Philadelphia & Pittsburgh Orchestras . . . ON STRIKE

[jserraglio]

Philly
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/01/nyreg ... night.html

As a gala audience including many of the Philadelphia Orchestra’s donors and board members, some in black tie, gathered at Verizon Hall for an opening night concert that was supposed to be conducted by the orchestra’s popular music director, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, a series of last-ditch talks were held in an effort to avert the strike. But they proved fruitless, and the musicians were soon walking a picket line instead of playing Gershwin and Ravel.

Pitt
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertai ... story.html

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
The picket line formed quickly Friday morning, with dozens of musicians carrying signs, distributing fliers and making their case to the cars and pedestrians passing by Heinz Hall in Downtown Pittsburgh. Some were holding their instruments, and one showed off a sign that read, “What would Beethoven say?”

But neither Beethoven nor anyone else can foresee what the next few weeks will hold, after the musicians of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra went on strike for the second time in its 120-year history.

[Ricordanza]

I spoke to one of the Philadelphia Orchestra violinists before the September 22 concert and he hinted that a strike was near. The next concert on my calendar is Thursday, October 6 (Simon Rattle, guest conductor, Mahler 6), and it would be great if they settled before then, but I'm not hopeful.

[Beckmesser]

From The New York Times I read re: Pittsburgh Orchestra:

"In 2015 the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that only 57 percent of the seats at its core classical concert series at Heinz Hall the prior season had been filled by paying customers."

That's really bad. Maybe Pittsburgh no longer has the audience to support a full-time professional orchestra. I wonder if many other cities besides New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco can.

[John F]

If that's the average attendance all season long, and not just for one concert (each program is apparently played only once), then they are in real trouble. Heinz Hall's capacity is 2,061, not nearly as large as Carnegie Hall or David Geffen Hall; that's less than 1,200 tickets sold per concert.

The Pittsburgh metropolitan area's population is about 2,300,000, which makes it the 22nd largest in the U.S. That's comparable to Cleveland - actually a bit larger. The median income in Pittsburgh is likewise comparable with Cleveland's but a bit higher; technology corporations have replaced the defunct steel industry there. Pittsburgh has a major university, Carnegie Mellon, comparable with Cleveland's Case Western Reserve. There's no obvious reason why Pittsburgh can't support a major symphony orchestra, even one of the second tier. But so it seems.

It's not as though the orchestra wasn't trying to play to a popular audience. Yesterday's concert that was canceled was of music by John Williams, and the concert on October 22, "Classical Mystery Tour," is all Beatles songs by an imitation group "backed by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra." Even a straight classical concert conducted by Manfred Honeck will include Dvorak's Symphony #9 accompanied by "high-definition [film] footage of the cosmos," because the astronauts took this music with them on Apollo 11.

Further in that direction it's not possible to go without abandoning a symphony orchestra's repertoire and its mission. Personally, I think they might as well reconfigure as a pops orchestra, with a conductor like Keith Lockhart, or shut up shop entirely. They won't do that voluntarily, but this strike by the musicians may do it for them.

[Lance]

I was reading the link about Philadelphia and immediately caught this, somebody coming from my area (Binghamton, NY) ... such a disappointment. Surely this strike will do more to harm the orchestra as supporters will drop away even more.

"As he left the hall, Tim Szczesny, 24, said that he had driven three hours from Binghamton, N.Y., to attend the concert and had come away disappointed. “We tried to do something nice tonight and it backfired,” said Mr. Szczesny, who was with his girlfriend, Pamela Blatkiewicz, 23, who lives in Philadelphia."

[maestrob]

Pittsburgh has seen quite a lot of recording activity recently with Honeck at the helm, mostly excellent work. They've had their share of troubles, but this strike and their debt level caught me by surprise.

As for Philadelphia, that's my home-town band, and they are still one of the world's finest orchestras. It's a sad thing to hear of another strike so soon. Morale must be in the pits, to coin a phrase, but attendance is the key to both of these situations. The issue is certainly NOT the quality of the music-making! Can it be that these cities can no longer support full-time orchestras? Stay tuned..........

[arepo]

The strike in Philadelphia is over. They signed a new contract and concerts will resume tomorrow.

cliftwood

[Ricordanza]

Harris, you beat me to the punch. Here's the email I just received from the Philadelphia Orchestra:

We are pleased to announce that The Philadelphia Orchestra Association and Musicians have reached an agreement on a new three-year contract which restores the Orchestra to its normal concert schedule. Throughout the negotiations process, all participants recognized a shared commitment to assuring that The Philadelphia Orchestra will be maintained for generations to come.

To those patrons, students, and volunteers who had planned to attend the performances last weekend, we wish to express our regret for the cancellations. Each and every one of us takes our commitment to our musical audience very seriously, and we apologize for the inconvenience.

This 2016-17 season marks a new starting line for us. With full hearts and great optimism we are extremely grateful to all who have supported us.

I look forward to seeing you this season as our concerts in Verizon Hall resume immediately with a special appearance by our good friend Simon Rattle on Thursday and Yannick on the podium on Friday and Saturday as planned. And please join the Fabulous Philadelphians on Tuesday, October 4, for an entire day of free chamber concerts throughout the community. You can visit our website for more details.

Thank you for your ongoing support of The Philadelphia Orchestra.

Yours in Music,
Allison Vulgamore

[maestrob]

Bluff called! Whew!

[Chalkperson]

My dear friend Elvis Costello cancelled his performance on Nov 1st in Pittsburgh, saying he cannot cross Musician's Union Picket Line.

[maestrob]

My dear friend Elvis Costello cancelled his performance on Nov 1st in Pittsburgh, saying he cannot cross Musician's Union Picket Line.

Hi, Chalkie! We've missed you. Hope you're feeling OK........

Please tell Elvis thank-you for his solidarity!