Few conductors command the respect of the Cleveland Orchestra like former music director Christoph von Dohnanyi. Is it better for a leader to be loved than feared, or feared than loved? CvD leads with a fair mix of both; he is exacting and demanding, and the orchestra loves him for the results his approach yields. He conducts works by Mozart, Tchaikovsky and Widmann this Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Severance Hall.
Here he is speaking with Cleveland Orchestra Musicians:
By Sonja Braaten, violin
On Friday night, October 22nd, violinist Emma Shook, violist Lisa Boyko, and retired TCO cellist Diane Mather volunteered their services for “A Classical Evening of Friendraising and Fundraising” to benefit The Gathering Place. The Gathering Place is a caring community that supports, educates and empowers individuals and families touched by cancer through programs and services provided free of charge.
One of the main goals of this event was to build a donor base and more awareness for The Gathering Place’s west side location at 800 Sharon Drive, Westlake. Their Beachwood location at 23300 Commerce Park is in its eleventh year and is thriving, tending to the needs of more than 20,000 people over the past 10 years. The hope is that the Westlake campus can help just as many people.
Our goal was to raise $10,000 for The Gathering Place, and we’re thrilled to report that the evening resulted in almost twice that: over $19,000 in donations!
The event was held at the amazing Avon Lake home of Kathy and Alex Hahn on the shore of Lake Erie. Guests were treated to cocktails and heavy hors d’ouevres as they enjoyed performances of Beethoven’s String Trio #1 in E flat, Opus 3 and Erno von Dohnanyi’s Serenade in C, Opus 10. This was the first joint project between musicians of The Cleveland Orchestra and The Gathering Place. And seeing as how it was a sold out event, it was a very successful evening!
There is another house concert/friendraising event scheduled for January, this time in Florida while The Cleveland Orchestra is in Miami for their residency. Scheduled to perform is the Amici Quartet, comprised of TCO members Takako Masame, Miho Hashizume, Lynne Ramsey, and Ralph Curry.
Special thanks go to Beth Darmstadter, Director of Development, and Eileen Saffran, Founder and Executive Director of the The Gathering Place for welcoming us into their “family.”
Herbert Blomstedt has long been a favorite guest conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra. Always enormously gracious while demanding the utmost integrity, his interpretations and performances have an old-world depth, richness, and confidence that inspires some of the orchestra’s best playing. He is in control of every nuance in every bar of the score, yet grants the players freedom and spontaneity. While conducting, his face often glows with a giddy smile, as if thinking, “This is fun“.
On the final concert of his recent series at Severance Hall the orchestra refused to stand for a bow, insisting that he accept the ovation himself.
Here he is speaking with Cleveland Orchestra Musicians:
The orchestra and choir are much more than artistic studies. They are examples and schools of social life. To sing and to play together, means to intimately coexist.
-Jose Antonio Abreu
Photo by Roger Mastroianni
Violinist Isabel Trautwein is a recipient of the Abreu Fellowship, named for the founder of the enormously successful and influential El Sistema program in Venezuela (of which Gustavo Dudamel, music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic is a graduate), and the newly developed El Sistema USA. Fellows spend one year studying in Boston and Caracas, with the goal of bringing the concepts of El Sistema to American cities.
Follow Isabel throughout the Fellowship on her Blog
Read more about the Fellowship, El Sistema, and Isabel:
New England Conservatory, host of the Fellowship Program
Imagine the bewilderment on the faces of a hotels’ housekeeping staff when, prepared to clean the rooms, they walk down the hallway and see a row of “Do Not Disturb” signs, accompanied by a cacophony of metronomes, scales, arpeggios, symphonies, overtures, and concertos.
It’s often said that playing an instrument is like paddling upstream: if you’re not constantly working to move forward, then you’re actually moving backward. On a two-week tour across many different countries and time-zones, practicing to stay in shape on your instrument can feel like paddling up a waterfall. Here are a few shots of Cleveland Orchestra Musicians practicing when and where they can on tour:
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- Scott Dixon practices backstage (photo by Linnea Nereim)
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- Hans Clebsch at the Abbey of St. Florian (photo by Linnea Nereim)
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- Principal Trombone Massimo La Rosa visualizes a passage of music (photo by Linnea Nereim)
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- Tubist Yasu Sugiyama warms up at the St. Florian Abbey (photo by Linnea Nereim)
By Kathleen Collins
We returned from our European Festivals tour nearly 3 weeks ago and since all of the kids are now back to school I have finally had a chance to reflect upon this latest travel experience. Touring with the orchestra is typically a highlight of any season, both musically and culturally. The orchestra is always at its supremely wonderful best on these occasions, and its artistry is inevitably enhanced by the beauty and majesty of our European surroundings.
I have often taken the opportunity to include my family in some way on our tours. My husband occasionally comes with mewithout the kids for a portion of our trip. We have also opted to bring the whole family just at the end of a tour when the orchestra has a vacation and we can then travel a bit on our own.
This tour was particularly special for me because I was able to bring my 13 year old daughter, Maya, along on the majority of the trip all by herself. This was an unusual experience for a number of reasons. I’ve never had such an extended period of time with one of my children separately, and I’ve never had a family member with me for the entire duration of a working tour. I was not sure how things would go, but had high hopes for a great time.
What a terrific experience we both had! We flew out 1 day ahead of the orchestra which enabled us to spend a couple of nights in London. We took a train from London to York, spent the night in York, and then took a train to Edinburgh to meet the orchestra for our first concert. I was careful to plan our itinerary around Maya’s interests so we were heavy on castles and mountains, and light on museums throughout the journey. After meeting the orchestra we traveled and stayed with the group through Edinburgh, Grafenegg (Krems), and Linz, Austria. We then met my husband and two sons in Salzburg on a free day, and traveled via car but parallel to the orchestra for our concerts in Merano, Italy, and Luzern, Switzerland. On the last day the boys left to go back to Munich, from where they flew home, and Maya and I finished up with the orchestra in Stresa, Italy.
The Europe tour made quite a positive impact on my daughter for many reasons. Of course she loved being in all of those beautiful locations in Europe and she certainly appreciated several days of her mom’s focused attention. But there were some less obvious benefits as well. For the first time she was able to act as a true team member with me, rather than taking her usual role as that of a subordinate child. This was especially apparent in the days before meeting the orchestra as we navigated our way around London on the Tube, lugged our suitcases, and made our plane and train connections. Once we were with the group she was thrilled to experience first-hand a working Cleveland Orchestra tour, with an emphasis on ‘working’. Although we have time for fun and sight-seeing, a tour is hard work and often high pressure for the orchestra members. It is an eye opening experience to see and hear what it takes for the people in the orchestra to be able to maintain their high artistic standards amid sometimes grueling travel days, and occasionally inconvenient or unpredictable circumstances. Maya heard people practicing in the hotel rooms, saw me leave early for rehearsals and concerts to get some extra preparation time, and heard us discussing concerts and music all around her. She also noticed the stellar reputation that precedes us wherever we play, and how much pressure there is for us to maintain that reputation. Maya most loved the unity and sort of “large family” feeling that we all share on a tour. She got to enjoy meals with many different orchestra members, heard our funny stories, babysat for colleagues, and even went to a post-concert orchestra party in Edinburgh.
For me, the privilege of including my daughter in all of this was really its own reward. I loved the quality time we spent together and watched my child go a long way down the path to adulthood on this trip. She is an adventurous, independent, creative, and compassionate young woman, but still loves to feed the ducks in St. James Park and the swans in Luzern just as she did at age 5. Some of Maya’s observations on the tour – Edinburgh was her favorite city, but she said that the Scottish people were the craziest. Riding the Eye over London was her favorite experience. Switzerland was the most beautiful country, but didn’t get her vote for favorite country overall because it was too expensive. That vote went to the U.K. Favorite food was anything Italian. The Sheraton Grand Hotel and Spa in Edinburgh was the best hotel ever!
So, 3 weeks later I am still reminiscing happily and gratefully over this amazing trip. How fortunate we are to have the opportunity to travel and play in such wonderful places. I feel so extremely lucky to have this remarkable daughter and the chance to spend time with her in this unique way. I am hoping very much to do the same thing with my two sons as well when they are old enough!
Kathleen Collins, violin Sept. 17, 2010
By Rick Stout
This tour is quite unique and special for me as it is my first tour since returning from a two-year medical leave. Following a slip-and-fall on some icy stairs I spent two full seasons and three Blossoms as a full-time patient. That’s another story, but I thought it might be interesting to hear some observations from a fresh set of eyes and ears on what touring with the orchestra is like.
To begin with, I brought my own concerns with me in returning with multiple surgical repairs to the rigors of playing and traveling. It may come as a surprise, but by far the easier of the two has been the playing. Though I was a bit apprehensive initially as to how well and completely I would recover my musical skills after such a long hiatus, my practicing progressed without a hitch over the two months I gave myself to be ready to rejoin the band. Still, the first rehearsal back I was nervous to see if I would fit back in and be up to the level expected. Halfway through that first 10 o’clock service I had my answer. I had always said that this is the easiest orchestra to play in because it is so damn good, and that was still true. That accuracy and refinement made it so incredibly easy to fit right back in, and the warm supportive nature of my colleagues made me feel like I was back home.
Once we left home I had to deal with the travel aspect. I think every case of injury or even just soreness is individual and unique, so I’ll just offer a couple of thoughts about travel and its effects on the body: it’s awful! Cramped plane seats, airless compartments, and slogging through lines of people just as unhappy as you are nothing new. But these have proved to be a challenge to my newly repaired back and shoulder. Though everyone really should be doing some type of preventive or restorative exercise to counter these, for me it is proving to be crucial. So later today, when we arrive in Italy and get checked into the hotel, I will be getting to a gym or at least doing exercises with my therapy bands to try and fix what it feels like this vibrating bus is doing as I write.
But for the interesting part! Once the travel itself has been accomplished, the rest of the tour is fantastic! To be back playing with this orchestra in the venues we have been visiting is wonderful. Last night we performed Bruckner 8 in “his” church in St. Florian. It is a humbling and inspiring experience to hear his music reverberating throughout this impossibly beautiful and rather mystical setting. I followed up the performance immediately with a beer, while in tails and with instrument in other hand, from the small restaurant in the abbey. Similarly if less magnificent, the evening before we played at the outdoor venue of Graffenegg (which loosely translates to “green eggs and ham”) and though the concert hall was acoustically challenging it was great to rip through Ein Heldenleben and be handed a nice glass of Gruner Veldtliner backstage. Nothing quite tops the hall in Cologne for the perform/drink combo, where costumed young Frauleins hand you a local Koelsch beer as you leave the stage. No word yet on my proposal to our management that we institute something like this for all of our Severance Hall concerts.
While Edinburgh’s Usher Hall was quite nice to perform in, what was great about that first tour stop was the town itself for me. Just an easy town to spend a few days in, get over jet lag in, and wander about sightseeing. Of course the castle in the center of town, which offered a spectacular view from my posh hotel room, is a major tourist draw, along with the Royal Mile of shops and street performers just below. But there is much much more outside of those heavily trafficked areas. While many of my colleagues took excursions to golf or sightsee in the surrounding countryside, I contented myself with walks into less popular parts of town where I got more of a local flavor. On one of these I found a lovely small French bistro I would not have otherwise, and four of us had a memorable dinner there the last night. Another great find was the Modern Gallery and its provocative collection, including a couple of Scottish painters I was previously unfamiliar with. Too bad they had a no photography policy, as the first room I entered had a large piece that made me laugh – a table and chairs almost identical to ours at home except blown up to maybe 5 times normal size. As I stood there looking up at the bottom of the table I thought how much it must resemble the view at home for our cat. I resisted the urge to jump up on it- I figured the guard might not lightly scold me and set me down with a scratch on the chin.
So, a week into tour I can report that the orchestra is playing well and traveling well. Even on the couple of hard days where we travel many hours then play a concert, the level of musicianship and courtesy displayed is inspiring. Welcome back, indeed.
Rick Stout, trombone
Kevin Switalski warming up in front of his travel trunk.
By Marisela Sager
As the task of packing for another tour is upon me, I thought I might share some of it: perhaps interesting for you and therapeutic for me.
The orchestra has wardrobe and instrument trunks that travel with us everywhere we tour. In them we pack our concert necessities: instruments, backup instruments, our concert black, sewing kit, lint roller (when you wear so much black…), etc. The orchestra will travel with approximately 92 trunks on this tour. We pack them up here in Cleveland and they appear again (thanks to our amazing stage managers and operations staff ) in Edinburgh.
Somehow before every tour the chore of packing sneaks up on me. Getting organized seems to be the hardest part.
Step 1: Do laundry!
When packing for a 2-3 week trip across multiple climates, you want to have all your options available.
Step 2: Go shopping for anything that’s missing
Usually this includes an attempt at finding the illusive stylish but comfortable walking shoe.
Marisela and Searan
Step 3: Air out the trunk and spray with Febreze
This step needs no further explanation!
Step 4: Be kind to your trunk mate
Wardrobe trunks are shared between two people. My trunk mate is the beautiful, talented, and charming Saeran St. Christopher…now I can check step 4 off my list.
Step 5: Pack it all in, knowing that you’re probably forgetting something!
~Marisela Sager, flute
Few musicians have as strong a claim to the title “Living Legend” as Pierre Boulez. From his notorious article Schoenberg Is Dead, to his founding of the Ensemble Intercontemporain, to his famed conducting, Boulez is, simply put, a giant.
He spoke with Cleveland Orchestra Musicians on a recent conducting trip to Cleveland:
Clockwise from top left: Mark Jackobs, Sonja Braaten, Alan Harrell, Scott Dixon, Martha Baldwin, Alicia Koelz, Brian Thornton, Joanna Patterson, Emma Shook, Lynne Ramsey. (Photo by Micah Leibowitz)
On a perfect August evening, 10 Cleveland Orchestra string players banded together to perform J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concert #3 for a variety of purposes. The event took place Friday, August 6th, at the Solon Arts Center under the stars (well, under a tent under the stars) and featured a wine tasting, hors d’oeuvres, and dinner as a fundraiser for the Solon Philharmonic. As well as wanting to support another musical arts organization in the Cleveland area, TCO musicians felt compelled to donate their services in honor of their former colleague, violinist Leon Lazarev, who passed away earlier this spring and whose name will be forever attached to the Solon Philharmonic’s concertmaster chair. And yet one more reason for TCO musicians’ involvement in the evening was the exciting announcement of Brian Thornton, cellist with The Cleveland Orchestra, who performed with the group, as the Solon Philharmonic’s Associate Conductor.
Sonja, Alicia, Brian, Martha and Lynne. (Photo by Micah Leibowitz)
The concert began with the first and third movements of Schubert’s Cello Quintet performed by Sonja Braaten and Alicia Koelz, violins, Lynne Ramsey, viola, and Brian Thornton and Martha Baldwin, cello. They were later joined by Emma Shook, violin, Mark Jackobs and Joanna Patterson, viola, David Alan Harrell, cello, and Scott Dixon, bass for the Brandenburg. Lydia Lazarev, Leon’s widow, was in attendance and was very touched by the musicians’ performance, saying, “Leon is smiling.”
Alfresco Friday was generously sponsored by Friends of Solon Center for the Arts as well as Solon Wine and Liquor. Local personality, John Rinaldi, served as emcee and the young cast from “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” (SCA Summer Stock Theater) performed selections from the musical. Members of the Solon City Council present included Vice Mayor Lon Stolarsky, Bill Tusso, Bill Mooney, and Rick Bell.
On a personal note, I would like to thank my colleagues for donating their time, energy, and talent for this event. At one point in the Brandenburg, I looked around and thought to myself, (not for the first time in my tenure in this Orchestra!) how incredibly lucky I am to work and play music with such a wildly talented group of people.
–Sonja Braaten, violin
(Photo by Micah Leibowitz)
We had a strenuous, but beautiful ride to Blossom on Saturday, July 31. We gathered at Steelyard Commons & left around 10 am, after Mark Dumm spent a few minutes adeptly convincing the security guy that indeed we were not planning on partying in their parking lot all day! Mark was our fearless leader & organized the route, the food & the support vehicles, driven by Leslie Dumm & Emma Shook. Stopped several times to eat & drink, arriving at Blossom around 2:45 for the 3:30 rehearsal. It was a fun group, about 20 in all, including musicians, staff, family & even neighbors.
–Beth Woodside, violin
Five good friends, all members of The Cleveland Orchestra, step out of Severance Hall and into The Happy Dog for one night only, June 23, 2010.
Join us for an evening of quirky chamber music, beer, tater tots, and the best gourmet hot dogs $5 can buy.
Amy Lee, violin
Joanna Patterson, viola
Charles Bernard, cello
Joshua Smith, flute
Frank Rosenwein, oboe
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On June 6th at 4:00, ten current and retired Cleveland Orchestra Musicians will be joined by 65 kids aged 5-14 for this performance at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. The concert is presented as part of the museum’s Wild Music: Sounds and Songs of Life exhibit, which explores the ways that humans and animals have created sound and music from pre-history to the present.
Taco, The Awesome Children’s Orchestra was created in 2006 by Isabel Trautwein, violinist in The Cleveland Orchestra. The idea: creating a group of kids and professionals that want to simply meet and play music together. For the kids this is a wonderful way to feel the energy of high-level playing. For the adults a way to share the passion that inspired us to make this our lives.
See the flier for this event, and read more on the TACO blog.
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Thanks to all who attended and performed at the memorial service and concert for Leon Lazarev on Sunday, May 30th. The hour and a half-long program was filled with beautiful performances by Leon’s friends and colleagues, along with touching remarks from Steve Rose, principal second violin, and Gary Hanson, executive director.
Especially poignant was Gary Hanson’s presentation of the engraved watch (which Leon would have received at this years’ party honoring 25-year members of the orchestra), to Leon’s son, Vladimir: ”Leon’s contribution will live on every time the Cleveland Orchestra plays. Vladimir, we know that you will wear this watch with pride, and with love.”
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The Cleveland Orchestra Musicians give their heartfelt thanks to the supporters and fans of the Cleveland Orchestra. Before and after last weeks’ concerts at Severance Hall, the musicians met with audience members in the lobby to say hello and show our appreciation. We always love to see you from the stage, but it was especially nice to get to talk with many of you in person!
We are grateful for you support and for making our concerts possible. It’s been a great season, and we look forward to seeing you this summer at Blossom.
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“Regrettable things get said in the public-relations battlefield of orchestra negotiations, but it’s curious for management to suggest that it’s paying players for the hours they work rather than the talent they possess, which isn’t very smart when you’re in the business of promoting the idea that what you have is the best.”
- Peter Dobrin, Philadelphia Inquirer Music Critic
Thank you for your support of The Cleveland Orchestra.
Each of us on the stage is one of the best musicians there is on our particular instrument. We won our positions in this orchestra after highly competitive auditions. But it’s not just our individual talent that makes The Cleveland Orchestra one of the best in the world. It’s our commitment to quality and musical integrity, both individually and collectively.
Today we find ourselves at a turning point in our careers as musicians. Over the past decade, while the Musical Arts Association has promoted us around the world as “the best,” our standing in compensation among American orchestras, both in salary and benefits, has slipped from the top tier to the second tier. As we all know, no company can keep its employees, much less recruit new talent, without paying a competitive wage, particularly when these same people are being recruited by other orchestras, ensembles, music schools and other venues on a regular basis.
We understand that these are unprecedented economic times in America and that all arts organizations are feeling the brunt of the recession with a decline in attendance, in annual giving and in their endowments. We are being told by our management that we have to accept a cut in both salary and benefits, because they have shown their willingness to share in the financial sacrifice. In point of fact, we have given concessions in our last two contracts both with pay freezes and drastic reductions in benefits. It is because of these reductions that we’ve slipped so far. We never used to pay our healthcare premiums. Now we share in the cost. We used to have a defined benefit retirement plan. Now we have no guaranteed benefit, and our investments in the stock market have taken the same hit as MAA’s endowment fund, in some cases more. We also have fewer opportunities for royalties and other sources of income from our work with the orchestra.
We’re not complaining. In fact, we’re proud that we have been partners with management in finding creative ways to keep the quality of our music at the top in a fiscally responsible way. Unfortunately, if we accept MAA’s current offer to us, we believe it will be the beginning of the end of the international reputation of The Cleveland Orchestra. We’re at the tipping point. As one of our members said in a recent meeting, “I came here to play with The Cleveland Orchestra, not some orchestra in Cleveland.” If we become just some orchestra in Cleveland, I doubt that you will want to continue to hear us play.
We applaud our Music Director, Franz Welser-Möst, for his passion and his commitment to quality; also our marketing department for promoting us as “the best” wherever we travel. Although our advertising praises us in print, our management belittles us when they meet with us, for example telling people in a press release that we work only 20 hours a week. Talk about an insult; if we worked only those hours you can be sure we wouldn’t sound like The Cleveland Orchestra. Look at it this way: given the same price for a ticket, would you rather pay to see the original Broadway cast of “Les Misérables” or see the third generation road show? By the same token, would you rather hear Beethoven’s 9th Symphony played by The Cleveland Orchestra or by some orchestra in Cleveland?
Again, thank you for your support of The Cleveland Orchestra.
What’s at stake here is holding onto one of the few – one or two or three – institutions in Cleveland that can truly be listed among the best in the world.
– Cleveland Magazine
Mr. Dennis La Barre
President
Board of the Cleveland Orchestra
Severance Hall
11001 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44106-1713
Mr. Gary Hanson
Chief Executive Officer
Musical Arts Association
Severance Hall
11001 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44106-1713
Dear Mr. La Barre and Mr. Hanson:
I strongly oppose any effort by the Musical Arts Association (MAA) to force the musicians of the Cleveland Orchestra to take an unreasonable and unwarranted 5% pay cut following already significant reductions in their health care and retirement plans. I urge you to resume meaningful negotiations with the musicians and ensure their compensation package is sufficiently competitive to maintain or increase the caliber of the Cleveland Orchestra.
It is my understanding the workers have agreed to take a one-year salary freeze, and that the MAA has refused this offer. Furthermore, I am told that the proposed 5% pay cut would increase the gap in annual compensation between the Cleveland Orchestra and other top ranked orchestras in the United States to over $15,000 in the next few years.
As you know, the Cleveland Orchestra has long been one of the top orchestras in the nation. Following significant reductions in salary and benefits over the past few years, the Orchestra’s standing has slipped compared to orchestras across the country. I am concerned that without a top-tier compensation package, the Cleveland Orchestra will be unable to recruit or retain world class musicians.
The Musical Arts Association has an obligation to the musicians of the Cleveland Orchestra and to the Greater Cleveland Community to ensure the Cleveland Orchestra’s continued excellence. The future of the Cleveland Orchestra is at stake. I urge you to negotiate in good faith with the musicians.
Sincerely,
Dennis J Kucinich
Member of Congress
(Download PDF of the original letter from Congressman Dennis Kucinich)
Letter to the Editor, Cleveland Plain Dealer
13 January 2010
One of the things that drew me to move to Cleveland was the greatness of the Cleveland Orchestra. If that greatness is diminished in any way, it will negatively impact this community in incalculable ways.
Let me share with you what I know about orchestra musicians- they are highly trained and conditioned athletes. Most began their musical schooling when their parents still had to hold their hands when they crossed the street. Even after winning their highly competitive positions in the Cleveland Orchestra, they continue to hone their skills some 40 to 60 hours per week, not the 20 hours per week that was recently published. Not a single one of them would keep their coveted jobs if they only played their instruments the hours they are required to be on stage. Does LeBron James play basketball two hours a day only at games?
Many of these orchestra musicians own instruments that cost more than their home mortgages. This labor dispute is not between the orchestra musicians and the management or the board, this dispute is between the arts and our region. Decades ago, the citizens of Cleveland decided that they would support one of the world’s best orchestras, if not the world’s best orchestra. It is up to the philanthropy of those in this community who believe in what this orchestra and all of the arts bring to the region who need to step forward and support what is truly theirs- the musicians of the great Cleveland Orchestra.
A silent concert hall is a terrible place. Don’t let that happen in your own back yard.
Peter Landgren
Conservatory Director
Baldwin-Wallace College
Former Associate Principal Horn
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
I’m just a musician. I’m not a lawyer, a statistician, a businesswoman, a fundraiser or an arts manager. I do not come armed with statistics about other orchestras, other businesses, and other non-profit organizations, although I, as well as the community at large, have been bombarded with unsavory news regarding the economic downturn.
But I do know one thing. The Cleveland Orchestra is not, as one colleague so astutely voiced at a recent meeting, an orchestra in Cleveland. The Cleveland Orchestra is a local, national, and international cultural gem, a true ambassador for Cleveland which serves to represent our city’s and our country’s cultural and musical standards. It is comprised of musicians from all over the world who have dedicated, not 20 hours a week, but their entire lives, many since the age of 3 or 5 (like me) to being the most competitive artists for the top-notch, internationally recognized institutions. Many of us spent summers from the age of 10 or 12 in summer music programs, practicing 4-6 hours a day, playing in orchestra, playing chamber music, studying with the most eminent teachers and performers of our time. Then, those of us who continued on into musical careers, attended the most competitive schools in existence, practiciing 4-8 hours a day, continuing in prestigious summer programs, and training for weeks, months, and years, to enter into the orchestral world. I believe that it is essential for our management, the Musical Arts Association, who books us in the most sought-after concert halls in the world such as Carnegie Hall, the Musikverein in Vienna, the Salzburg and Lucerne Festivals, the London Proms, the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami, and many more, to prioritize the well-being and profile, both in the way of remuneration and benefits, of the musicians of The Cleveland Orchestra. A modest and reasonable request for a temporary pay and benefits freeze should be met with gratitude and cooperation. If we work together, the sky’s the limit!
I respectfully and gratefully acknowledge the shared sacrifice of our colleagues on the staff, in management positions of different kinds, and of our music director, Franz Welser-Most, who generously committed to a percentage cut during 2009. But, being the outstanding musician that he is, with the ears, mind, talent and dedication to this Orchestra that he has displayed since day 1, he would be terribly disillusioned by a dwindling of his recent audition winners and of other talented musicians who would be snapped up by institutions with more satisfying working conditions. The decline in remuneration and accompanying benefits precedes the artistic decline and the latter will be an eventual inevitability. And the community of Cleveland will be the first to suffer.
One of our most esteemed and frequent guest conductors with whom we won a Grammy Award some years ago, received our applause with the comment, “but what is a conductor without an orchestra?” In our industry, no truer words have been spoken!
Carolyn Gadiel Warner
Violinist and Pianist, member of TCO since 1979
The Cleveland Duo/The Cleveland Duo and James Umble
As a member of the Cleveland Orchestra I would appreciate the opportunity to present the musicians’ perspective on our contract negotiations with the Musical Arts Association.
The Orchestra is not just a group of musicians trying to maintain their livelihood. The Orchestra is what brings great music to life week after week at Severance Hall. It is the product that the MAA “produces”. If a furniture company is famous for producing handcrafted, solid wood furniture, what will happen to its reputation if it starts using particle board and veneer? Likewise, if MAA continues to downgrade the compensation and benefits offered the Cleveland Orchestra, it will not be long before the great players they are used to hiring will not even audition here anymore.
The fact is, MAA has been downgrading the Orchestra for several years. As a result of major concessions in previous contract negotiations, Cleveland has already fallen behind the other Big Five orchestras. But MAA has been eroding the integrity of the Orchestra in more subtle ways. Since cellist Harvey Wolfe retired a few years ago there has been an alarming trend to keep positions in the Orchestra unfilled. While there is no good artistic reason for this, bean-counters will recognize it as a money-saving strategy. Currently we have five unfilled string positions, and second harp has been eliminated altogether. Delays in hiring principal and associate principal trombonists saved MAA lots of money, while putting a tremendous burden on the rest of the trombone section for four years.
Despite these pressures, the Orchestra continues to perform at the highest level, bringing in rave reviews from all over the world. MAA makes the most of this golden reputation (remember “the best band in the land”?) to charge higher fees for tour appearances, while lowering the bar at home. Their new campaign of “shared sacrifice” was the drum roll for the musicians to “step up and take their turn”.
The Orchestra is taking its turn. Our proposal is now on the table to freeze salaries and benefits for one year, at which time the economy will likely have stabilized enough to provide a better framework for future planning and negotiating. MAA’s refusal to even consider this proposal reveals their true strategy: They want to use the historic recession of 2009 to completely restructure the Orchestra, make it more “manageable” and “affordable”. If the economy continues to recover, however, the opportunity will slip through their fingers. While the recession did damage the financial health of our organization, the situation is not as dire as MAA claims. The endowment has recovered much of its former value, a large parcel of Blossom land has been sold to the National Parks, and there are other resources available to help weather this economic storm without compromising the quality of the product. In addition, new programming and marketing strategies are bringing new listeners, and hopefully making more life-long fans of classical music and the Cleveland Orchestra.
Yet MAA chooses to play hardball in this negotiation. Last week, numbers appeared in the paper, and in letters to patrons, which are very misleading. The salary figure published was not the base salary currently under discussion, but probably that of the highest-paid and most senior principal player. More alarming is the statement that the musicians of the Orchestra only work 20 hours per week, a blatant put-down, as MAA knows full well that every one of us puts in many hours of individual practice each week. This statement also ignores the fact that we routinely volunteer our services for chamber music concerts and outreach or development events. These tactics make one wonder if MAA really values The Cleveland Orchestra, or if they would be satisfied with just an orchestra in Cleveland.
In conclusion, I want to let you know that I am willing go on strike over this, not for my own sake, but for the sake of the musicians who will replace me and my colleagues. We, the current membership of the Cleveland Orchestra, are willing to make this shared sacrifice, hoping to preserve this Jewel for a future Cleveland.
Sincerely,
Lisa Boyko, Violist