Some scathing criticism for Minczuk here. This kid's alright:
http://www.artsjournal.com/sli...tions_in_brazil.html

This kid has a lot of nerve, and I'm going to look him up next time I am in Rio!

Holy crap!
http://translate.google.com/tr...icipal-924199388.asp
http://www.artsjournal.com/sli..._at_the_concert.html

The OSB's Saturday at 4pm concert was cancelled after 20 minutes of booing from the audience.

My (poor) attempt at a translation:
"""Then, when the conductor Roberto Minczuk entered, the crowd reacted with boos for 20 minutes. The maestro eventually withdrew from the stage, followed by the musicians of the orchestra. One of the musicians tried to read a manifesto.......but the theater's sound system was cut."""

Here is the article in Portuguese.
http://odia.terra.com.br/porta..._minutos_156817.html

Video from the concert:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...ture=player_embedded

Roberto Minczuk:

"It is a very complicated issue. As we made known to all musicians, it was never the purpose to dismiss anybody, but to have a broad artistic project that included a new contract with over 50 percent raise in salaries, a much broader concert season with an entire semester dedicated only to the chamber music, performed by all players, local and international auditions to fill 13 positions that have been open for over two years (the OSB has two principals for each section) and the evaluation process for all musicians in order to give them feedback for the individual and collective artistic development . These evaluations were also meant to solve problems of musicians who in the past were admitted to the orchestra or to the positions they hold without proper auditions. These were internal issues which musicians themselves asked the administration to address. These evaluations were a requirement of the Board. Contracts are very different of those in North America or in Europe. There are five professional orchestras in Rio, the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra (OSB) is a private institution and contracts of private institutions according to the Constitution do not offer possibility of tenure. I am perplexed by the present situation. The musicians who unfortunately were dismissed were not for any artistic reasons, but for legal reasons with the institution. The institution is still seeking solutions for this problem."

From the trumpet herald website:

I`m musician too and a BSO musician`s wife.

Beside all the things that have been already said here, on the epsode of 14 dismissals, the conductor made a Christmas party for the whole orchestra on 20th december, shook hands with everyone looking into their eyes and saying merry christmas, and 4 days later he have dismissed 14 mussicians of those who were in the party. And he tells everybody he is a believer. Can you believe that!?

He doesn`t want a fair audition. He wants to dismis those who don`t agree in every subject with him. Sometime ago, he said for one young member of the orchestra that he doesn`t want anybody older than he in the orchestra anymore "because the olders can be very 'influencers' and have strong musical opinion".

With this jury he can justify to public-opinion that the auditions were fair! He is just using the fair jury to protect himself, you know???

On the newspapers here he use to say that "the board has contracted me with the propose of a orchestral renovation" but the president of BSO foundation told to an another newspaper that all the ideas about that are from Roberto Minczuk!
You can check this infomation out right here in this article about the bullying they are suffering. On the penultimate line of the article you can see the claim: "A proposta de avaliação partiu do regente e diretor-artístico Roberto Minczuk." it means: "The auditions was proposed by the conductor and artistic director Roberto Minczuk."
He lies full time!

http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/i...-assedio-moral.shtml

...now what is going to happen in Calgary !?!?!?

The OSB has fired 36 members of the orchestra.

This story was posted on the news feed in English in case you missed it.
http://www.monstersandcritics....n-Symphony-Orchestra

The terminated musicians and friends will be having a free concert Saturday night at 7pm at the Musical School of the Federal University in Rio.


Internationally known Brasilian pianist Cristina Ortiz will be the soloist.

http://translate.google.com/tr...icia4%2Fnoticia4.htm

in Portuguese:
http://www.cgtb.org.br/images_...oticia4/noticia4.htm

pictures of the rehearsal.
https://www.facebook.com/photo...49808&type=1&theater

This is the very latest from Rio about the situation there. Note my disclamer.

Disclamer: I have not personally vetted this information. However, the gentleman who sent it to me is fluent in Portuguese and English and also a journalist. He does inject his personal opinions here.

There is already a Braslian documentary film maker following this whole event by the way.

""""Public inquiry report on OSB:

Just to report that on Thursday morning atALERJ,Rio's state assembly,a public hearing into what exactly is going on with the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra under its dictatorial Maestro Minzcuk was held and former Maestro of the orchestra Isaac Karabtchevsky not only conducted a brass ensemble from the OSB(all sacked) --which any orchestra in the world would love to employ--but made a moving speech about the unbearable situation.He blames the assault on the rights of the OSB musicians?life and livelihood on the Foundation and its Presdient Eleazar Carvalho Jr. and calls Maerstro Minzcuk "young and inexperienced."

"I worked with Eleazar Carvalhoa's father,the Maestro, and can assure that he would never allow such a situation as the present crisis to occur,"Maestro Karabtchevsky emphasized including in his speech that musicians fleeing that the OSB was founded by musicians fleeing from Nazism and how ironic that this oppressive situation was occurring today/

There are innumerous other details to report including a good look at the oSB's books by public official will scrutinize how they are using public funds and the Labour Ministry will be checking the legality of all these audition(33 openings scheduled in NYC and London).I am sure my Facebook friends and ex-colleagues of the OSB will keep you tuned.

In all my years in Rio and Brazil have never witnessed such a public demonstration against abuses in the artistic world. One must always remember that in 1964 a military coup took away the civil rights of Brazilians ,resulting in torture and prisons .It took two decades to be rid of this oppression.

How long it will take to be free of the oppression of Maestro Robert Minzcuk with a Brazilian orchestra is anyones guess....but his grande finale could be coming sooner than anyone expects.And as Brazilian filmmaker Silvio Tendler knows ,the saga will make a fine documentary,which he has begun to record on film."""""

(...from Marlos Nobre:

*Dear Eleazar de Carvalho Filho,
I confess that I feel myself in a very strange situation, when I write this name that immediately lead
me to evoke my great friend – your father Eleazar de Carvalho,
master of the Brazilian conductors, whose memory I evoke here as an
example. As the conductor of the Brazilian Symphonic Orchestra, that
conductor – your father – does not always found flowers and
caresses. The exercise of conducting an orchestra sometimes is a hard,
painful and exhausting task, what your father once confided me, when
we both were professors (he taught conducting and I composition) in
the renowned Yale University, in the USA. But never – and I repeat
-, never the great, the very great Eleazar de Carvalho was carried
away by rancor, hurt and disputes about to summarily dismiss the
musicians of his orchestra. And, you see, even supported by his name
and reputation, his unique and unquestionable authority earned that
time, he probably could do it without major troubles.
When an eventual confrontation in face of his musicians took place,
your father – our Eleazar – the greatest Brazilian conductor of
all time, had the humility, wisdom and prudence to leave with heads
held high and never promote a fratricidal war, a personal vendetta. He
looked farther, not only to his career, but for the survival of a
sacred mark, the label “Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira”. Whether
your father already was great, enormous artistically and humanly, he
then became a giant, a wise, an enlightened person. And from there,
from his departure from the OSB, his masterful career steps to reach
that no conductor yet reached in Brazil, in the United States and in
Europe, today.
So, I’m sad – I confess to you, Eleazar Filho –, since, like
Roberto, I knew you when you were still a boy, in your mother’s
arms, the composer Jocy de Oliveira, colleague of mine. I saw you,
Eleazar Filho, to reach, adult, ascend the highest positions in the
financial administration of our country, especially in the BNDES,
justly favoring many musical events, moved by love for music, surely
transmitted by your father, Eleazar, and your mother, Jocy .
Now I see you and Roberto, those boys who I knew in my youth, I see
you both despising the great lesson that should be the example – the
myth of you both – as father and great conductor.
Instead of this consanguinity, Roberto and you, Eleazar Filho,
promote, together, the most impressive breakdown in music that we know
in the history of our country. I don’t understand, I cannot hardly
comprehend how you both – Eleazar and Roberto – cannot see that
you are fomenting one of the most rampages against the institution
itself that was handed to you both to be preserved and carried
forward. There’s a clamant irony when reading in your own name –
Eleazar de Carvalho Filho – the presence of a moral, musical and
artistic heritage that all of us desired to be preserved.
What is more serious in musical environment of Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil, Europe, USA, the youngest and the oldest musicians, the
greatest personalities of music in Brazil and other countries are
perplexed in face of a an absolutely inedited fact: you, Roberto and
Eleazar, remain undaunted, ignoring everyone and everything, you both
don’t listen to the voices outside you, and, I ask myself: shall be
you hear the inner voices, the deep voices of your consciousnesses?
Doubtless, the musical Brazil is in grave danger, not only because of
30 or 40 dismissals and the abandonment of their families, the
perplexity of their sons and grandchildren, too. But because of
Brazilian young musicians who cannot, should not be confronted,
discouraged early in their lives. Yes, how do you think, Eleazar and
Roberto, the Brazilian musical youth is reacting to all of this?
We already saw the courageous attitude, the unbelievable burning
behaviour of those OSB Youth Orchestra’s young musicians waking up
to don’t insult you, Roberto, but to deafly and silently protest,
denying to play under pure and explicit coercion.
Oh, my God, who can make music, think about music under coercion,
disenchantment, hopelessness, no matter it is?
Oh, my God, where are we, in which territory, country, culture,
place, cultural desert, exposed to the most depressing situation in
face of international organizations that directly repudiate this sadly
famous “Brazilian case”?
We must not, we don’t want, we cannot be explicitly famous because
of such clamorously negative situation, unfortunately stark, carried
to the point that simply no one can predict its outcome. What is
known, what feels good is that, it is not for anyone else.
And now, a lack of respect (and uniquely personal in this case):
after my public letter to you, Roberto, published everywhere, blogs
and newspapers in Brazil and in the world, the FOSB, without my
authorization, still includes in its season announced now, a music
composed by myself, though I expressly banned it! Yeah, I’m in my
right! So, it seemed to be a regrettable personal affront.
Now, some musicians pressed for reasons do not get me to imagine or
speculate, sold their souls to the devil after they publicly decried
the dismissals and the situation and the current direction of FOSB,
forgetting that they themselves are and will be the executioners of
themselves.
Therefore, I, Marlos Nobre, request you: do not confuse me with them
– who are deserters from a holy war. Please, at least respect me to
be respected in the minimum of respect that remains throughout this
marathon of errors and unfortunate situation to which is being exposed
the GREAT MUSIC OF BRAZIL.
Marlos Nobre,
Rio de Janeiro, June 28th, 2011.*

Any word on auditions in New York and London?