Alastair Macaulay writes movingly about a musician he greatly admired:

 
John Cage (1912-1992) died thirty-two years ago today, a few weeks before his eightieth birthday. Merce Cunningham, his life partner, came home from rehearsals on August 11 to find that Cage, lying on their kitchen floor, had had some kind of stroke. Cunningham called a friend with medical skills, who observed Cage’s eyes at the moment when matters became irreversible. They and others accompanied Cage to Saint Vincent’s Medical Center, where he died the next day. Cunningham, though he took some persuasion to do this, spent some time alone with Cage before his death.

Cunningham, always a worker (like all the men of his family), used some of the time to make notes for the dance he was then preparing (Enter). On the day after Cage’s death, he returned to work with his company, initially on rehearsing older choreography.

Various company legends sprang up, not least that he inserted into Enter (for the dancer Alan Good) the precise physical position on the floor in which Cunningham had found Cage on August 11 – but this is erroneous. The position that Cunningham gave to Good – before Cage’s death – was one observed in a Maillol sculpture (River) in the sculpture garden in the Museum of Modern Art.

It’s fair to say that, though Cage had not been active in the daily matters of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company for some years, his death had a profoundly destabilising effect on that company: within the next eighteen months, half the dancers left. The connection of his death to their departures is neither simple nor obvious: few (perhaps only two) had known him remotely well. But Cage was some kind of anchor. Without him, Cunningham – despite his immediate return to work – found it excessively hard to make certain high-level administrative decisions: a situation that was not resolved for several years.

Cage was a strong personality. I hope it is true, as has been said, that Cunningham said the following very Beckettian words about his death “I come home at the end of the day and John’s not there. On the other hand, I come home at the end of the day and John’s not there.”

Read on here. The beautiful bit is yet to come.
 

Antoine Siguré, Principal Timpani of the Philharmonia Orchestra since 2016, has joined the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

Antoine, 37, is also Professor of Timpani at the Royal SAcademy of Music.

That’ll be a long commute.

Esa-Pekka Salonen is leaving the San Francisco Symphony because the board won’t pay for his programming.

That’s widely known.

In the next few days the board will seek city permission to go ahead with a makeover of Davies Symphony Hall, with a projected cost of $100 million.

Sack the best gardener, build a better garden shed.

More here.

Message from the board in response to the musicians’ rebellion against the management over the Israel-Palestine war:

MSO Statement, 16 August.
The Board of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra will conduct an independent external review into our policies, procedures and processes following this week’s decision to cancel the concert of Jayson Gillham.
The review will also canvass the events leading up to the decision to cancel the concert scheduled for 15 August 2024.
The Board determined a formal review would provide transparency and certainty for our people – including our musicians, management and employees – and our broader community of audience members, supporters and other stakeholders. The review will help ensure our policies and processes reflect best practice in the contemporary environment.
Noting the letter to the Board from MSO musicians, the Board will provide more information on the review, including the terms of reference, as the details are finalised.
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is determined to ensure we have the protocols in place that are fit for purpose for our organisation and the role we play within the community.

The new appointment is Matthew Quinn from Belfast, a former assistant content producer at the BBC.

How the chorus job will now work with the company split between London and Manchester remains to be specified.

Matthew says:

Early this year, we posted an appeal for the Slovenian pianist Sabina Svigelj, who sought treatment in Israel for Mucosal Melanoma.

The appeal raised $97,321.00

Today we received this tragic news:
It is with profound sadness that I share the news that Sabina passed away yesterday, August 13th. Our hearts are heavy as we begin to navigate life without her.

We are incredibly grateful for the love, support, and kindness you have shown us during this time. Your thoughts and prayers mean the world to us as we mourn her loss and celebrate her life.

Thank you for being here for us.

With gratitude,
Helena Švigelj

The soft-soap arts section of the newspaper today posts an interview with Michael Haefliger, who is stepping down next year after 25 years at the head of the hyper-elite Lucerne Festival.

Haefliger, 63, has one more job left in his career.

The second sentence of the puff-piece mentions that he studied violin at Juilliard.

So it’s New York he’s looking at. No secret which job.

Musicians of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra have just passed a vote of no confidence in their management. ‘We no longer have faith in the abilities of our senior management to make decisions that are in the best interests of the company at large,’ they said in a letter.

The motion was connected to the cancelling, and de-cancelling, this week of a pianist who used the stage for making an anti-Israel statement that was seen by some MSO supporters as antisemitic. The handling of the issue was, by any measure, inept.

But the discontent goes way back. ‘Whilst this motion has been directly related to the events surrounding the cancellation this week, we see it as the culmination of years of unresolved concerns, ongoing mismanagement, and a consistent decline in workplace culture that has undermined the well-being of employees and the long-term success of the company. We no longer have faith in the abilities of our senior management to make decisions that are in the best interests of the company at large,’ the players said.

The managing director is a Canadian ex-flautist, Sophie Galaise (pictured). Also cited for blame is COO Guy Ross.

In the job for the past eight years, Galaise is in a very hot seat right now. Today’s Australian Financial Review’s headline reads: ‘Everyone is angry at Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, even its musicians’

UPDATE: Here’s the complete text of the musicians’ letter:

Friday, 16th August 2024
TO: The Board of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
c/o Demetrio Zima, Company Secretary, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
FROM: The Musicians of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
________________________________________________________________________
On behalf of the musicians of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, we wish to formally
express a Vote of No Confidence in Managing Director Sophie Galaise and Chief
Operating Officer Guy Ross. We have come to this decision by way of overwhelming
majority vote, held on the evening of August 15th, 2024.

We believe it is the duty of senior management to lead and manage in accordance with the
MSO’s Values and Behaviours, however it has become apparent that these values no
longer appear to be aligned with those of the Orchestra and staff. Furthermore, despite
ongoing attempts to engage with senior leadership and provide feedback through formal
channels; including committee consultations, employee culture surveys and internal
grievance procedures, the response from management has been insufficient, and in many
cases dismissive. The result has been a work environment characterised by poor
communication, a lack of accountability, and continuingly declining morale. More seriously,
numerous decisions made without consultation with staff and musicians have resulted in
significant negative artistic and financial impacts on the MSO, as well as on our perception
as an arts leader in Victoria and Australia. The gravity of the current situation faced by the
organisation this week concerning the cancellation of Jayson Gillham as soloist has only
served to highlight these issues, and demonstrate this continued pattern of behaviour.

The members of the orchestra in no way take this decision lightly, but believe that this
decision is vital for the ongoing viability of the company given the degree to which the
MSO’s reputation has been called into disrepute. Whilst this motion has been directly
related to the events surrounding the cancellation this week, we see it as the culmination
of years of unresolved concerns, ongoing mismanagement, and a consistent decline in
workplace culture that has undermined the well-being of employees and the long-term
success of the company. We no longer have faith in the abilities of our senior management
to make decisions that are in the best interests of the company at large.

In writing to you, the musicians are calling for the immediate stand down of Managing
Director Sophie Galaise and Chief Operating Officer Guy Ross and calling for a full and
impartial investigation into both the events of the cancellation of Jayson Gillham this week,
and further into the general standards of leadership that have lead to the ongoing issues
with communication, morale, and psychosocial hazards affecting our workforce.

We would request that an independent investigator is appointed by the Board and
approved by musicians and staff, with the results of any investigation enabling the
company to move forward on a united front, with the ability to rebuild our reputation and
ensure the security of our future as an orchestra. In their place in the meantime, we seek
interim leaders who will engage genuinely with staff, foster a culture of mutual respect and
collaboration, and prioritise the long-term health and sustainability of our organisation.
We are committed to seeing the MSO return to its position as an artistic leader in its field,
guided by the principles and behaviours enshrined in our company values. This requires a
transformative shift in our organisational culture, driven by leadership that embodies
transparency, empathy, and accountability. Our goal is to create a workplace that not only
excels artistically but also prioritises the well-being and development of every member of
our organisation.
Sincerely,
The Musicians of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

Laurie Niles, an LA freelancer, writes violinist.com, essential reading for strings players.

One day she got a call from her local band:

… In late February, I received an e-mail from a personnel director whom I’d never heard of: “Are you available for these dates?” As the longtime editor of Violinist.com, a longtime free-lancer and a teacher, I get a LOT of e-mail, a lot of not-doable requests, a lot of spam. My first assumption was, “Hmmm, this is probably some non-union gig that I’m going to have to politely decline…”

“Yes, I am available on those dates,” I wrote, and quickly pressed “send,” feeling like I was doing something a little naughty. Because of course they were not actually trying to ask me to play. This was a mistake or joke or mix-up. For sure.

“Great Laurie! You’ll be in the first violins, eighth stand!”

WHAT? Okay, look, first of all, I play second violin. The last time I played first violin I literally had a panic attack on stage…

Will she? Won’t she?

Read on here.

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra has announced the death of Joan Champie, the first woman to be admitted to its ranks. Champie, who was 92, played second oboe from 1955 to 1962.

She had a struggle to get there. At the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, the influential oboist Marcel Tabuteau told her ‘I don’t want to waste Curtis’s money on a woman,’ before taking her on as a private student. By way of reward, he let her sweep his studio floors.

Eventually, unable to reconcile her orchestra duties with raising two small children, Champie stepped down from the Baltimore Symphony after seven years.

She went on to obtain a university degree in speech pathology and a pilot’s license.

The MU has launched a campaign to resintate the full band that played on Strictly Come Dancing before distancing measures were introduced during Covid.

A mini-band continues to be used to accompany the dancers in one of the BBC’s most-watched shows.

The MU now accuses the BBC of maintaining Covid restrictions to save budget. It tweets: ‘Did you know Strictly is one of the biggest shows on UK television? Over 10m people tune in each week!

‘Cutting the band is not just a huge loss of earnings to the musicians. It denies audiences the opportunity to see and enjoy fully live music’

MU secretary Naomi Pohl adds: ‘It is always better for musicians to perform with live musicians than with a recording.’

The Russian Ministry of Culture has finally named an artistic director for the Moscow State Academic Symphony Orchestra, which has been headless for more than two years.

Ivan Nikiforchin (pictured), 29, replaces the popular Pavel Kogan who had led the orchestra from 1989.

Kogan fled Russia in March 2022, days after Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. He sent a letter of resignation from abroad.