Did you notice? Did anybody notice? Really? Look again….
It’s right here. Read the article, all the way. There it is at the end, the Nuclear Option. This article was posted on the 5th and I have been waiting Lo these five days for all hell to break loose in the blogosphere, on Twitter, Facebook, wherever…….. yet nothing. I am surprised because, people, this actually could happen.
On occasion I run into musicians of the M.O. whilst gallivanting around town. I have always thought that this lockout was fundamentally different than the one across town at the SPCO. Not to belittle the SPCO situation at all, but I had the feeling that it would get settled, despite the hard feelings there, one way or another. But from the vibe I have picked up from my colleagues I would find it surprising in the extreme if any M.O. musician would ever consider returning to work under the auspices of Michael Henson.
The level of distrust in this labor action is beyond anything that has previously occurred in the orchestral world in the USA, with the possible exception of Mr. “advertise in craigslist for replacement musicians” down in Louisville. If Henson got up and swore on a bible that grass is green, the sky is blue, and God is great, I’m pretty sure that within 24 hours the musicians of the M.O. would issue a demand for a 3rd party audit of those statements. It’s that bad. So, when Tony Ross mentions the idea of the musicians putting on their own season…… I can actually see them trying to do this. That’s the Nuclear Option.
But there are a ton of questions: how would a musician-run season work? It’s one thing to put on three or four concerts during the year as a protest, but an entire season takes serious provender, organizational skills, and foresight. Obstacles include renting halls, acquiring conductors and/or soloists, printing programs, etc., etc. There are a few halls in the Twin Cities but availability may be tight. Ditto for conductors – Mad Stan and Edo have already thrown their lot in with the musicians, but they can’t fill out a season alone. Soloists? I can just hear the calls to ICM or Opus3. Talking about putting them on the spot. Any conductor/soloist who appears with the musicians will immediately be blacklisted by the current administration of the M.O.
And there lies the rub – this would be a crucial moment for the entire industry. Which side are you on? Are you willing to throw your lot in with the musicians of the M.O. and risk being labeled a subversive in the classical music industry? Please keep in mind that this is one of the most conservative businesses in the world. You may think it’s about the music but it’s really about the money, and with the money to be made on soloists and conductors one wonders where those chips will fall. Mad Stan and Edo can essentially raise their middle fingers to The Powers That Be and take a stand. Most conductors/soloists who have signed their lives away to TPTB won’t even get the chance to be heard on this subject.
But leaving that whole argument for a minute there’s still the problem of the future. If you have musicians putting on their own season you are now faced with two competing organizations, each claiming to be the standard bearer of the legacy, yet neither really encompassing that whole of that legacy. How is that going to play out? And what, then, is the incentive to settle the lock-out? How in the world will the M.O. and the musicians of the M.O. ever settle? At that point the chances of a reconciliation fall to a North/South Korea level, and we all know how well THAT is going.
The problem with the nuclear option is this – it may help win the war but the fallout will poison the earth for decades to come. That having been said, sometimes the only way to be able to look at yourself in the mirror is to take the plunge. Seriously, given the choice between slaving for Michael Henson’s Corporation, or working like a dog and actually making music you could be proud of, what would you do?
I have actually had dreams of a “people’s orchestra” in which music lovers around the world chip in to fund the world class orchestra, formally known as the Minnesota Orchestra. I’ve wondered how to reach the Minnesota musicians, who are floating in millions like Bob Dylan and Prince, and say “Look, you make crap loads of money doing your music. Why not help out and save a Minnesota treasure? I’ve even thought of writing to Warren Buffet, not to ask him for money, but to ask him how to deal with moronic money people who are completely incapable of assessing the real worth and value of something that doesn’t have anything to do with turning a profit. I will not stop fighting for my orchestra.
With all due respect to the players, who probably really want only to return to work in a fair and trusting environment, perhaps the perception of this ‘nuclear option’ is akin to the public’s reaction of the saber-rattling of Kim Jong un?