Posted by Frank Gazda on June 29, 2003 at 07:57:32:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Article on new tubist in Vienna posted by Barry Guerrero on June 27, 2003 at 21:47:04:
The article states that as many as half of the students who are studying in Vienna are Asian. Surely some of them are talented enough students to assimilate the proper style and sound of the orchestra!
Austria seems to be obsessed with racial purity (from things that I've read). While after WW II Germany made some overt attempts at regret and atonement, Austria is still anti-semetic (in Bill Bryson's book "neither here nor there" he staes that several polls indicate that 70% of Austrian don't like Jews, 20% actively loath them, and 10% are "physically revolted" by them). Kurt Waldheim, former officer in the Wehrmacht, was president of Austria from 1986 - 1992.
I'm all for maintaining the traditional sound of the VPO, but the overt and unapologetic practice of hiring only white males in disgusting to me. As a private organization perhaps they have that right, but as members of the human race that they feel the need to is appaling. Hopefully the appointment of Mr. Sugiyama heralds a change of philosphy and is not just a token gesture like the hiring of the woman harpist. Let's be fair, regardless of how we feel about the tuba, being one of 2 alternating tubists in an orchestra that plays a LOT of Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, etc. there are very few people who will be on stage less that Mr. Sugiyama.
My distressingly in favor of world - wide globalization opinion,
Frank Gazda