Successor of Simon Rattle: advantages and disadvantages of democracy in the music – Abendzeitung Munich

Even after eleven hours, the Berliner Philharmoniker can not agree on a new chief conductor.

For a concert tour to Warsaw, the conductor Benjamin Bilse had bought tickets only the fourth grade. This angered the underpaid musicians of his chapel. 54 of them decided to start their own band, they wanted to manage themselves. They committed themselves to “mutual steadfast holding together” and for personal liability.

On May 1, 1882 established the new orchestra, with claiming to be the best of the new imperial capital, which soon bore the name Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. On Monday, the 123 electors musicians wanted to choose a successor to retiring in 2018 at his own request Simon Rattle. But the eleven-hour marathon session ended late at night with no result.

Perhaps only elected in one year, the Philharmonic is the only top ensemble, the autonomously decides on its chief conductor. And they are quite proud of it. But that does not mean that other orchestras would not also vote on their bosses.

The Munich Philharmonic chose Valery Gergiev in an orchestra meeting Chief Conductor. The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra has recently voted overwhelmingly for a contract extension for Mariss Jansons for another three years until 2021.

However, after everything you know about it, not in a crucial vote as in Berlin, but in a peace election. In these orchestras you’ve never heard anything about a rival candidate Management and musicians representatives worked together in finding, the final decision was in the second case, the BR-director Ulrich Wilhelm and the first in the town hall:. At the Munich City Council

This is different with the Berlin Philharmonic. They are since 2002 a foundation under public law. In the first round every conductor could be proposed. The mixture was then screened. Despite several rounds of voting to have been able to agree on a new artistic director, the orchestra board and bassist Peter Riegelbauer said on Monday.

What exactly happened during the counseling in the Berlin Jesus Christ Church, know only the musicians , The fact that a conductor had canceled, is disputed. Probably no candidate has reached the ominous “clear majority”. And so it came to a stalemate -. Possibly due to the high number of abstentions

In an interview for the artistic direction have included Andris Nelsons, head of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Christian Thielemann, conductor of the Staatskapelle Dresden, and Daniel Barenboim, musical director of the Berlin State Opera. Each represents a different artistic direction. In this issue, the musicians seem deeply divided and at odds

Whether the said conductors actually stood for election. Nobody knows certainly. How does it go from here? After the bursting of the Berlin election want to go back to search for candidates. The orchestra will be sure to take the time necessary so Riegelbauer. “This may take a year.” Until then, the orchestra of the names and the future artistic direction would consult internally.