The Swiss had one of their periodic referenda on Sunday. The matter under decision was a change to the constitution that would make music teaching obligatory and well funded in schools.
Remarkably, 72.7 percent of the voters ticked ‘yes’.
No-one knows how much the new measure is going to cost, but the size of the majority speaks volumes for the way the Swiss would like the world to see them. Culture Minister Alain Berset tweeted after the result that Switzerland is “A beautiful country where every child can learn an instrument.”
More here.
If only our government valued the arts so much! I was privileged enough to go to a school where the music department had a Steinway grand (probably a 5 or 6 foot type, not sure – recently replaced with a Concert D I gather) and a lovely Bechstein in the main hall of the department, with practice rooms all round the square building. For visiting performers (we had the likes of Anna Markland visiting) we had a Bluthner grand in the main school hall! I don’t expect all schools to have that, but yamaha U series uprifghts are very good value for money, as are their grands. Let’s see if we can follow the swiss roll out! I somehow doubt it……..
Well said Henry – I am trying to keep this debate going among my fb friends – I fear educating the next generation of both performers and audiences is not going to get any easier,but doing what I can…( a little shocked to see my name in print however!)
Hi, Anna, delighted to see you in on this issue. We know each other from HS-L times (I took over your flat and students in 1986…yes, it’s me). Amazing how even the most sceptical cantons returned ‘Yes’ results that would constitute an election landslide in any other context. We can only hang our heads in shame in comparison, even if the UK is considerably better than France, where classical music is the exclusive preserve of the catholic bourgeoisie and is notable by its almost complete absence in state schools.
“make music teaching obligatory and well funded in schools”: Switzerland will become the last bastion of civilized society.
For every 100 Swiss residents 45.7 own a gun, the highest rate of gun ownership in the world.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/guns/switzerland.asp
Change your mind yet?
I think the term “own” is probably misplaced here. Swiss adult men obligatorily are members of the Swiss Army. After their initial training and service, they continue to serve, at intervals, throughout their lives until reaching retirement age, and sometimes beyond. They take their service weapons home with them, for the event of an unexpected, sudden mobilisation. They don’t use their service weapons for recreational purposes.
if you read the article fully, then you’ll see that most of the weapons are acquired after military service during which they are required by law to have the weapon in their home. Many retain it after service, though it is reconditioned from fully automatic to semi. The gun crime is also incredibly low.
We have guns because we are obliged to keep it at home ; every swissman must do one year at the army
What about gun control in Switzerland? Are there background checks? How easily can Swiss people with a history of mental illness or a criminal record obtain a firearm?
(Sorry Norman if this goes beyond the scope of your blog, but I couldn’t resist the question.)
I think it already is, anyway.
booking my flights now!!
Welcome !
And we wonder why Switzerland seems like such a great place to live.
Especially compared with, say, the USA.
Doug either likes or dislikes guns.
But he apparently doesn’t care about the thorough weapons training of Swiss citizens–far more thorough than most US citizens are required to get. And he has forgotten that owners of assault rifles in the US often do not have the auto-repeat function disabled–though the sport involved in machine-gunning deer escapes me.
Gun ownership, at least in this case, has nothing to do with a discussion of music and culture.
On the contrary, I think they’re complementary. The idea of a highly-educated, music-loving nation also well-trained in the art of using firearms could be very useful when it comes to persuading other states to follow their lead…