> What this is really about is turf protection. The first desk playerplays only one size not as a musically necessary requirement, but as a mark of status. I regard this as grotesquely unprofessional--maybe a cynic would say "grotesquely professional," I don't know. I do know I wouldn't put up with it. "You won't play anything but timpani? Fine, the timp. in this piece will be played by one of the general percussionists. You won't play English horn? Fine, We'll play Haydn's 22nd without you."
Would the Musicians Union allow that?
-Michèle
Depends on the local, I'm sure. Certainly, if an orchestra is to play the Haydn 22, they must use 2 English horns and no oboe--one way or another. I cannot resist pointing out that Haydn clearly expected the two regular oboists at Esterhaza to play these parts.
I freely admit that my rhetorical trope quoted above is not fully realistic, but for a certainty I would hope any conscentious music director would attempt to work around "I won't double" musicians and "I won't double" contracts as much as humanly possible, and would bear this consideration prominently in mind during contract negotiations and when hiring new players.
Of course, I also think all orchl. music before Mahler shd. be played with the violin sections sitting opposite each other, and nobody listens to me on that score either (if you'll pardon the expression).
-- Andrew Stiller Kallisti Music Press
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