Saturday, December 23, 2006

Some disassembly required?

I haven't heard yet that my favorite group of street musicians, users of my tax money and refusers of my personal money, has found a new concertmaster. It has been, what, three years? Could the problem be that anyone with the musical talent combined with the leadership capabilities necessary for the position would be too hard on the fragile egos of the children who are "the deciders" of the once promising Seattle Symphony Orchestra? (There is one guy there who couldn't even keep a job at Boeing, that's talent).
And now, they don't even have a executive director!
Paul Meecham is gone. We have an acting director, a girl! (just trying for some controversy here (see Deborah's blog (ceallaighgirl.blogspot.com) about the seal harvest))
What next, get rid of all the musicians and replace them with temps?
Works for some corporations, half time pay, no benefits.
Works for the guys down in Soundbridge.
Call it the great Pacific Northwest Temporary Band.
I can't comment on Mr. Schwartz's conducting because of my lack of musical sophistication, but he has lost his lip and is no longer a musician.
Unfortunately, he dosn't seem to have the leadership chops either.
A poster boy. An icon. A figurehead.
Alas.
What has the poor little guy (he only comes up to here on me) given up for his sycophantic desire to hob nob with the money?
There is a wonderful story in James Joyces "Dubliners" about lowering ones self into the heights of society. Called "The race" or something.
Not to mention the many popular artist's live's going into the dumper because of addictions to recreational drugs other than vanity (see the checkout displays at your local grocery store).
Sad, but true stories all.
Poor Gerard.
To continue the comparing SSO's leadership with the country's, we await the next big election hoping to find someone more worth trying to pretend we are smaller than.

It's fun to think of Benaroya Hall as a gigantic instrument case laid out as a beggar's bowl, but let's face it, that's what it is. We are Seattle, they sit below the salt.
They should try some humility, a little harder to digest than salt, but much healthier.

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5 Comments:

Blogger Robin said...

Pretty brutal criticism, but most likely deserved. Implosion is likely... then there can be the birth of something new and good.

May the year ahead hold many musical blessings for you.

6:37 PM  
Blogger Lane Savant said...

Thank you, robin. Love and joy to you
in the new year and ever after.

10:41 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

A good blogspot -- except the put-
down about the acting exec. dir. of the SeaSymph being a "girl". I don't know who this person is, but not all the females at 2nd and Union are incompetent; there are some (in the past) who were truly great, i.e. Deborah Card and Patricia Kim.
There were/are some great candidates for concert master/mistress; why none were selected I don´t know, as I don´t live in Seattle, but have attended concerts there. I also don´t understand why they don´t let you attend. Something is haywire there, but not because the acting gen. director is a "girl".
By the way, American Caroline Rückwardt is a great General Music Director at the Mainz Theater (in Germany), so a female can do that, too.
Lawrence Renes, who guested in Seattle is a great conductor, and the musicians love him in Bremen (Germany), where he is the GMD. I understand the SeaSymph musicians like him, too. But can he raise money as good as Schwarz??? That seems to be the major qualification to be a conductor in capitalist USA!!! Socialist East Germany produced a Kurt Masur, a great musician, but poor money raiser.

2:16 AM  
Blogger Lane Savant said...

sorry about the "girl" bit", humor is tough without the tone of voice. I agree about Deborah Card and Patricia Kim,Kristin Nyquist and many others.
Acting director is obviously not a mere "girl"
However it did work as to incite controversy. The joke is that a meaningless punk like me would have anything to say about it at all.
I have no children Ruby is my nephew's young woman of totally equal social status.uknabha

9:59 AM  
Blogger Lane Savant said...

What is wrong with being a girl?

9:52 AM  

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