compeetition you must have been completely corrupted by such Swiss-based institutions as FIFA and IOC. For shame, Mr Styles.
For shame Mr Lebrecht get your facts right and read what I wrote- he was not allowed to participate in voting as is standard practice here and elsewhere and therefore he was not a judge. The choice of winners has been confirmed as being unanimous and correct by other highly respected players of double reed instruments who were not involved in the competition. Your tiresome lack of or distortion of information peddled as truth are at least as tiresome as they absurd.