Harry Glickman, assistant concertmaster of the NBC Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini and long-time first violinist of the WQXR String Quartet died Oct. 6 at the age of 86. The New York Times has a short obituary.

The Philadelphia Orchestra has announced additional concert cancellations.

The Philadelphia Inquirer has an article on the orchestra's president, Joseph H. Kluger, as well as one on the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Negotiations between management and the musicians of the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra have broken off.

Musicians of the banktrupt San Diego Symphony lost in their attempt to remove a trustee assigned to oversee the symphony's Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy proceedings, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

"[Bankruptcy Judge Peter W.] Bowie said the financial claims of the 79 musicians against the symphony, which filed for bankruptcy May 31 reporting liabilities of $5 million and assets of $6.4 million, "are disputed" claims and may not be used in either requesting a new trustee or voting in an election for one."

Carolina, a publication of students' email news from the Czech Republic, reported on a press conference held by embattled managing director Jiri Kovar. The article also reported that some orchestra members

"negotiated this free post (chief conductor) with Czech-born American conductor Zdenek Macal (who should have led the orchestra in Japan) even though it is not their prerogative to do so."

The musicians of the Philadelphia Orchestra offered to fulfill the orchestra's last scheduled recording with EMI; EMI turned them down and orchestra president Joseph Kluger described the proposal as "an insulting request," according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. The paper also ran a story on music director Wolfgang Sawallisch.

The orchestra's musicians also announced several public concerts and an October 16 rally sponsored by the American Federation of Musicians.

The Philadelphia Inquirer ran an editorial critical of the the Philadelphia Orchestra board and management, saying:

To the pain of the silence at Broad and Locust add the frustration of learning that the management of the Philadelphia Orchestra shunned a chance to end the three-week-old musicians' strike shortly after it began. A rejected back-to-work proposal brokered by Mayor Rendell's office in September would have defused a key issue in the walkout: the musicians' claim that mismanagement has led to a host of fiscal problems that now make it difficult to agree on a new contract. As spelled out by Mr. Rendell's chief of staff, David L. Cohen, the plan called for a blue-ribbon panel to review the performance of the orchestra's management, while the musicians returned to the Academy of Music stage and talks continued on other issues. From outside the talks -- which, thanks for small favors, have resumed -- the proposal seemed a fine way to break a touchy stalemate... Unfortunately, the board's response to the offer only underscored how prickly the issue is. Mr. Kluger hit a note more high-handed than conciliatory, saying the orchestra board will not surrender ``its responsibility for evaluating administrative effectiveness to either musicians or any outside third parties.'' As though the idea of inviting a consultant in to evaluate management performance is unheard of in this great land of ours.

The paper also reported that orchestra management laid off 12 part-time and temporary staffers, while musicians planned a strike benefit concert for October 18 that would be both broadcast and recorded.

The board of directors of the Philadelphia Orchestra, in a press release, "reaffirmed its belief that the contract offer made to the musicians on Sept. 13 was fair and competitive and underscored its commitment to balanced budgets going forward. The Board also endorsed a plan to take assertive steps to address the concerns of the striking musicians regarding prospects for future recording and broadcast opportunities." Management also cancelled another week of concerts.

Kenneth Haas, managing director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, suffered a heart attack this morning and is reported to be in "extremely serious" condition. Nicholas Zervas, chairman of the BSO's Board of Overseers, spoke to the orchestra at intermission this evening.

The musicians of the Ohio Chamber Orchestra went on strike on Sunday, October 7, 1996, the first rehearsal for their 1996-97 season. The strike followed the first meeting with a federal mediator on October 5.

The Ohio Chamber Orchestra is a 41 member orchestra that not only performs concerts as the OCO, but also serve as the pit orchestra for both the Cleveland Ballet and the Cleveland Opera. The expired agreement was the first collective bargaining agreement that covered all three organizations. To show their solidarity, the musicians of the OCO were joined on the picket line by members of the Cleveland Orchestra. The first week of rehearsals and concerts have been cancelled. Another negotiation/mediation meeting is scheduled later this week.

Negotiations were held over the weekend between representatives of the striking Philadelphia Orchestra musicians and members of the orchestra's management, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The San Francisco Chronicle had a story on the strike vote taken by San Francisco Symphony musicians.

San Francisco Symphony musicians have voted to authorize their negotiating committee to call a strike when their current agreement expires November 23, according to the San Francisco Examiner.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer,

"When the ongoing Philadelphia Orchestra strike was just a few days old, the orchestra's executive committee turned down a proposal from Mayor Rendell's office to establish a blue-ribbon panel to review the performance of the orchestra's management. ``This was a golden opportunity to end this thing,'' said union negotiator Stuart W. Davidson yesterday. ``I never presented it to the musicians because the plug had already been pulled by the board.'' Had the musicians voted on the proposal, Davidson said, it ``might have been very difficult to reject.''

The Finnish composer Joonas Kokkonen died on October 2 at the age of 74, accordingo the New York Times.

Maximiano Valdes, Music Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic, whose contract would have expired this season (1996-97), has renewed for half of the 1997-98 season. He will only conduct up to seven pairs of subscription concerts in the beginning of the 1997-98 season.

San Francisco Symphony musicians have set up a negotiations web page.

The musicians of the Philadelphia Orchestra have set up a web page.

Members of the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra ratified a new one-year labor agreement.

• September 96
• through August 1996
• May 1996