Louisville Orchestra First Edition series

[eschiss1]

No news to report, nothing new to say to many people here who grew up with this LP series and know its history by heart (if not, there's some material on the beginnings of the orchestra you may find maybe a bit interesting on Wikipedia. I know I did putting it together. And that's nowhere near sighting range of complete.)

I also know I for one (sorry to phrase it so) was intrigued (? poor choice of words) to hear Paavo Järvi, in an interview, listing this series of LPs among his influences- apparently, yes, they got them in Estonia - I wonder if Neeme Järvi was influenced by them too or if the dates are wrong for that sort of consideration...

They recorded of course a load of American premieres and early performances, but also, indeed, gave early (not sure if first- probably not...) recordings to Britten's violin concerto, Milhaud's 6th symphony (actually there I know of no other recording before those on DG and cpo- I do mean the full-scale symphony, not the Petite symphonie), and Martinu's 5th - and possibly the only commercial recording to date of August Julius Rietz' once much-performed concert overture in A... -
criticism of their performance qualities etc. was common (their recording, also the first, of Roger Sessions' 7th symphony- also was too tentative - though I think probably a better performance than Dennis Russell Davies' on Argo, a disc to avoid, in my honest opinion...)

Hope the reissues of this label will continue, practically speaking, but despite justified criticisms (at least sometimes from what I've heard, and I admit I can't always tell- my ear is just not that good, I speak of my ear which is having trouble and am not being sarcastic) - it does seem to me that taken as a whole the series' initiative generally and quality in specific instalments deserves high praise and just general "being kept in mind" - even if only occasionally relevant to this forum (stylistically speaking. at least, these parts of it. *g* )

[Dundonnell]

Apparently the Louisville Orchestra is bankrupt, its musicians are on strike and its concert programme for the Winter has been cancelled

Sad times

http://www.louisvilleorchestra.org/

[semloh]

Apparently the Louisville Orchestra is bankrupt, its musicians are on strike and its concert programme for the Winter has been cancelled

Sad times

http://www.louisvilleorchestra.org/

Yes, indeed. And, is the Philadelphia safe now? I heard a radio broadcast of a concert from their European tour a couple of months ago, and it was absolutely stunning. I couldn't believe that America might let this great orchestra die... 

[jimmosk]

Yes, indeed. And, is the Philadelphia safe now?

It seems to be, though with some major Austerity Measures. There's something ironic in the fact that the Orchestra's recently-installed president is almost named Voldemort... 
Philadelphia Orchestra and its musicians agree to labor concessions

[Dundonnell]

It can't be.........Harry killed him at the end of HP and the Deathly Hallows

[kitmills]

Too bad about the Louisville Orchestra.  Judging from the official statement, it sounds as though management worked it out for them to emerge from bankruptcy but the orchestra members weren't keen on the sacrifices they'd need to make for it to work out.  No doubt the orchestra members have their own version of why they're striking.  Boy, does this sound familiar--all over the country orchestras seem to be finding themselves in the same position.

jimmosk - I checked it out and found it amusing that the "major Austerity Measures" in the Philadelphia Orch. deal still left musicians with six-figure base salaries.  Sure, I realize that the players are excellent and by past standards, they're underpaid. 

The question is, are past standards and expectations for orchestras still valid?  It seems rather similar to the current state of American pensioned retirement--a concept that had its day (relatively short, historically-speaking) and seems to be dying out now due to unsustainable economics.  Orchestras operating on the old model--loads of patronage and funding, loads of prodigal expenditures--are finding that the funding is gone.  Older wealthy patrons are dying off, while the young wealthy tend to buy sports franchises or trophy brides rather than fund orchestras.  A good half of the states are bankrupt or close to it, so arts funding is necessarily way down the priority list of bills to be paid.

The reality that orchestras need to recognize is that they are part of the entertainment market now whether they like it or not.  Not only are they directly competing with the likes of Justin Bieber, Blink 182, and the estate of Michael Jackson, they're competing against .mp3 downloads of Classical Music (that they may well have recorded!).  This calls for new strategies and new thinking.

[JimL]

Bring back the unsungs and hype them.  Orchestras should be zoos, not museums!

[kitmills]

Sorry if my earlier post seemed a bit rant-ish, especially for a newcomer to the forum.  This topic is a continual sore point for me as one who loves orchestral music (and has worked as an orchestral musician).

While it's hard to see orchestras go under--especially from my standpoint as a composer who occasionally writes and premieres orchestral music (I should post about that sometime if that doesn't stray too far from the purpose of the forum)--I've worked and interacted enough with orchestral musicians to have seen that there are persistent self-destructive attitudes in the orchestral world.  A very skewed sense of reality seems to be engineered in the conservatories as a matter of course, and it impacts a player's entire career.  In conversations and correspondence with musicians and orchestral management I've suggested both common-sense and quirky, innovative ideas for making orchestras more compelling and financially stable, but having them routinely ignored or dismissed without examination has convinced me that a lot of the orchestral world isn't truly serious about creating a vital industry.

A lot of blame can be laid at the door of the musician's union, as well, which I've been happy to avoid personally thus far.  Their outlook reminds me of the American autoworker's unions just about killing the American auto industry (prior to the government bailout) in order to achieve their aims--sort of a "Nero fiddling while Rome burns" scenario.  Find ways to fill seats and procure reliable, steady funding first, then go for nice salaries and benefits packages.

[Dundonnell]

Well said