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Terry Teachout on the arts in New York City

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Archives for October 20, 2016

George Szell’s part-timers

October 20, 2016 by Terry Teachout

In today’s Wall Street Journal “Sightings” column I look at the current rash of symphony-orchestra strikes, and offer a historical perspective. Here’s an excerpt.

* * *

unknownTwo American orchestras, in Fort Worth, Texas, and Pittsburgh, are currently on strike, and a third, the Philadelphia Orchestra, recently settled an opening-night strike. Such conflicts are becoming common, and as usual, money is to blame. It’s the old, old story: Management says there’s no more cash in the till and proposes to cut salaries. The players reply that there are better ways to trim the budget. Result: Stalemate, followed by picket lines….

It’s worth remembering—yet hardly ever mentioned in news reports—that in the U.S., most orchestral musicians make a lot more money than they did only a couple of generations ago….

My quest for perspective began with “Tales From the Locker Room,” an oral history of the Cleveland Orchestra published in 2015. Lawrence Angell and Bernette Jaffe, the authors, interviewed Arnold Steinhardt, who played under George Szell in Cleveland before becoming the first violinist of the Guarneri Quartet in 1964. When he joined the orchestra in 1959, Mr. Steinhardt recalled, “Most of the orchestra, with families to feed, did what they could to make a living….Sam Salkin, first violin, tried to sell me a watch; Ed Matey, second violin, offered me mutual funds; Irv Nathanson, double bass, wondered if I needed instrument insurance; and Angie Angelucci, French horn, tried to sell me a Plymouth.”

maxresdefaultMr. Steinhardt wasn’t exaggerating. Prior to 1968, membership in the Cleveland Orchestra was a part-time job. When he joined the orchestra, the regular season was just 30 weeks long, with lower pay for summer concerts. In 1952, the base salary was $3,240—$29,231 in today’s dollars. By 1967, it had only gone up to $11,700. (The current base salary is $120,000.) The U.S. median household income in 1967, by contrast, was $7,970. According to a 1952 survey, 60% of the players moonlighted in non-musical jobs…

Yes, the Cleveland Orchestra was a regional ensemble notorious in the music business for its stingy salaries—but George Szell, who became its music director in 1947, somehow managed to turn it into one of the world’s finest orchestras anyway….

Should the members of the Cleveland Orchestra have been paid far more in Szell’s day? Obviously. Do they, and their colleagues in other American orchestras, deserve to be paid salaries in accord with their artistry, as well as with the years of painstaking effort that went into mastering their craft? Of course. I used to be a bass player, and nobody needs to tell me how hard orchestral musicians work. But lots of other people think they “deserve” to make higher salaries, often with good reason….

* * *

Read the whole thing here.

George Szell rehearses the Cleveland Orchestra in the first movement of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony in 1966:

So you want to see a show?

October 20, 2016 by Terry Teachout

Here’s my list of recommended Broadway, off-Broadway, and out-of-town shows, updated weekly. In all cases, I gave these shows favorable reviews (if sometimes qualifiedly so) in The Wall Street Journal when they opened. For more information, click on the title.

BROADWAY:
• An American in Paris (musical, G, too complex for small children, closes Jan. 1, reviewed here)
• The Color Purple (musical, PG-13, some performances sold out last week, reviewed here)
• The Encounter (one-man immersive drama, PG-13, many performances sold out last week, closes Jan. 8, reviewed here)
• Hamilton (musical, PG-13, Broadway transfer of off-Broadway production, all performances sold out last week, reviewed here)
• Matilda (musical, G, closes Jan. 1, reviewed here)
• On Your Feet! (jukebox musical, G, reviewed here)

OFF BROADWAY:
• The Fantasticks (musical, G, suitable for children capable of enjoying a love story, reviewed here)
118377• The Roads to Home (drama, G/PG-13, not suitable for children, closes Nov. 27, reviewed here)
• Sense & Sensibility (serious romantic comedy, G, remounting of 2014 off-Broadway production, closes Nov. 20, original production reviewed here)

CLOSING SOON IN WASHINGTON, D.C.:
• Sense & Sensibility (serious romantic comedy, G, remounting of 2014 off-Broadway production, closes Oct. 30, original production reviewed here)

CLOSING NEXT WEEK OFF BROADWAY:
• A Day by the Sea (drama, G, not suitable for children, closes Oct. 30, reviewed here)
• A Taste of Honey (drama, PG-13, closes Oct. 30, reviewed here)

CLOSING FRIDAY IN CHICAGO:
• Wonderful Town (musical, G, reviewed here)

Almanac: Bertrand Russell on science and imagination

October 20, 2016 by Terry Teachout

INK BOTTLE“Science may set limits to knowledge, but should not set limits to imagination.”

Bertrand Russell, A History of Western Philosophy

Terry Teachout

Terry Teachout, who writes this blog, is the drama critic of The Wall Street Journal and the critic-at-large of Commentary. In addition to his Wall Street Journal drama column and his monthly essays … [Read More...]

About

About “About Last Night”

This is a blog about the arts in New York City and the rest of America, written by Terry Teachout. Terry is a critic, biographer, playwright, director, librettist, recovering musician, and inveterate blogger. In addition to theater, he writes here and elsewhere about all of the other arts--books, … [Read More...]

About My Plays and Opera Libretti

Billy and Me, my second play, received its world premiere on December 8, 2017, at Palm Beach Dramaworks in West Palm Beach, Fla. Satchmo at the Waldorf, my first play, closed off Broadway at the Westside Theatre on June 29, 2014, after 18 previews and 136 performances. That production was directed … [Read More...]

About My Podcast

Peter Marks, Elisabeth Vincentelli, and I are the panelists on “Three on the Aisle,” a bimonthly podcast from New York about theater in America. … [Read More...]

About My Books

My latest book is Duke: A Life of Duke Ellington, published in 2013 by Gotham Books in the U.S. and the Robson Press in England and now available in paperback. I have also written biographies of Louis Armstrong, George Balanchine, and H.L. Mencken, as well as a volume of my collected essays called A … [Read More...]

The Long Goodbye

To read all three installments of "The Long Goodbye," a multi-part posting about the experience of watching a parent die, go here. … [Read More...]

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