"Musik von weishen Manner" by Juerg Stenzl
51/52/96 Falter
Translation by Bettina Brockerhoff-Macdonald
The music of white men
The Philharmonic. The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra is not only an indisputably exceptional orchestra, but also an Austrian national myth. It has had a problem with modern music since the 1920's. It looks like this will no longer be solved in this century. Juerg Stenzl
It is the 27th of April, 1945. The eve of the resurrection as a republic of the Austria destroyed by war, the first concert of the Vienna Philharmonic in the Konzerthalle. The young royal actor OskarWerner was there, "Clemes Krauss conducted. He was still allowed to, they were then all burdened. Then the musicians came onstage, dressed exactly in the manner as they had been in the cellar: one with knickerbockers, another in a sweater. At first the Viennese began to applaud, then everything died down, and something tremendous happened: the whole hall stood up. Their Philharmonic is coming! Standing they received the royal orchestra. And then they played Schubert's "Unfinished", no less. I still get tears in my eyes today. Even when I'm just talking about it."
Mussolini was hung in Mailand, Hitler was in the Berlin bunker - the hungry Vienna celebrated the consecration of a cultural myth. The way the new Austria saw itself became before all politics - restoratively anchored in culture: Philharmonic, State Opera, "Burgtheater" are the names of the "Great Myths" (Sigrid Loeffler). How could a cultural myth such as this leading orchestra become the object of such matter-of-fact disagreements.
The rank of the Vienna Philharmonic is without doubt. Of all the orchestras of the world, which all basically sound the same, only the members of the Vienna Philharmonic are capable of an unmistakably characteristic sound. It can be traced back to the instruments, which have long ago been replaced in other places by modern ones. The Viennese have a woodwind and brass sound which mixes wonderfully with that of the strings; they amalgamate the sound textures, while the other orchestras emphasize the individual sound specifics of the instruments. This ideology and "material" side of the Viennese tradition is joined by a traditonalism, which is conjured up again and again. It forms the requirement for the preservation of this specific sound of the orchestra, and this determines its expressive, interpretative understanding.
The Philharmonic was founded in 1833, as an artistic association made up of the members of the opera orchestra for the purpose of performing demanding masterpieces. The self-governing orchestra has performed since 1842 on an irregular basis, since 1860 on a regular concert basis and, until 1933, elected its principal conductor. But after Gustav Mahler had taken his leave as concert conductor in 1901 - after only three years - the concert programs became more and more conservative under the baton leadership of conductors such as Hellmesberger, Weingartner, Furtwaengler and Krauss.
This also had its musical reasons: the dominant direction of the New Music since the 1920's was the neoclassicism of a Stravinsky and Hindemith. Their music was not based upon homogenous sound and soft articulation, but rather upon clear separation of colours, linearity and dry performance. No wonder then, that the only real scandal among the Philharmonic was caused in 1925 by Stravinsky's "Sacre du printemps".
The Vienna Philharmonic belongs to the interpretative tradition of the "espressivo", which goes back to Richard Wagner, and found its pinnacle in conductors such as Mahler and Mengelberg before the First World War. In short time, it was taken over by the completely different method of interpretation of the "Neue Sachlichkeit" in the 1920's with conductors such as Otto Klemperer and later Herbert von Karajan. Older musical interpretations of the orchestra, such as of Beethoven's symphonies under the direction of Franz Schalk and Felix Weingartner, and Mahler's "Lied von der Erde" in 1936 under Bruno Walter, show how much of the pre-war tradition had been maintained, in spite of unmistakable adaptations. It is curious to note that the Viennese composers Schoenberg, Berg and Webern were also traditionalists. They wrote their New Music with the sound and the interpretative approach of the Philharmonic in mind - and were hardly performed for decades by this orchestra in particular.
The distance between this orchestra and contemporary compositions grew again, when after 1960 the radically new music of Boulez, Stockhausen, Xenakis, Ligeti and others succeeded. Besides being demanding in interpretation, it also often technically demanding, especially for the wind sections, which exceed the capabilities of the Viennese instruments. The oboe concerto by Richard Strauss, usually a mandatory piece of repertoire for every oboist, is very difficult to perform on a Viennese oboe.
An orchestra renews itself constantly. To be sure, the young musicians adapt themselves to the spirit of the orchestra, but it is an open secret that many of them do not participate in the militant rejection of the New Music. Important conductors share a whispered suspicion, that the orchestra is considerably more open-minded than its speaker, manager and subscribers by inheritance. Conductors, who clean up with "traditions" which have become obsolete, can only stand in front of this orchestra in concert, after they have proven themselves in other places, especially the record-selling business (Harnoncourt, Boulez, Rattle). The orchestra prefers conventional conductors, who place the lush 'beautiful sound' above analytical clarity and succeed in the media precisely because of this. Orchestra musicians love those conductors who reaffirm the way they see themselves.
In the last decades this wonderful traditional orchestra has not only been pressured by the musical history of the last eighty years, but rather also by a completely different interpretation of its own repertoire. Conductors of the "old music" such as Norrington, Gardiner and Harnoncourt worked on the music between Haydn and Brahms with the "historical authenticity of performance". In the seventies, Harnoncourt already conducted an open-minded traditional orchestra - the Concertgebow Orchestra of Amsterdam, - when no one in Vienna wanted to hear about him as a conductor.
How can the Philharmonic preserve an incomparable tradition, without becoming traditionalists, or even reactionaries? (From orchestra director Werner Resel comes the thought that they "are an orchestra of white men, who play white music composed by white men for a white audience.") The Viennese can comfortably push the problem of tradition and innovation into the next century and sun themselves in the successes of the New Year's concerts and the "Rosenkavalier". They will not escape this problem in the long run. Many of the 150 musicians of the orchestra know this. But who will say it aloud?
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Los Angeles Times
March 5, 1997
Second Front Page A3R
Notes on 26 Years as Official Nonentity
'Strictly speaking, until yesterday I did not exist officially'
- Anna Lelkes on Feb. 28, 1997, the day after she was admitted to the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Photo of Anna Lelkes.
Caption: Anna Lelkes credits U.S. women's rights activists for membership.
Harpist Anna Lelkes is the first woman to be given full membership in the Vienna Philharmonic in its 155-year history. Though she was admitted Thursday, her first chance to play as a full member will be tonight, when the orchestra performs Richard Strauss' "Ein Heldenleben" (A Hero's Life) at the Orange County Performing Arts Center.
Lelkes, 57, was born in Budapest, Hungary, and became an Austrian citizen in 1974. In 1971 she entered the Vienna State Opera orchestra, from whcih the philharmonic draws its members. She has played with the philharmonic since 1974, but until last week full membership had been denied her.
Shortly before leaving on the international tour that brings the orchestra to Costa Mesa this week, Lelkes gave an exclusive interview to Heinz Roegle of the Salzburger Nachrichten, which, with circulation of about 100,000, is the largest of the three general-interest newspapers published in Salzburg, Austria.
Question: Ms. Lelkes, we congratulate you. How did you find out about your admission to the orchestra?
Answer: I've been attending [its] meetings for a long time.
Q. You've always been at the meetings?
A: I was hired Jan. 1, 1971, by the state opera, and three years later, in 1974 I was admitted informally into the philharmonic as a regular without full membership. I didn't exist officially until yesterday. My name was never mentioned in any program...and they always claimed, even in my presence, right under my own nose, that they didn't have a woman [in the orchestra].
Q: Did you have financial equality with the men?
A: I did since 1974. I just couldn't call
Lelkes
Page A9
Continued from A3
myself a member of the philharmonic. My name wasn't allowed to appear anywhere. I couldn't vote. Originally, I shouldn't even have been allowed to attend the meetings.
But it's at these meetings that we discuss the work schedule and general planning for the orchestra. I've often worked a lot more than my male colleague (the orchestra's male harpist is Harald Kautzky). So they said, "All right, you can come [to the meetings]." As time went by, I was allowed to attend everything because otherwise I would not have found out if and when I would have to paly and what the contracts would say....I really couldn't say that I was treated badly. [But] it was the younger generation, especially, that fought it out for me. At the last meeting [when they took the vote to admit women], it really hurt me. Someone said: "There are no women in the Vienna Choir Boys and n opigs at the Lippizaners [the Spanish Riding School in Vienna's famous dressage team of white horses]."
Everything was blocked at the meeting the week before [when the vote had been scheduled but was postponed]. They had mobilized all those pensioners [retired members of the philharmonic]. Quite a few [younger players] got together and even got organized and said this can't go on any longer. The younger generation stood up for me at the [second] meeting.
Q: Is there a conflict among the men in the orchestra that we've been hearing about?
A: Yes, I was not admitted unanimously, but with a big majority, as I heard. I had to leave the room before the vote. They were terribly frightened by the possibility of demonstrations by American women's rights activists. I believe that this pressure was decisive. And that's why they said, "OK, we have to give some proof that we are not that bad. We must stand up for 'equal employment opportunity for both genders,' " as they formulated it officially for the press.
Q: Did you yourself ever express the desire to be admitted as a full member of the orchestra?
A: Again and again, almost every year. I've waited for this for 26 years. I also stated in writing that I wanted to be admitted at least as an "extra" or "special member." But it was bogged down regularly be some commission or by the executive committee.
Reprinted with permission from the Saturday edition of Salzburger Nachrichten. Transcribed by Times staff writer Jan Herman, translated from the German by Mike Wiessner.
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Orange County Register
March 5, 1997
Metro p.6
Arguments aside, orchestra makes enchanting music
by Scott Duncan
COSTA MESA - We went to see the hoopla and protests, and a concert broke out. Indeed, it was a relief t hear the Vienna Philharmonic make music, not just controversy.
As heard Tuesday night in Degerstrom Hall, there is something beyond the rhetoric of activism and the silly defense of the status quo that is worth fighting for here. It's the unique sound and the special musicial tradition of this orchestra.
You can't blame anyone for wanting to guard it preciously, as the caunted string sections of the Vienna Philharmonic gave a velvety warmth and meticulous precision to Mozart's Symphony No. 29. In the rhythmic lilt and translucent textures, it seemed the essence of Mozart.
Under conductor Daniel Barenboim, the sprawling Bruckner Ninth Symphony got a magisterial performance. Ever the sculptor, Barenboim shaped long phrases and massive contours of sound, though he did not find the work's almost mystical spirituality.
Barenboim might have been annoyed at the sometimes noisy and late-entering audience, because there were no encores.
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Los Angeles Times Orange County Edition
March 3, 1997
Page B1
Vienna Orchestra's First Woman is 'Very, Very Glad'
by Janet Wilson
Times Staff Writer
LOS ANGELES- Looking relaxed and confident after a transocianic flight and a two-decade wait, Anna Lelkes landed in the United States on Sunday night for her debut as the first female member of the world-renowned Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
"Very, very glad, I am very glad," siad the Hungarian harpist as she strode out of the Los Angeles International Airport straight into an all-male curbside crowd of colleagues, one clutching a bulbous bass case and others hoisting suitcases plastered with labels from cities around the world.
Although Lelkes, 57, had played with the
Page B7
Headline: LELKES: First Female Member of Vienna Orchestra
Photo: Werner Resel and Anna Lelkes
Caption: Werner Resel, president of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, and Anna Lelkes, the first woman member, arrive in Los Angeles
orchestra for more than 20 years because of a critical shortage of male harpists, shw was only voted in as a member Thursday. She will play second harp Wednesday night at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Richard Strauss' "Hero Love" symphony, orchestra President Werner Resel said.
Resel fielded questions as Lelkes, dressed in blue jeans and a suede blazer, ran for the Orange Blossom Lines bus after a quick smile for a photographer.
Just nine days after he declared the all-white male Philharmonic should disband rather than admit women, Resel said he was "absolutely very happy" that Lelkes had been made a member.
"It is a small step for her, after so many years with us...but it is one of the most significant steps in the history of our organization," he said. Resel said after the vote by a near-unanimous majority, which he joined, he congratulated Lelkes and told her "welcome."
"She smiled," Resel said. "She was really very happy. It was a dream for her whole life."
The first time Lelkes' name even appeared on a concert program was in March, 1995, for a performance at Carnegie Hall. She has been paid the same as other members of the private association, which is drawn from the state opera orchestra, "since the first day she played," Resel said. The Philharmonic generates about $15 million annually in profits, netting each of its members $180,000 in addition to the civil servant salaries they receive as members of the Vienna State Opera Orchestra, according to a Salzburg newspaper.
Resel said leles was an integral part of the polished sound that has placed the Vienna Philharmonic at the top of the world's great orchestras.
"The woodwinds and the strings are especially important to us, the smiling and warm sounds that so especially Viennese," he said.
Women's groups who had rallied by Internet across international boundaries have vowed to demonstrate in front of the Costa Mesa concert hall and in front of Carnegie Hall shows next week, in spite of the admission of Leles and a promise to audition other women for open spots next summer.
"This is a step in the right direction, " said JoAnn Perlman of the south Orange County chapter of the National Organization for Women, last week. "But our peaceful demonstrations will go forth as planned as a way to raise public consciousness of the issues. This includes the admission of minorities as well."
Resel said, "We have absolutely no problem with this. We have nothing against the demonstrators."
Asked why it had taken so long to admit one woman and agree to audition others, Resel said a recent change in Austrian government policy concerning maternity leaves made it possible. He said that previously, when a woman became pregnant, she was allowed a two-year leave and then could return to her job at will.
"When you are at home with children, you cannot play as much, you cannot play as well," he said. Now, he said, men as well as women will be able to take two-year leaves for family matters, and the orchestra will be allowed to audtion for replacements "as soon as the woman is pregnant."
Both men and women who take leaves of absence will need to re-audition for admission.
"Now, a man is like a woman, and a woman is like a man," he said. "All the same."
The concert in Orange County as well as the shows in New York are sold out.
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