Camp Memorial Concerts
Sent to various lists on
April 5, 2000
by William Osborne
On March 17th a performance
by the Vienna Philharmonic in Paris was interrupted by a politically motivated
bomb scare. Bomb squads completely
evacuated the Theatre des Champs Elysees for more than a half-hour before the
performance could resume[1].
Before the concert, the
Vienna Philharmonic--which forbids membership to non-whites and to all women
except harpists--had sought to defuse controversy by circulating a statement
about its position on the right-wing coalition government in Austria:
"The Vienna Philharmonic, founded in 1842, is a private association of professional musicians, self-governing on a democratic basis and operating without any governmental support. Although the goals of our musical organization are clearly defined, we feel our responsibility to take positions and to engage in social and cultural politics, particularly in view of the current situation in Austria, which fills us with the greatest concern[2]."
The Vienna Philharmonic's
statement avoids criticizing the government by addressing a
"situation" of "concern" that could refer only to Austria's
international isolation and internal dissent. The Philharmonic's muted stance
sets it apart from the hundreds of artists and cultural institutions that
strongly oppose Austria's far-right coalition.
Over five hundred musicians recently signed an oppositional manifesto
entitled "Not With Us" which forcefully criticizes the government's
"lack of ethical standards and ambivalence toward National
Socialism." The signatories
include luminaries such as Gyorgy Ligeti, Beat Furrer, Paul Gulda, Friedrich
Cerha, Olga Neuwirth, and Andre Heller.[3]
The highly conservative
Vienna Philharmonic has benefited from Austria's gradual move to the
far-right. It has strengthened the
orchestra's support within the government, helping it obtain additional funding
and greater influence in important cultural events such as the Salzburger
Festspiel[4]. [For documentation of the
orchestra's sexist and racist employment policies see the appendix at the end
of this post.]
Neverthless, the orchestra
is trying to distance itself from the international isolation surrounding
Austria's far-right ruling coalition.
The Philharmonic's Paris
statement claims it is "operating without any governmental support,"
in spite of the fact that it received a three million dollar grant from the
government last October to increase its pension fund[5]. The grant was obtained through the
intercession of Austrian President Thomas Klestil who has repeatedly criticized
progressive tendencies in Austria's cultural politics, and whose party formed
the coalition that brought the right-wing extremist Freedom Party to power[6]. The orchestra also receives governmental
support because all members of the Vienna Philharmonic are also members of the
Vienna State Opera which is owned and operated by the Austrian Federal
Government. The Vienna
Philharmonic/Vienna State Opera Orchestra is thus attempting to distance its
public image from the government while accepting its benefits and sharing many
of its chauvinistic values.
The Vienna Philharmonic's
Paris statement continues:
"Political events in Austria led us to give a press conference in Vienna March 6th, when we reaffirmed our decision to give a concert at the former concentration camp at Mauthausen on May 7th, the annual celebration of the liberation of the camp. Sir Simon Rattle will lead Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. We view this concert as an expression of humility with respect to the victims, and, in this year 2000 as a symbol of movement toward a future more worthy of humanity."
The statement on March 6th
was released just before the Philharmonic began a European tour in which they
anticipated protests. Plans for the
highly controversial Mauthausen Memorial Concert were begun by the Vienna
Philharmonic more than two years ago as a public relations gesture after the
orchestra was widely criticized for its policy of excluding women and
non-whites.[7]
Critics suggest that if the
Philharmonic were really interested in a "future more worthy of
humanity" it would end its lips service toward women and non-whites and
actually include them in the orchestra.
Marta S. Halpert, director
of the Vienna buro of the Jewish Anti-Defamation League, has strongly
criticized the Mauthausen concert. In
an eloquent article entitled "A Slaughter Yard Is Not A Concert Hall"
(published in _Der Standard_ a leading
Viennese daily), she describes the event as "tasteless and frivolous"
in a place where the "cries of the tortured still echo from the walls of
the camp's stone quarries[8]." She
insists the camp is no place for the Vienna Philharmonic's "striped pants
and silver neckties," to say nothing of "cleaned-up honored guests
from Austria's far-right government."
Halpert's article also
questions the Vienna Philharmonic's appropriateness for the concert, citing the
ensemble's website which she says "...lacks courage in addressing the
orchestra's past." She notes that
it "neglects to mention that over 40% of the Philharmonic's members
belonged to the Nazi Party...a representation that was well above the national
average." The Vienna
Philharmonic's close support of Hitler eventually allowed it to became one of
the Third Reich's major progaganda organs[14].
Before the war the orchestra had 18 Jewish members. Now it has two.
The concert is also opposed
by the Mauthausen Prisoners Group, an organization of camp survivors who point
out that the event is taking place against
their will[9]. French, Italian,
Belgian and Dutch representatives of the Mauthausen Prisoners Group have
already given notice that they plan to boycott the memorial concert[10]. The event, however, will help both the
government and Philharmonic counter criticism of their racist ideologies
without obligating them to change their chauvinistic values.
The concert's official
organizer and Director of the Austrian Jewish Welcoming Service, Leon Zelman,,
was invited by _Der Standard_ to respond, but refused, referring to Halpert's
commentary as "primitive[11]."
Clemens Hellsberg, Chairman of the Vienna Philharmonic, said "the
decision to proceed with the concert was not easy for the orchestra." When asked about the political situation in
Austria he refused to comment[12].
In letters to the editor
many of _Der Standard's_ readers echoed
Halpert's sentiments[13]. Dr. Hava-Eva
Bugaier, whose husband survived Mauthausen, describes the concert as an
"irreverent spectacle" that should be canceled if even a part of the
former prisoners object to it. Another
reader, Helmut Schiestl, wrote that the
concert is "irreverent", and that the Nazis also had a penchant for
abusing the jubilant music of Beethoven's 9th.
He feels that the best memorial at the camp is "silence and
self-contemplation" that "does not service the self-aggrandizement of
a doubtless excellent orchestra." Marie Laurenti writes that it is
"cynical to sing the 'Ode to Joy' [in German more literally "Joy of
God's Revelation" ("Freude, schöner Götterfunken')] at such a location", and that
"those who find anything beautiful in such a spectacle are to be pitied
due to their complete lack of consciousness." For her all that remains "is to cover one's face and rend one's
garments."
Last December information
was placed on the Internet noting that the Vienna Philharmonic's official
website was using quotations by an SS Officer, Wilhelm Jerger, to substantiate
the ensemble's claim of cultural authenticity[15]. Jerger, a former chairman of the Philharmonic and a Lieutenant in
the SS, published a highly racist book in 1942 including the father-to-son
genealogies that comprise the orchestra's history. The tables contain asterisks by the names of all non-Aryan
members. Jerger goes on to explain that
the Philharmonic's "blood" was tough enough to resist damage by these
dysgenic influences. After the notice
appeared on the Internet, the orchestra quickly deleted all quotations of SS
Officer Jerger from its website[16].
The Vienna Philharmonic,
which has long been under fire for excluding women and non-whites, does not
want Austria's far-right government officials to attend the concert. It would
weaken the orchestra's plans to use the concert as a public relations
event to counter criticism of its own chauvinistic policies. With so many wolves in one place, there
could be a shortage of lamb suits.
The way to assimilation is
often paved with saddening ironies, but the price of this concert is too
high. The Vienna Philharmonic and
Austrian government are exploiting the event as a hypocritical and self-serving
public relations spectacle, a callous act of irreverence toward the victims of
torture and genocide. It will enhance
the image of both institutions without requiring them to change their racist
policies.
This illustrates once again
that the Vienna Philharmonic accurately reflects the bigotry and hypocrisy of
Austria's far-right government.
William Osborne
(You may forward this posts
to lists or individuals. Please include
the appendix and endnotes.)
For more information about
the author of this post see the MSNBC article about his work for women in music
at: http://www.msnbc.com/news/359699.asp
______________________
APPENDIX: A Brief Documentation
of the Vienna Philharmonic's Exclusionary Policies
[Endnotes for both the
appendix and the article above at are the end of this post.]
The Vienna Philharmonic's
racial ideology is directed mainly toward Asian musicians, since many have reached
the highest professional standards and pose a real "threat" at
auditions. Approximately half of the students at the Wiener Musik Hochschule
(Vienna Academy of Music) are foreigners, and many of them are Asians who marry
and settle in Austria where they also have children.
After the Second World War
the Vienna Philharmonic instituted blind
auditions, but they were
soon eliminated. In his memoirs, Otto
Strasser, a
former Chairman of the
Philharmonic, described the problems blind auditions
caused:
"I hold it for
incorrect that today the applicants play behind a screen; an
arrangement that was brought
in after the Second World War in order to
assure objective judgments.
I continuously fought against it, especially
after I became Chairman of
the Philharmonic, because I am convinced that to
the artist also belongs the
person, that one must not only hear, but also
see, in order to judge him
in his entire personality. [...] Even a
grotesque situation that
played itself out after my retirement, was not
able to change the
situation. An applicant qualified
himself as the best,
and as the screen was
raised, there stood a Japanese before the stunned
jury. He was, however, not
engaged, because his face did not fit with the
'Pizzicato-Polka' of the New
Year's Concert."[18]
The Vienna Philharmonic
believes that Asian features do not fit
with
cultural authenticity in the
rank-and-file of their orchestra. They
thus changed their audition
procedures so that applicants could be seen for
the final round. They also require a photo with job
applications.
The Philharmonic's views
have been studied by Dr. Elena Ostleitner, a
Professor at the Wiener
Musik Hochschule's Institute for Music Sociology.
She notes that, "Even
in a renowned orchestra like the Vienna Philharmonic,
it is difficult, if not
impossible, to fill vacancies, because the
Philharmonic members say the
musicians applying do not fulfill their
artistic requirements, or
are visibly of foreign origin."[19]
The
Philharmonic's views are
shared by some other Austrian orchestras.
Ostleitner recorded the
following statement by an Asian woman:
"I auditioned for an
orchestra, and I led in the point tabulations as long
as I played behind a screen.
Due to my name it was not apparent that I am
an Asian. But when the screen
was removed, I was rejected without comment.
Friends in the orchestra
confirmed my assumption. They do not take
foreigners, and if they do,
then only those in which it [foreign appearance]
is not visible."[20]
Another Viennese
sociologist, Prof. Roland Girtler, of the University of
Vienna, has made the same
observations:
"What I have noticed
that is interesting, is that the Vienna Philharmonic
would also never take a
Japanese or such. If they took one, this also would
somehow by appearances put in
question the noble character of Viennese
culture. But this is not racist!"[21]
It is not merely musical
performance, but also the racial physiognomy of
Asians that is the critical
issue--though Girtler does not view this as
racist. His observations are confirmed by members
of the Philharmonic.
Dieter Flury, the
orchestra's solo-flutist, notes that both gender and
ethnic uniformity are
essential to the orchestra:
"From the beginning we
have spoken of the special Viennese qualities, of
the way music is made here.
The way we make music here is not only a
technical ability, but also
something that has a lot to do with the soul.
The soul does not let itself
be separated from the cultural roots that we
have here in central Europe,
and it also doesn't allow itself to be
separated from gender. So if
one thinks that the world should function by
quota regulations, then it
is naturally irritating that we are a group of
white skinned male
musicians, that perform exclusively the music of white
skinned male composers. It
is a racist and sexist irritation. I believe one
must put it that way. If one
establishes superficial egalitarianism, one
will lose something very
significant. Therefore, I am convinced that it is
worthwhile to accept this
racist and sexist irritation, because something
produced by a superficial
understanding of human rights would not have the
same standards."[22]
Similar views were reported
in a radio broadcast of the Austria National
Broadcasting
Corporation. A public school teacher
who had taken his class
to a rehearsal of the Vienna
Philharmonic reported that a girl in the class
asked why only men were in
the orchestra. Werner Resel, the orchestra's
chairman at the time,
answered that the "Vienna Philharmonic is an
orchestra of white men playing
music by white men for white people".[23]
Statements such as these
contradict the claim that the Vienna Philharmonic is just
"coincidentally" the only all-white major orchestra in the
world. And it makes the orchestra an
unlikely candidate for a concentration camp memorial concert.
Seiji Ozawa has recently
been named Music Director of the Vienna State Opera. The opera is owned and operated by the Austrian Federal
Government and its conductor is appointed by the house's Artistic
Direction--not the orchestra.
Officially, Ozawa's appointment concerns only the State Opera Orchestra
since the Philharmonic is nominally a "private" enterprise the opera
orchestra's members run on the side using exactly the same personnel.
Ozawa's appointment by the
opera house's administration produces an interesting dynamic, since it stands
in stark contrast to the orchestra's practice of excluding Asian musicians from
its rank-and-file membership. In early
March Ozawa traveled to Vienna to assess the political situation in Austria
before deciding to accept his position at the opera[24]. Obviously one conductor of color in front of
the Vienna State Opera Orchestra doesn't make up for its being the -only-
all-white major orchestra in the world--a situation created by overt
racism[25]. Even though the members of
the Vienna Philharmonic/Vienna State Opera Orchestra did not appoint Ozawa and
actually exclude Asians from rank-and-file membership in the orchestra, they
will likely use him as an alibi, just as they do with their token women
harpists.
ENDNOTES
[1] Richard Dyer, "Bomb
Scare Halts Ozawa Concert" _The Boston Globe_ (March 24, 2000): E14.
[2] ibid.
[3] "Nicht mit
uns" _Der Standard_ (March 10,2000).
[4] Michael Steinberg,
"In Salzburg, a Fresh Skirmish in the Culture Wars" _The New York
Times_ (October 17, 1999).
[5] For details see my
e-mail to the IAWM list, Sept. 24, 1999.
[6] For general background
see: Michael Steinberg, "In Salzburg, a Fresh Skirmish in the Culture
Wars" _The New York Times_ (October 17, 1999).
[7] For additional details
see my post to the IAWM list of January 14, 2000 at:
http://www.acu.edu/academics/music/archive/iawm.9912/0054.html
[8] Marta S. Halpert,
"Ein Schlachthof ist kein Konzertsaal" _Der Standard_ (March 4,
2000).
[9] Peter Mayr,
"'Europaeischer Event' und das Gedenken" _Der Standard_ (March 4,
2000).
[10] idid.
[11] "Innenminister
darf Konzert lauschen" _Der Standard_ (March 7, 2000).
[12] ibid.
[13] "Leserstimmen:
Pietaetloses spektakel" _Der Standard_ (March 14, 2000).
[14] Clemens Hellsberg, _Demokratie der Koenige:
Die Geschickte der Wiener Philharmoniker_ (Zurich: Schweiyer Verlagshaus: Wien:
Kremayr & Scheriau; Mainz: Musikverlag Schott, 1992):464-505. Hellsberg's book is relatively open in
dealing with the Vienna Philharmonic's Nazi collaboration but he also
rationalizes many aspects of it.
[15] For details see my post
to the IAWM list posted on December 31, 1999 at:
http://www.acu.edu/academics/music/archive/iawm.9912/0056.html
[16] See my post to the IAWM list dated January
1, 2000.
[17] "Innenminister
darf Konzert lauschen" _Der Standard_ (March 7, 2000).
[18] Otto Strasser, _Und
dafuer wird man noch bezahlt: Mein Leben mit den
Wiener Phiharmonikern_
(Wien: Paul Neff Verlag, 1974)
[19] Elena Ostleitner,
_Liebe, Lust, Last und Lied_ (Wien, Bundesministerium
fuer Unterricht und
Kunst, 1995) p. 6.
[20] Ibid.
[21] "Musikalische
Misogynie," broadcast by the West German State Radio,
February 13, 1996. See
also: Roland Girtler, "Mitgliedsaufnahme in den
Noblen Bund der Wiener
Philharmoniker Als Mannbarkeitsritual", Sociologia
Internationalis (Beiheft
1, Berlin 1992).
[22] "Musikalische
Misoggynie" broadcast by the West German state Radio,
February 13, 1996. See also:
William Osborne, "Art Is Just An Excuse:
Gender Bias in International
Orchestras," _Journal of the International
Allicance for Women in
Music_ (Vol. 2, No. 3, October 1996):6.
[23] "Von Tag zu
Tag", broadcast by Austrian National Radio and Television,
December 11, 1996,
4:05-4:45pm.
[24] For more details about
Ozawa's appointment to the Vienna State Opera and his concerns about the
political situation in Austria, see:
Peggy Hernandez and Richard Dyer, "Ozawa Plans Vienna Return to
Assess Political Climate" _The Boston Globe_ (February 17, 2000): E1.
[25] There are some significant orchestras in the
former east block which have no non-white members, but the circumstances are
very different from the Vienna Philharmonic's.
The East Block orchestras were isolated by the iron curtain and had very
few foreign music students or residents of color. Today these orchestras are not among the major international
orchestras because they are still very poorly paid. This makes it difficult for them to attract foreign musicians.
For additional information
about the Vienna Philharmonic and women in
orchestras see these
websites:
"Art Is Just An Excuse:
Gender Bias in International Orchestras"
http://music.acu.edu/www/iawm/articles/oct96/osborne.html
"The Image of Purity:
The Racial Ideology of the Vienna Philharmonic in
Historical Perspective"
Part I:
http://www.acu.edu/academics/music/archive/iawm.9701/0074.html
(a link to Part II is at the
bottom of Part I)
"A Difficult Birth:
Maternity Leave in the Vienna Philharmonic"
http://www.acu.edu/academics/music/archive/iawm.9702/0092.html
"You sound Like a
Ladies' Orchestra: A Case History of Sexism Against Abbie
Conant in the Munich
Philharmonic"
http://metro.turnpike.net/~iwbc/ladies.html
William Osborne,
"Symphony Orchestras and Artist Prophets: Cultural
Isomorphism and the
Allocation of Power In Music"
_Leonardo
Music Journal_ (Vol. 9,
2000).
[Leonardo Music Journal is
available from the M.I.T. Press.
Researchers and journalists may also obtain the article from the author,
William Osborne at: ]