Senza Sordino, October 2013, Volume 51 Number 3
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Official Publication of the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians VOLUME 56 NO. 2 JUNE 2018 The LA Philharmonic In This Issue Cleveland Centennials The LA Philharmonic By Joela Jones, TCO ICSOM Delegate Centennial Centennial ..................... 1 By John Lofton, LA Phil ICSOM Cleveland Centennials .. 1 hat do the Cleveland Orchestra and Chairperson’s Report .... 2 former assistant principal oboist Delegate Changing culture Robert Zupnik have in common? President’s Report ........ 3 W n 1919, a copper scion, arts enthusiast, At 100, they are both alive and very well, indeed! and amateur violinist by the name of Wil- Concrete action Cleveland-born Bob Zupnik was already a on diversity liam Andrews Clark Jr. founded the first Courtesy of the Cleveland Orchestra year old when the Cleve- I Secretary’s Report ......... 3 permanent symphony orchestra in the City of An- land Orchestra presented The true nature of an Courtesy of the Author Courtesy of the gels and named it the Los ICSOM conference its first concert in Gray’s Angeles Philharmonic. His The Win/Win/Win/Win Armory on December 11, statement, “We want to be Alzheimer’s Project ....... 4 1918. Much later as a young the best orchestra in Amer- Phoenix’s new initiative college student, Bob played ica,” perhaps reflective of benefits patients when needed as an extra in and musicians the optimistic 1920s era, the orchestra, and in 1946 The End of an Era ........ 6 was nonetheless a commit- JoAnn Falletta announces after serving in the Second ment he took on personally her Virginia retirement World War, he returned to by becoming the LA Phil’s Newslets ........................ 6 play as assistant principal oboe until his retire- sole financial resource. Nashville, Utah, Saint ment in 1977. (Rumor has it that he also played in the second Paul, Minnesota, Fort “My mother was the music in my life,” said Bob, violins on occasion). He originally asked Sergei Worth, Dallas, Florida as he reminisced from his abode at Montefiore in Rachmaninoff to be the Philharmonic’s first music A Salute to Bill Foster ... 9 Beachwood, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. “She Dropping the Mute ....... 9 director, however Rachmaninoff had only recently had me start the violin at a very early age, and The pension fix is in? moved to New York, and he did not wish to move then around 13, I switched to the oboe. For just 50 again. Clark then selected Walter Henry Rothwell, cents, students could take lessons with Cleveland former assistant to Gustav Mahler, as music director, and hired Orchestra members on Saturdays at John Hay High School away several principal musicians from orchestras back east, as right down the street from Severance Hall.” (Severance Hall well as others from the competing and soon-to-be defunct Los has been home to the Cleveland Orchestra since it was built Angeles Symphony. The orchestra played its first concert in the with John Long Severance’s money in 1931.) Trinity Auditorium in the same year. One could say that not much has changed since those or- At its official opening in 1922, the Hollywood Bowl became chestra members gave lessons in the 1930s. This past year, in the summer venue for the LA Phil. As one the world’s largest celebration of the Cleveland Orchestra’s 100th Anniversary, natural amphitheaters with a nearly 18,000-seat capacity, the and as part of the Beethoven Pro- Hollywood Bowl became a primary part of the financial suc- metheus Project, orchestra musi- Courtesy of Joela Jones cess of the orchestra. With its versatility as a venue capable cians worked with classes and gave of hosting music of nearly any genre, the Hollywood Bowl individual lessons to students at the became an icon nearly worldwide. From Bugs Bunny to the nearby Cleveland School of the Arts. Beatles, and from Puccini to Penderecki, the Hollywood Bowl The orchestra musicians intro- provided the means—especially in the lean years of the early duced the students to the many facets 1930s—for the LA Phil to go from surviving to thriving. (In of Beethoven: Beethoven as the great February 2017, the Hollywood Bowl was named Best Major composer, as a person with struggles Outdoor Concert Venue for the 13th year in a row at the 28th and successes similar to those the Annual Pollstar Awards). students face today, as a revolution- Walter Henry Rothwell served as Music Director until 1927 ary figure for positive change, and and was succeeded by the following ten Music Directors: Georg as an advocate for freedom, equal- Robert Zupnik Schnéevoigt (1927–1929); Artur Rodzinski (1929–1933); Otto ity, and justice. In classes for music, Klemperer (1933–1939); Alfred Wallenstein (1943–1956); dance, English, and visual arts, students learned that they can Eduard van Beinum (1956–1959); Zubin Mehta (1962–1978); be catalysts for change and can influence and produce positive (continued on page 11) (continued on page 10) Page 2 June 2018 Chairperson’s Report By Meredith Snow A Player Conference of the Changing Culture American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada, AFL-CIO n the past several years, cultural diversity has become www.icsom.org a major topic on the national arts agenda. Across the Icountry, foundations, arts councils, advocacy organiza- tions, nonprofit organizations, and universities alike have taken serious steps to explore, understand, and commit to fostering Orchestras Governing Board Diane Alancraig Photography diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Alabama Symphony Orchestra Meredith Snow, Chairperson arts. Against the backdrop of the widely Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Los Angeles Philharmonic publicized violence against unarmed Baltimore Symphony Orchestra 13610 Emelita Street Boston Symphony Orchestra Van Nuys, CA 91401 black citizens, and the anti-immigration Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra 818-786-3776 rhetoric from the Trump administration, Charlotte Symphony Orchestra [email protected] Chicago Lyric Opera Orchestra Paul Austin, President there is an increasing urgency to combat Chicago Symphony Orchestra Grand Rapids Symphony Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra 561 Madison Avenue SE racial bias and commit to equality and The Cleveland Orchestra Grand Rapids, MI 49503 inclusion in the arts. Colorado Symphony Orchestra 616-304-0869 What does this mean for our ICSOM Columbus Symphony Orchestra [email protected] Dallas Symphony Orchestra Laura Ross, Secretary orchestras? Pejoratively referred to as Detroit Symphony Orchestra Nashville Symphony The Florida Orchestra 1609 Tammany Drive “the last bastion of dead, white, male Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra Nashville, TN 37206 Europeans,” are we so mired in our own history as to be incapable Grand Rapids Symphony 615-227-2379 • Fax 615-259-9140 Grant Park Orchestra of change? Certainly the core of our 19th century repertoire is [email protected] Hawaii Symphony Orchestra Michael Moore, Treasurer culturally specific, but that doesn’t mean we need to be. Houston Symphony Atlanta Symphony Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra 953 Rosedale Road NE Looking back to the late 19th century, when many of our Jacksonville Symphony Atlanta, GA 30306 American orchestras were founded, “a new class of urban white Kansas City Symphony 404-875-TUBA (404-875-8822) Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra [email protected] commercial elites established institutions–such as Metropolitan Los Angeles Philharmonic Peter de Boor, Senza Sordino Editor Louisville Orchestra Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra Museum of Art and Metropolitan Opera, Boston’s Museum of Metropolitan Opera Orchestra 431 North Kenmore Street Fine Arts, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra–to preserve and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Arlington, VA 22201 present art in the classical European canon.” (Clara Inés Schuh- Minnesota Orchestra 703-465-9157 • Fax 866-832-7838 Nashville Symphony [email protected] macher et al., “Making Sense Of Cultural Equity”; Createquity.com) National Symphony Orchestra New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Martin Andersen, Member at Large These early philanthropists hoped to promote civic pride and New York City Ballet Orchestra New Jersey Symphony solidify America’s image as a civilized world power. But in so do- New York City Opera Orchestra 1 Marine View Plz., Apt. 24A New York Philharmonic Hoboken, NJ 07030 201-401-6429 ing, they also solidified their own social standing and class status. North Carolina Symphony [email protected] The 1960s saw the first serious attempts to fund more culturally Oregon Symphony Orquesta Sinfónica de Puerto Rico Greg Mulligan, Member at Large diverse arts. But philanthropic funding and government policy The Philadelphia Orchestra Baltimore Symphony Orchestra had already created a structural disparity between the Western Phoenix Symphony 11955 Long Lake Drive Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Reisterstown, MD 21136 European traditions and diverse arts struggling for funding and Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra 410-979-0208 [email protected] a place in our society. St. Louis Symphony The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Dan Sweeley, Member at Large I think it is difficult for us on the inside of our industry to see San Antonio Symphony Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra San Diego Symphony Orchestra 1360 Evergreen Drive that our primary definition of “the arts” and its attendant infra- San Francisco Ballet Orchestra Lake View, NY 14085 structure is biased towards our own cultural/racial tradition. It San Francisco Opera Orchestra 716-553-9200 San Francisco Symphony [email protected] will require critical thinking, a willingness to experiment, and Symphoria Kimberly Tichenor, Member at Large a larger vision of how our orchestras might look. Can we make Utah Symphony Louisville Orchestra Virginia Symphony Orchestra 146 North Hite Avenue room in our repertoire to diversify what we present? Can we Louisville, KY 40206 make room on our stages to diversify whom we present? Who is 502-418-7210 [email protected] making these decisions? Who will fund our non-profits? Kevin Case, General Counsel The concept of diversity in our orchestras fundamentally Case Arts Law LLC 53 W.