Here is a link to a news story published on a Brazilian website. I put it through Google translate so it reads a bit weird. Basically the gist of it is that the conductor Roberto Minczuk wants all 82 musicians to re-audition for their jobs or they will be replaced! Insane!

I have also heard from a South American musician that 14 of the musicians of this orchestra were fired this past Christmas eve (!!!) through registered mail.

Obviously, I find this situation very alarming. Maestro Minczuk has regular conducting engagements here in North America. He is also the music director of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. Has anyone on these forums had to work with him? I feel for the musicians of this orchestra.

http://translate.google.com/tr...-assedio-moral.shtml

I lived in Brasil several years ago for three months, and I have a friend who plays in this orchestra. I will email him and get to the bottom of this. Thanks!!

I heard from my friend. He used to play in the OSB and has moved to another orchestra. My friend said that Minczuk insists on re auditioning the entire orchestra and giving incentives for early outs. He also said that the case goes to the Labour Court this Friday. He said a few other things that I probably shouldn't post!

There don't appear to be any Americans in the orchestra at the moment, but there have been in the past; however, there are at least two musicians from the UK, the harpist and
the principal cellist and maybe some other nationalities too.

Here are some other stories in Portuguese about the situation. You can run them through a translation program or use the google chrome browser which will translate them for you.

http://news.google.com.br/news...zuk&cf=all&scoring=n

This message has been edited. Last edited by: delmarw,

It's getting nasty...

http://www.artsjournal.com/sli...on_jury_named_a.html

Inteview with Minczuk in Veja.

Google translation of article in Portuguese.

http://translate.google.com/tr...2337/roberto-minczuk

Article in Portuguese:
http://vejabrasil.abril.com.br...2337/roberto-minczuk

Have to watch closely to see how this turns out.

There has been a long discussion about this topic on the trumpetherald website. It is absolutely worth reading. Several Brasilian trumpeters have chimed in.
http://trumpetherald.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=104877

Minczuk must be horribly short-sighted. Does he think any other orchestra is going to want to work with him? Apparently some orchestras he is scheduled to conduct are planning on staging some kind of protest. The whole musical world knows about this scandal. He will not be hired to be music director of any orchestra once his tenure with his 2 orchestras are over. Career suicide! Way to go Minczuk!

Kurt Masur weighs in on the situation. Roberto Minczuk played horn in the Gewandhaus and Masur's wife is Brasilian, so this doesn't surprise me at all.

http://www.artsjournal.com/sli..._now_kurt_masur.html

It is not unheard of. In European orchestras it's called "Attestation" and it happens every 3-5 years in salaried orchestras.

It is especially healthy for string sections, which keeps them in shape. Of course, in some extreme cases of professional inability the musician is asked to resign...

Delmarw may remember the previous CSO music director and his decision about several "mildewed" violinists in the orchestra.

quote:

I have also heard from a South American musician that 14 of the musicians of this orchestra were fired this past Christmas eve (!!!) through registered mail.

http://www.artsjournal.com/sli...hief_appeals_fo.html

Looks like the Christmas eve firings actually happened in 2006, according to the letter in the link above.

quote:

Originally posted by I am wonderful:
Minczuk must be horribly short-sighted. Does he think any other orchestra is going to want to work with him? Apparently some orchestras he is scheduled to conduct are planning on staging some kind of protest. The whole musical world knows about this scandal. He will not be hired to be music director of any orchestra once his tenure with his 2 orchestras are over. Career suicide! Way to go Minczuk!

In the US, Conductors are hired by board members, not musicians. These days, there's an anti-union, anti-worker, pro rich guy mvmt in several midwest states. If the guy needs a gig, I'm sure the Koch Brothers think he's a superhero, and would love to hear him conduct their favorite German goose-stepping Marches.

quote:

Originally posted by ClefChef:
It is not unheard of. In European orchestras it's called "Attestation" and it happens every 3-5 years in salaried orchestras.

ClefChef - which European orchestras are you talking about here? I have worked for many years in orchestras in 4 different European countries, and have never heard about anything like this. Some places musicians are fired with or without reason - but a general re-auditioning of everyone in an orchestra is something I never heard of.

(The closest story I can recall is from Italy, where an orchestra was closed some years ago, everyone lost their jobs - but a few months later, a new orchestra was founded in the same city, and there were open auditions for all positions. Of course, many were won by musicians from the former orchestra, but far from all).

I know that in Canada, musicians have a big say in who gets hired, but ultimately you are right, it is the board that hires. However given the situation down there, I think he will have a much harder time being hired to be music director of another orchestra. He must be hoping to get tenure for life from the OSB or something. Check this out:
http://www.artsjournal.com/sli...he_front_widens.html

Oh SNAP!


In the US, Conductors are hired by board members, not musicians. These days, there's an anti-union, anti-worker, pro rich guy mvmt in several midwest states. If the guy needs a gig, I'm sure the Koch Brothers think he's a superhero, and would love to hear him conduct their favorite German goose-stepping Marches.[/QUOTE]

Now, why would any musician fear "re-evaluation"? One can guess why...

ClefChef - are you going to answer Eurobasoon's question? I'm curious too - does this really happen every few years in salaried European orchestras? I'd love to see some proof of this. Any other salaried European players care to chime in?

quote:

Originally posted by RWhite:
ClefChef - are you going to answer Eurobasoon's question? I'm curious too - does this really happen every few years in salaried European orchestras? I'd love to see some proof of this. Any other salaried European players care to chime in?

Bratislava Symphony, Hungarian National Phil, most symphonies in Baltic states: Lithuanian State, Lithuanian National, Latvian National, I believe Etonian are few of those. In most cases nobody is asked to leave the orchestra, but rotation in string section usually occurs.

I don't see "attestation" as something horrible as some musicians view it. It keeps musicians and orchestra in shape and helps keep amateurs away.

Some orchestras (including in the US), especially those that began as community orchestras and later became full time professional orchestras, have some legacy players, hunched in the back, hacking away, hissing when their professionalism is questioned in one way or another, threatening union and what not. Re-auditioning usually means the end of their tenure.

The goal and desire of any music director or conductor is to have the best professional group the offered salary can attract, and I guess maestro Minczuk has this goal in mind. When pay becomes high enough (as in the case of OSB) the pressures from conductor, patrons, donors, and outside musicians claiming their spot on the orchestra become huge and inefficient players lose their positions.

The opposite happens when money becomes scarce and the pay and/or positions are cut: professional musicians move on, beginners, volunteers, and freelancers move in, professional level drops.

It is painful for musicians both ways and unions offer no solutions. No union can provide money for the orchestras and no union can make one become a true music professional.

I would stop bitching and start practicing.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ClefChef,

I've heard of cleaning house, but this is ridiculous!

As for trying to get rid of "mildewed" players (haha), I heard a story about an older player (violinist I believe) who refused to retire & replied "you'll have to carry me out of my chair before i quit!", & that's exactly what they did

Unfortunately when it comes to re-evaluation, politics can become an issue if the procedure is not fair. I was let go for just that reason when I was ill, and I was being evaluated while I was still recovering. I protesteded and every dirty trick in the book was used against me. The union was absolutely NO help either. Despite Symphonic services in Toronto finding the whole thing very unfair, there was nothing they could do. So before you approve of "re-evaluation" be absolutly sure that it WILL BE fair. I was one of the best players in my orchestra and it didn't matter because the musicians had nothing to do with the process once the re-evaluation began.

quote:

Originally posted by ClefChef:
Now, why would any musician fear "re-evaluation"? One can guess why...

Oy.