letters in response to Seattle NYTimes article

In the upcoming Sunday edition of the New York Times, several letters are printed in the Arts section – you can read the complete letters (as printed) here.

Here are some of the best parts of some of them:

…The implication that I was hired by Gerard Schwarz because of friendship rather than the urgent need to acquire the best possible principal horn player is difficult to get past without laughing. Nobody hires a friend to walk that tightrope. Anybody who knows orchestras knows that…

~ John Cerminaro, principal horn, Seattle Symphony

and

We, the musicians of the Seattle Symphony, are not proud that you have elevated our discord to national examination. We acknowledge the issues raised in the article and hope that it may prove effective in this Symphony’s improvement and advancement.

For many in our bargaining unit, the article reflects years of widespread frustration. The few cases specifically cited are relatively fresh, indicative of our daily experience in this organization. The Kaman trial provides a focal point, but the issue of a safe, nonthreatening work environment applies to everyone.

~ Michael Crusoe, principal tympanist and chair of the orchestra committee, Seattle Symphony

and

While the Seattle Symphony’s travails may shock many classical fans, the reality is that the symphony’s problems mirror those of many American orchestras: deeply entrenched and disliked conductors, bitter musicians and ineffectual boards. And it’s not surprising that management has not considered the mood of the orchestra.

Gerard Schwarz may be credited with raising the Seattle Symphony to new heights, but his new policy of using four concertmasters is clearly intended to diffuse power and any possibility of dissent.

~ Scott Cole, Ashland, Ore.

and

There are a pretty fair number of horn players who have published recordings of the solo literature, and Cerminaro is just about the best. I recently played the recording of his live performance of the Gliere concerto for my current teacher, a Ukrainian for whom this is biblical text, and was not surprised to hear him say it was the best he had heard. Your writers should have given your readers a hint about Cerminaro’s exceptional stature, with whatever qualifications they wanted to add.

~ Joe Ryan, Cairo

and

What is motivating this ugly regurgitation of the same issues, reported in the same biased, one-sided overdramatized manner? There is really nothing new in this article that has not already been dragged through the mud.

Every day I, and the vast majority of Seattle Symphony musicians, come to work to do our personal best, hoping to contribute to the whole and are thrilled to have landed in an orchestra that plays in a beautiful hall, sells lots of tickets and raises lots of money. (By the way, that is newsworthy, because many American orchestras are struggling to survive.)

I may be afraid that I might miss an important entrance, or that I might drop my mute and make an embarrassing racket, but I am most definitely not afraid of my colleagues or my conductor.

~ Susan Carroll, third horn, Seattle Symphony

and

I have lived in Seattle now for 10 years and was an avid symphonygoer before I arrived here. I am still avid, but I refuse to go to Seattle Symphony concerts conducted by Gerard Schwarz, and I refuse to donate to the orchestra.

Mr. Schwarz cannot lead his orchestra to produce anything I want to listen to. Most telling is his incompetent reading of Beethoven. I realize there is a great deal else to listen to, but how can a conductor mangle Beethoven as badly as Mr. Schwarz does, and still remain at the head of an orchestra that aspires to be among the top ranked in the United States?

~ Ward Beattie, Seattle