It's time to shatter another glass ceiling...

Originally published May 10, 2011

2008 was a monumental year in the history of our country.  Whether you agree with his political stance or not, Barack Obama's rise to the presidency of the most powerful nation on earth was a watershed moment for our nation and for the world.  It seemed as though we had finally shattered the barrier and elected a leader based upon his principles rather than the color of his skin.  Of course, there are many that simply can't get over the fact (something that I've already addressed) but we will--one must hope--eventually get past that.

There have been interesting happenings in the world of music, particular from some of our orchestras (although not the "big five").  But this is, for a change, good news and not another message of financial calamity or collapse.  I'm sure that there will be more on that later.

JoAnn Falletta

But for now, it is worthy to note that JoAnn Falletta, the conductor of both the Virginia Symphony and the Buffalo Philharmonic, has been named the Principal Conductor of the Ulster Orchestra of Northern Ireland.  And, Estonian-born Anu Tali made a return engagement in February as guest conductor of the Madison (WI) Symphony.  Is this all that interesting?  On the surface one might not think so, except for the fact that much of the press directed toward these maestri is due to the fact that they are both women.  Women leading a symphony orchestra!  OH MY GOD!  What is happening to our sacred art that we would allow such a thing to happen!

Anu Tali

One can only say that it is about time.  Baseball broke its own color barrier in 1947......get it, 1947!!!  Actually I didn't realize it was that long ago until I googled the information.  Why is this important?  Look at videos of U.S. orchestras, especially the famed Young People's Concerts of Leonard Bernstein in the late 1950s and early 1960s.  The New York Philharmonic?  All men.  I'm not exactly certain when the change took place, but by 2005 women outnumbered men in the violin section 20-13.  And similar ratios are probably reported everywhere throughout the world, except in Vienna, but that will be the talk of a later time.

One only has to examine the ways in which female conductors are described to realize that we're not there yet.  "A petite blonde with king-sized gestures," says Lindsay Christians of the Capital Times (Madison, WI)--even women are perpetuating this view!  "Petite, slender and attractive, Ms. Falletta is a musical giant, leading the Symphony with bold and fiery vigor," wrote the Classical Voice of North Carolina.  I'm sorry, but what publication worth its salt would describe a male conductor in such terms?  If I was called "overweight and bald(ing)," there would probably be a furor in the public--at least I would hope.

Carl St. Clair

Daniel Barenboim, whom I saw conduct many times during his tenure with the Chicago Symphony, is not a big man, but I never saw him described in such terms.  The most demeaning terms used to describe another male conductor of rather slight stature, Carl St. Clair, has been "Cowboy".   But those words were spoken by none other than Leonard Bernstein, so it's ok, right?  (St. Clair is another conductor worthy of a major post, but therein is the subject of yet another posting.)

This matter actually hit home in Dubuque a number of years ago when the local symphony orchestra held its conductor search.  Despite the claims of the search chair that "I guarantee that our next conductor will look good from behind" (I wish I was kidding but I was there), three of the five finalists were women!  Frankly I was shocked, but in reality only one of those two rose above the rest (one candidate actually told the operations manager after a rehearsal break, "Let's go open a can of whoop ass on this Brahms."  Enough said about her.)  The best candidate for the job was actually the remaining female amongst the group, but unfortunately she withdrew from the "competition."  It would have been an interesting ride.  And this was Dubuque--eleven years ago.  Of course, I don't believe that we have had a women on the podium before or since.

Marin Alsop broke the barrier in the "mid-majors" in 2007 and despite some initial outcry from the members of the Baltimore Symphony over the selection process, things seem to be going along swimmingly and her contract has been extended through 2015.  One would think that we'd be over making such a big deal of a woman's presence on our "sacred" podiums, as women have been active conductors in the band world for decades.  The major conducting teacher in the United States?  The late Elizabeth A. H. Green of the University of Michigan; the number of leading conductors of all musical media coming from her studio is the stuff of legend.

The time has come.  When is one of the "Big Five" (or the Berlin Philharmonic for that matter) going to name a woman music director?

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Oh yes, and on a completely unrelated note (hemidemisemiquaver), happy birthday to me.  It would be nice if someone would invite me out for a celebratory beverage but--alas--I don't think that is going to happen.