I finally found something which I knew I had somewhere in my files,
but which I didn't find until recently. It is a newspaper article which
was sent to me by a former student in Santa Barbara, California in 1995,
and I know all of you will find it most interesting. Here it is:
Santa Barbara NEWS-PRESS (The Voice of Santa Barbara County since l855)
April 6, 1995
Written by George Jahn, Associated Press
WITHOUT HARPING
PHILHARMONIC FEMALE FINALLY GETS HER DUE picture included
Vienna, Austria - For harpist Anna Lelkes, the Vienna Philharmonic's latest
tour at Carnegie Hall brought a bouquet few outsiders can appreciate.
Finally - after 25 years with the orchestra - her name appeared on the
program.
"I don't know how that happened. But I know it was a kick I'm not going to
forget anytime soon!" Lelkes says, still cherishing her triumph weeks
after the March trip.
People intimate with Vienna's music world understand her joy. The Vienna
Philharmonic's main harpist has never been on the program because she isn't
a formal member.
The problem? She's a woman.
In its 153 years, the Philharmonic never has admitted women as member
musicians, who vote on setting Philharmonic policy. The orchestra wasn't
swayed when the rival Berlin Philharmonic shattered tradition in l982 by
hiring its first woman.
page two LONE WOMAN, TOUGH LIFE IN VIENNA
With good male harpists a rarity, Lelkes won an audition when she was
invited to try out in l970. Since then, she has played full-time with one
of the world's best orchestras, under conducting legends like Sir Georg
Solti, Herbert von Karajan, Leonard Bernstein and Ricardo Muti.
But although she shares the music load with her 149 male colleagues, and
receives the same pay, she is barred from their club.
She can't expect support from conservative Viennese audiences.
"Admit women?" asked Elfriede Semmler, a fur-clad matron in her late 60s,
as she left the gold leaf and marble Musikverein hall after a recent
concert. "That would mean the end of an important Vienna institution. I'm
against it!"
Most orchestra members adknowledge that quality musicianship has nothing to
do with gender. But they, too, invoke tradition, and some offer reasons
sure to anger supporters of equality for women.
"Whenever there are women, there are always cabals and intrigues," said
Otto Nessizius, a violinist who retired in 1987 but fills in for sick
members. "That doesn't happen with us men. We yell at each other to clear
the air. There are no resentments that go on for years, like with women."
Lelkes recalls Austrian conductor Hans Swarowsky telling her in the early
1970s that "Your place is in the kitchen."
Bernstein, however, once called the orchestra bigoted for not fully
integrating her.
Only her hands are shown on televised New Year's concerts. The orchestra
leadership refused a request to photograph her at rehearsal with the
Philharmonic. They also wouldn't comment on why her name was listed on the
Carnegie Hall program along with the men.
The Philharmonic's leaders are keen to deflect criticism. They told The
Associated Press of an offer to the government to accept women as members
if the state subsidized the extra costs.
Austrian maternity laws permit women to stay home for up to two years with
pay. The leadership argues that without subsidies of up to $20 million a
year, the Philharmonic would be crippled hiring substitutes for
stay-at-home women.
Publicly, Lelkes, 56, says her "non-person" status is a small price to pay
for playing in the Vienna Philharmonic.
"I either respect the way they are, or if I don't, it's up to me to quit,"
she said during an interview in her living room overlooking the Vienna
Woods.
Even though other orchestras have women, Lelkes is an apologist for male
colleagues who argue that most women could not cope with the killing pace
of tours, concerts, recordings and duty in the pit for the Vienna State
Opera.
"Other women have no idea how hard and complicated this life is," she said.
"Any woman with a family cannot do this job. There is no room for a
family! I was lucky that I was just getting divorced when I came here."
She places her hopes for breaking down the orchestra's barriers in her
successors.
"When I go, another woman will come," She said. END
Well my friends that's it. Happy Holidays to you all! Lou Anne