by Gail M Feldman

Created on: November 05, 2010

The question of whether the Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra should hire a native Angelino as its next conductor is a tricky one.  Should it NOT?  Of course a native Angeleno should not be excluded from consideration.  Nor should anyone else, FROM anywhere else.

A symphony orchesta should hire the most talented, innovative conductor it can afford to acquire, regardless of nationality, much less state origin.  American orchestras have a proud history of showing appreciate for foreign conductors, whether they have escaped oppressive regimes or just find the United States a land of more opportunity than their own.  Sometimes this has greatly enhanced the career of the conductor in question; just as often, if not more, the presence of the imported conductor has greatly enhanced the reputation of the orchestra.

Among the great foreign conductors who have conducted, or are still conducting, American orchestras, are (and this is an extremely uncomprehensive list):  Osmo Vanska, Seiji Ozawa, Serge Koussevitsky, Leopold Stokowsky, Igor Stravinsky, Zubin Mehta, Antal Dorati, Carlo Maria Guilini, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Dimitri Mitropoulos, Kurt Masur, Stanisaw Skrowaczewski, Georg Solti and of course the Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra's current baton man, young Venezuelan Gustavo Dudamel, who has not destroyed the orchestra so far.  (Of course, anti-Latino sentiment is so strong these days in the American southwest that perhaps one should be grateful he wasn't lynched just for existing, regardless of his exuberance and talent.)  For an orchestra in a particular state to limit its consideration of conductors by state would also eliminate the likes of these greats, and that would be of no benefit to the orchestra.  One might as well limit conductors by race, religion, gender, eye color or height.

Certainly all other things being equal, a native son or daughter should be given at least an equal shot at employment with his or her home team, but to make even prior residency a deal-breaker is just plain mad.  One wouldn't do it in other fields; why do it in a field that draws from as many national and international sources and resources as music, which traditionally transcends borders?  That would be cutting off the nose to spite the face that dared to peep outside the box:  foolishness and madness.

If the Los Angeles Orchestra, or the Los Angeles citizenry, finds fault with Dudamel's performance (as opposed to his never having been a Valley boy), by all means let him be replaced... with whoever fits the bill.  That means musically, not according to zip code.  Music lovers should not be xenophobes.

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