Week 01

September 17 – 23

This week’s CSO program

Riccardo Muti, conductor
Tchaikovsky - Symphony No. 6 (Pathétique)
Hindemith - Nobilissima visione
Scriabin - The Poem of Ecstasy

Monday
7:30 MOB concert

Tuesday
10-12:30 1:30-3:30 CSO rehearsals

Wednesday
10-12:30 CSO rehearsal
6:30 CSO concert (Afterwork Masterworks, Hindemith, Tchaikovsky only)

Thursday
11-1:30 CSO rehearsal
8 CSO concert

Friday
1:30 CSO concert

Saturday
CSO European tour until October 7

CSO players and management settled our contract negotiations on Saturday. After spending countless hours in meetings over the summer I’m not inclined to spend too much energy thinking or writing about our new contract at the moment. Anyone interested in details should look for them elsewhere. The one thing I will say now is that I am particularly proud of our committee for maintaining scale for substitute and extra musicians. A number of so-called ‘major’ orchestras have cut deals where subs and extras are paid less than regular members. This shameful practice runs counter to unionism and has the unsavory aspect of players with secure incomes screwing local freelancers and lining their pockets with the spoils.

I’m not sure how much blogging will go on during the tour. I’ll post the tour schedule before leaving Chicago and see what happens. I have a thing against paying for expensive Internet access at hotels.