Vienna Philharmonic: All white, no women

[Sylph]

All white on the night: Why does the world-famous Vienna Philharmonic feature so few women and ethnic minorities?

Francesca Jackes on the dark side of the orchestra

The Vienna Philharmonic is currently visiting the UK in a haze of otherwordly sound, toting instruments long since vanished from the rest of the world. Bernstein called it "that unbelievable orchestra, which plays like one hundred angel-fingers growing out of my hands". Yet once Stravinsky immolates into silence, pause, for before you is a bald fact: an orchestra almost exclusively male and white. No other internationally ranked orchestra has so few women and non-whites: respectively three percent and zero per cent. The belief system surrounding classical music seems to reach its most conservative apotheosis in Vienna. The Philharmonic's maleness and whiteness seems to remain as inviolable a part of its identity as the liquid legato of its Vienna horn.

In February 1997, the Philharmonic voted to end its discrimination against women. The date was no coincidence, being a week before the orchestra flew to New York to play the Carnegie Hall. American public opinion, due to the research of conductor and musicologist, William Osborne, was turning against it. It found itself threatened with 800 protesters and negative press so it hastily voted to admit Anna Lelkes, a harpist, and to ensure open auditions would follow. Its then chairman, Werner Resel, resigned shortly afterwards.

Consider the mysterious Anna Lelkes. What orchestra did she leave that she could so quickly be summoned to save the VPO from its American Götterdämmerung? None. She had already been playing with them. For 26 years. Unacknowledged. Paid less. Kept out of orchestra photographs. On this great day, she was nearing retirement. And, evidently, was an opponent of women joining the orchestra, even though she had been told by the Austrian conductor Hans Swarowsky: "Your place is in the kitchen."

Read the whole Independent article.

[Gurn Blanston]

I have no problem with this.

I had no problem with it when we talked it to death 3 years ago, and I haven't changed.

I love women, I have absolutely no problem with ethnic minorities either.

If the WP want to do without, that's their right.

In this case, I may be in the minority. It won't be the first time that's happened!

It would be great if we could just leave the really nice stuff alone.

[MN Dave]

The Caucasion Gentlemen's Orchestra of Vienna

[springrite]

It is the only orchestra in the world that has had a distinct sound/sonority throughout the years. I know, other orchestra has distinct sounds but are more or less dependent on the music director and changes to varying degree after the MD's departure. The VPO has no MD and whatever it is that is giving them that identity and cohesiveness, keep it that way.

I lived for 22 years in California and, as a minority there, I have never liked "Affirmative Action", and certainly don't want to see it in the VPO.

[Todd]

Yawn. 

[Sergeant Rock]

I saw the WP last month...there were quite a few women (including a horn player I fell in love with  ). Not as many women as most orchestras have today but the situation has obviously changed in Vienna.

Sarge

[MN Dave]

I saw the WP last month...there were quite a few women (including a horn player I fell in love with  ). Not as many women as most orchestras have today but the situation has obviously changed in Vienna.

Sarge

What color were they?   

[Sergeant Rock]

What color were they?   

Blonde...all blondes 

Sarge

[listener]

obsolete topic

cf. from March 20 
The Vienna Philharmonic, one of the oldest and most venerated orchestras in the world, has permanently appointed its first woman concertmaster.

Albena Danailova has been acting concertmaster since September 2008, making her the first woman ever in that position with the orchestra. The Bulgarian-born musician had been promoted from first violin — she was also the first woman ever to hold that job.

The world famous ensemble announced Saturday that she now has the concertmaster position after passing probation.

Established in 1842, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra was an all-male ensemble until the 1980s when women started joining its ranks.

However, women weren't allowed to become full members until 1997 — which means being accepted into the association of the Vienna Philharmonic, an organization that confers certain privileges and prestige.

The concertmaster, head of the first violin section, is regarded as the second most important orchestra member after the conductor.

Unlike most orchestras, the string instruments in the Vienna Philharmonic belong to the orchestra itself.

The instruments are carefully chosen for their pedigree so the philharmonic can keep producing its distinctive string sound.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/arts/music/story/2010/03/20/vienna-philharmonic-concertmaster.html#ixzz0jaKiBvxi

[greg]

Maybe it's just because the majority of people who live there- especially those who would want to play in an orchestra happen to be white guys...

...maybe?...

[Sydney Grew]

The Philharmonic's maleness and whiteness seems to remain as inviolable a part of its identity as the liquid legato of its Vienna horn.

Is it known how many homo-sexualists there are in it?

[Bulldog]

Is it known how many homo-sexualists there are in it?

32.

[CRCulver]

Maybe it's just because the majority of people who live there- especially those who would want to play in an orchestra happen to be white guys...

...maybe?...

Did you read the article linked to in the OP? Vienna's conservatories are bursting with female and Asian students, and other European orchestras have a nearly even balance of men and women. The dearth of female players in the Vienna Philharmonic is not due to lack of talent.

[david johnson]

zzzzzzzzzzzz

[Lethevich]

32.

Sometimes as high as 33 depending on the conductor in residence

[MN Dave]

Actually, it's 32 1/2.

[Drasko]

Actually, it's 32 1/2.

When Bernstein was conducting.

[Scarpia]

Did you read the article linked to in the OP? Vienna's conservatories are bursting with female and Asian students, and other European orchestras have a nearly even balance of men and women. The dearth of female players in the Vienna Philharmonic is not due to lack of talent.

The Caucasian predominance might be explained by the tendency for seats in the orchestra to be passed down to descendants of former members.   But there is no explanation for why female descendants have traditionally been passed over.

The arguments for maintaining the character of the orchestra don't make much sense to me.  You can't improve an organization by arbitrarily cutting down the applicant pool.  Considering more applicants only improves the result, although you can imaging a bad result if someone forces them to accept a certain fraction of females, for example.

[Josquin des Prez]

All male ensembles are more focused and even minded. Female presence can be quite disruptive to the harmony of the group, and their playing is often too mechanical to properly blend in with a specific aesthetic frame of reference. There is a reason why modern orchestras and ensembles tend to sound so clinical. Every single stretch of originality and uniqueness in the realm of European sound has been completely obliterated, and this is largely due the myriad of obstacles imposed upon western males by social liberalism to express themselves freely and without restrain. To think there was a time when the distinct sound and sonority we accord to the Vienna Philharmonic used to be the norm.

[Scarpia]

All male ensembles are more focused and even minded. Female presence can be quite disruptive to the harmony of the group, and their playing is often too mechanical to properly blend in with a specific aesthetic frame of reference. There is a reason why modern orchestras and ensembles tend to sound so clinical. Every single stretch of originality and uniqueness in the realm of European sound has been completely obliterated, and this is largely due the myriad of obstacles imposed upon western males by social liberalism to express themselves freely and without restrain. To think there was a time when the distinct sound and sonority we accord to the Vienna Philharmonic used to be the norm.

Have you ever even spoken to a girl?  I can imagine no other explanation for the bizarre ideas you have about females.