“Representatives from musicians’ unions in more than 30 countries, meeting in Oslo on February 26, 2014, express their deepest concern about the situation of symphony and opera orchestras around the world.
In Greece, The Netherlands, Germany, the United States, a number of orchestras have been closed down, sometimes overnight. In many other countries, they are being threatened with reductions in funding and budgetary cuts.
In the context of the global recession, it is self-evident that orchestras suffer as well as other sectors of the economy. But destroying orchestras does not just impact musicians’ jobs. It also impedes, in territories where these orchestras pursue and develop their activities, the citizens’ ability to access great works and repertoire that cannot be provided by the commercial sector.
Support for symphony and opera music, which are a precious and fragile part of our cultural heritage, is a prime responsibility of national, regional and local governments.
The FIM International Orchestra Conference calls on political decision makers to honour this responsibility, by providing orchestras with the means that are necessary to pursue their missions and thus contribute to, and enhance artistic, social and economic life.”
In the forthcoming months, a broad international initiative will be proposed by FIM, so as to make this call heard and more fully understood.