The Cleveland Institute of Music is doing all it can to stop unhappy staffers from joining a union. It’s getting heated out there.
First up is board member Bonnie Cook:
Next, here’s a round-robin letter from Robert Vernon (pictured), retired principal violist of the Cleveland Orchestra (1976 to 2016) and CIM Professor of Viola for almost 50 years
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
I am writing to you to provide my perspective on the potential unionization of the Faculty at CIM. Having been an AFM member for more than fifty years and a member of CIM’s faculty for nearly as long, I hope that what follows will be helpful as you consider this important matter.
My long-held position has been that unions have a role to play in representing members of orchestras, largely because of the evolution of symphony orchestras over the past several decades. As we all know, the management of an orchestra encompasses complex human resource, finance, and artistic considerations, and the potential for section players especially to be disadvantaged has been mitigated successfully by the Cleveland AFM for some time. The pressures on orchestras to generate revenue from concerts, recordings, and touring are substantial enough that a functional union helps to manage players’ position when contracts are being negotiated.
Nevertheless, CIM is, in my view, a very different organization from the Cleveland Orchestra, with very different operational, financial, and artistic realities and pressures. Throughout its now more than 100 year history, we have been able to navigate those realities without resorting to bringing in a third party negotiator for our compensation.
I believe that this is appropriate, and even essential, in order for CIM to thrive, for the following reasons:
• AFM’s leadership and negotiators have no experience in negotiating salaries and compensation for college or university faculties. Whereas in the world of professional orchestras a strong union leadership has ready access to comparable contract information from other similar orchestra negotiations, this experience simply will not exist in the context of CIM’s contract negotiations. AFM will have to “figure things out” as it goes along, and this is likely not in our best interest.
• Recognizing that there have been significant differences of opinion on certain aspects of CIM’s aspirations and leadership, AFM will only represent you for compensation contracts. My understanding is that they will have no other function, and so, it will likely not be effective in helping to bridge those non-compensation disagreements.
• I continue to believe that a strong Faculty Senate leadership, along with a strong Dean’s Council, is the best path forward for our faculty and administrators. We know CIM, and AFM most certainly does not. We need maximum flexibility, and in many cases we benefit from receiving customized compensation packages. This mode of longstanding engagement will be a thing of the past if AFM takes charge of these negotiations.
In summary, I do not believe that unionizing will provide the solutions some on the Faculty currently seek. I believe that honest, direct dealings will always be the better route.
Warmly,
Bob
The Stuttgart Opera House opened its season unusually with a film premiere.
It’s a biopic by Joachim Lang of the brilliant dancer and choreographer John Cranko, who left the Royal Ballet in London after being arrested for a gay pick-up and found posterity and near-happiness in Stuttgart as its great dance creator.
Cranko choked to death in 1973 on a flight home from Philadelphia after suffering an adverse reaction to a sleeping pill.
Sam Riley (pictured) plays him in the new film.
A hostile reception was expected for Lotte de Beer’s new Carmen at the Volksoper, where the audience is treated to a frumpish heroine dressed head-to-toe in black and having little by way of the familiar character.
The French-born mezzo-soprano Katia Ledoux is a member of the Volksoper ensemble.
Stefan Ender wrote in Der Standard: ‘Ledoux’s Carmen seems somehow… woke. You could also imagine her doing gender studies with a latte macchiato with oat milk, when she’s not busy loving and suffering at the Volksoper as visual material in the director’s world of interpretation.’
photo: Barbara Pálffy, Vienna Volksoper
The longest-lasting, best-known marriage in the Italian performing arts was between the ballerina Carla Fracci and the stage director Beppe Menegatti. They met in 1954 at La Scala, where he was Luchino Visconti’s assistant, and married ten years later. Carla died in 2021, Beppe last night.
Beppe created 17 productions at La Scala, working also at other opera houses and in spoken theatre, where he directed Samuel Beckett.
The winner at the piano section of the 2024 George Enescu International Competition in Bucharest last night was Roman Lopatynskyi from Kyiv.
The runners-up were both Russian: Tatiana Dorokhova and Evgeny Konnov.
When the war ends, they can all be friends
In a staggering admission of senior ineptitude, English National Opera has hired a headhunter to find its next music director.
Choosing a chief conductor usually arises from discussions between the artistic director, the board and the musicians. In this case there appear to be no discussions.
The headhunter is Helen Sprott, former CEO of the ailing Philharmonia Orchestra and, before that, head of music at Arts Council England. Do contact her for auditions.
Her company, AEM, has flagged up the job on its website.
Don Hazelwood joined the Orchestra in 1952 and was Concertmaster from 1965–1998. His wife Anne Menzies was Second Clarinet from 1968–1992. Their daughter Jane has played in the viola section since 1995.
Jane’s youngest son Sebastian Pini (pic together), back from studying in Germany, played this weekend in the double bass section.
Jane’s late husband Carl Pini was concertmaster of the Philharmonia and Melbourne Symphony orchestras.
UPDATE: Sebastian’s brother Daniel was a cello fellow with the SSO in 2018.
Eleanor Powell, Thousands Cheer, Boogie Woogie
Last week I introduced many of you to the great movie tap dancer Eleanor Powell in her classic duet with Fred Astaire from Broadway Melody of 1940.
So many of you have asked for more of her, this time solo, without Fred. Here it is. It’s her dazzling solo performance from Thousands Cheer, a film designed to showcase her unique talent, made in 1943 during WW2 as a morale booster to cheer up the troops.
What she is doing with her legs and feet will make you gasp, especially if you’re a dancer or a dance lover who has ever tried tap. What is even more remarkable is that, even in close-up, she looks comfortable, she displays no effort at all, her body appears relaxed, her smile is natural and, at the end, she’s not even breathing hard.
Also notice how rarely the camera changes angles, showing that she did the entire sequence in only two takes.
Having rigged the finals to contrive a fairer gender balance, the Leeds Piano Competition was won tonight by a 24 year-old Canadian male.
Jaeden Izik-Dzurko, 24, triumphed with a performance of Brahms’s second piano concerto. He takes home £30,000 and a sheaf of orchestral engagements.
Jury chair Dame Imgoen Cooper said: ‘Our aim was to find not just the finest pianist, but the most complete musician, and with Jaeden we have achieved that. He demonstrated exceptional artistic maturity and imagination, remarkable technical command, and a profound ability to captivate and transport the audience through his storytelling and poetry throughout the Competition, culminating in a truly unforgettable final performance. We wish him, and all of the competitors, every success in the future, and have no doubt we will hear from many of them again.’
Eight semi-finalists have been named in Hannover:
Alexander Won-Ho Kim (31, South Korea)
Eunjoong Park (23, South Korea)
Alexandra Weissbecker (22, Germany)
Louisa Staples (24, Great Britain, pictured)
Kyumin Park (27, South Korea)
Angela Chan (27, Hong Kong/China)
Jacques Forestier (19, Canada)
Xunyue Zhang (20, China)
Message received:
Iván Fischer and his two orchestras launch European Orchestra Academy
This Monday, the Budapest Festival Orchestra, the European Union Youth Orchestra and the Music Director of both ensembles, Iván Fischer, will join forces in Brussel’s BOZAR concert hall to announce their joint project: the formation of the European Orchestra Academy.
16 young musicians from 12 countries, chosen from over 400 applicants, will play play in concerts within the Budapest Festival Orchestra from October 2024.
These young Academists are part of a unique project founded by Iván Fischer. His aim is to educate future musical leaders of orchestral playing and chamber music with social responsibility for the public they serve.
As with most orchestra academies, students will receive master classes. But additionally they will travel to most of the EU member states, playing chamber music in schools, hospitals, retirement homes – taking music to those most in need who are unable to visit concert halls
Uniquely, too, they will play regularly in the Budapest Festival Orchestra on tour and at home, with their positions confirmed already (please see attached information.)
All will be initially on a fixed twelve month contract, funded, in the first instance, by Iván Fischer personally, plus a group of loyal supporters including the Sylvia Toth Art and Culture Foundation. The aim is for the contracts to be extended for an additional year, subject to the necessary backing being secured.
To help fully realise this project, there is now a major fundraising campaign targetting individuals and private foundations who share our passion and concern about the future of music in Europe.
Selection Process From over 400 applicants (applying through muvac.com), 50 were invited to audition in Budapest.
Members of the Budapest Festival Orchestra voted, with the final decision being made by Iván Fischer.
In future, pre-auditions will be held by the European Union Youth Orchestras. Ivan’s aim is to develop the EUYO as a magnet for the most talented music students in Europe, thus creating a path for the best ones to move on from the EUYO to the Academy.
