Suffering? London players deny walkout
NewsWe have been contacted by several players in the London Chamber Orchestra, insisting that they saw no-one walking out of Wednesday’s rehearsal (as reported today in the Observer).
Here’s one account from a player well known to us:
It is clearly mis-reporting. There was a one-day rehearsal the day before (on Tuesday) at the Warehouse as well as the rehearsal on the Wednesday afternoon before the concert at Cadogan Hall. At the start of the rehearsal on Tuesday morning some members of the Board came in to the rehearsal to offer apologies for the previous delay in payment, and to offer the opportunity to answer questions.
They had paid everybody’s backpay by 9pm the previous night. Just a couple of people said that hadn’t received it, and the members of the Board said it would be sorted straight away. There were a few questions and comments from orchestral players. But certainly no musicians walked out then, or at the Wednesday rehearsal (the next day) as was reported. In truth, it was a gorgeous concert – one of the special ones. Interesting repertoire, Chris, the soloist Ben (Goldscheider), and the orchestra were on fine form.
pictured: Ben Goldscheider (Black shiny shoes) having played the premier of the horn concerto written by Gavin Higgins (hugging Ben).
Reminds me that many years ago in the since demolished London Arena on the Isle of Dogs, the LCO with Warren-Green were giving a “groundbreaking” concert which involved innovative flim-flam. A noted critic, still in situ thirty years on, was heard to remark on leaving at the interval and being told there was no readmittance, “thank you, thank you…”.
What a shock. It’s almost like you can’t believe what is written in the Guardian.
Imagine what other s*** they are writing that we don’t notice
Two years ago the LCO quit requiring formal dress code so musicians could express their “individual personalities and backgrounds.”
I thought the story in The Observer was a bit odd in that it didn’t probe the matter of why the bank supposedly froze the account.
London Chamber Orchestra were struck off from companies house in 2023. The bank account would be atomically closed.
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/04001950
According to the Charity Commission – London Chamber Orchestra Trust (Charity number: 297852):
Oversight management of the activities of the London Chamber Orchestra (LCO) is managed by London
Chamber Society Ltd (LCSL), 1 Green Way, Swaffham PE37 7FD. (Company number 06471256)
The day-to-day activities of the London Chamber Orchestra were, and still are, managed by London Chamber Society Ltd (LCSL).
Yes facts are important.
Phoenixing (a liquidated company rising from the ashes and still trading) has strict rules.
Both the Warren Greens ceased to be company directors prior to the bankruptcy….like rats on a sinking ship? Did they know what was coming but fail to inform the musicians?
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/phoenix-companies-and-the-role-of-the-insolvency-service/phoenix-companies-and-the-role-of-the-insolvency-service
Point of accuracy – the Higgins concerto was first given in Swansea last month, and played again in Cardiff the following day. Not all premieres take place in London.
As a long time reader of your website, I do have to wonder how you seem to manage to get a lot of this stuff wrong. Often completely, flat out wrong.
It seems that there’s a lack of some basic journali standards here. You run a blog, not a newspaper, so nobody exactly expects you to have the world’s highest standards. But, when you’re dealing with the rumour and gossip surrounding the very real lives and incomes of the very working musicians you claim to represent, you’d think that just a little more effort would be spent on accuracy now and again.
This particular story isn’t exactly a big deal; but it seems symptomatic of a continuos problem with your reporting. You publish, and then it turns out you were way off the mark. Why not do the courtesy of checking before clicking that “post” button?
Er, the blog owner didn’t say that any of these things happened. He said that The Observer had reported that these things happened: which is verifiably true.
And now he’s given a platform to the interested parties to put the record straight – which the Observer has yet to do. Your comment seems misdirected, at best.
Elegant Voice:
“Why not do the courtesy of checking before clicking that “post” button?”
I think you should take your own advice.
NL posted an Observer article with very little comment, followed by another post when LCO contacted. I don’t see any “rumour and gossip” lead by NL about this.
Taking this chat back to the basics of this case in the Observer article – this is from my letter to the Observer and they looking into the issues further.
Despite bearing though 5 months without payments, the players had made a pact between themselves that concert goers should not be impacted by any action we might take to put pressure on the orchestra’s management. So it been particularly upsetting to see that this is how it has been portrayed.