September 9th, 2014 by Howard Pousner
“The ASO has evidently made the grave mistake of trying to meet financial challenges by constantly cutting. All that does is degrade the quality of the music and offer audiences a lesser experience, resulting in a downward spiral as concertgoers and donors turn away. The ASO obtained cuts two years ago by locking out its musicians, and its finances failed to improve. The ASO clearly did not learn the right lesson. “The ASO’s destructive and misguided actions should have no place in the world of symphony orchestras. Symphony orchestras must value their artists, without whom those organizations would not even exist. Locking out musicians, and terminating their pay and benefits as a way to force them to accept management-dictated contract terms, is reprehensible. “The musicians of the Chicago Symphony further urge all musicians, nationally and internationally, to join us in condemning this lockout.” |