Orchestra musicians at the Metropolitan Opera in New York have posted this picture of their cello section last night.
No men to draw a bow.
They’ll be rubbing their eyes in the Vienna Philharmonic.
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And they all cast shadows…
No one cares. They are great players which is all that matters. There is no story here.
I wonder how many readers recognise this quote from a work of fiction?
“Why in hell did she have to choose the ‘cello? There was something almost indecent in the idea of that bulbous, ungainly instrument between her splayed thighs. Of course Suggia had managed to look elegant, and so did that girl Amaryllis somebody. But they should invent a way for women to play the damned things side-saddle.”
I guess society has made at least some progress since then.
Sir Thomas Beecham, when dealing with a female cellist who wasn’t up to par, remarked: Madame, you have between your legs one of God’s gifts to mankind, and all you can do is sit there and scratch it!
Why would they be rubbing their eyes? The Met cello section, with only women, is less representative of the population than the WPO section, which has members of both genders.
Isn’t Raphael Figueroa principal cellist at the Metropolitan Opera?
A sign of the troubled times.
Even in medical schools, women outnumber men.
Nope. The image is all women; the section’s principal is Jerry Grossman.
Jerry Grossman and Rafael Figueroa are co-principals. The MET has two principals in every section. I guess on this occasion they both had the night off.