As the legal tango continued this week between longtime Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra (OFJ) violinist Jolanta Michalewicz and orchestra administrators, who reportedly denied her entry to the Teatro Degollado on Tuesday, sources familiar with the orchestra’s problems say that many media reports contain errors or are “lies motivated by either parties’ agenda.”
“All the sides are lying to some degree,” one source says, including “frozen,” forcibly retired, fired, unionizing and new substitute musicians, as well as orchestra administration and even spokespersons for the Mexican Immigration Institute (INM), which raided an orchestra practice recently, and later reported they didn’t find anything illegal.
“A major, underlying problem is that the Patronato [a powerful, private group that supports the orchestra] is pushing [OFJ Director] Parisotto really hard” and that is spurring his harsh treatment of musicians, said an insider, pointing out that the newspaper El Informador recently quoted Patronato President Alejandro Elizalde saying the plan is to make the OFJ one of the best orchestras in the world.
But, even under this type of pressure, “a good director can deal with flawed players, rather than firing people.”
“Every orchestra has weak members,” agreed another source.
But another observer painted a starker picture. “The OFJ is a work environment that is sometimes unprofessional, where musicians may show up unprepared, for example, or there is open insubordination that is unthinkable in other orchestras. But Parisotto can be heavy-handed too.”
For example, social media carry a recording of Parisotto recently complaining during a practice that he has heard 9-year-olds play better than OFJ musicians. “But the post fails to mention that the session they finished just before was a complete disaster,” said the observer.
“Sometimes musicians here argue with the conductor,” agreed another source. ‘That’s unheard of. Discipline has been a problem in the orchestra for many years. That’s absolutely true.”
Still, some insiders do not understand the reasons for singling out some of the “frozen” musicians. “Most frozen musicians haven’t been unprofessional,” reported one.
“Some people being frozen out are … those who are trying to organize a union,” another pointed out.
The public is also receiving false information about the raid June 29 by Mexican Immigration Institute agents on a practice session at Teatro Degollado, said another source familiar with the orchestra.
“Saying five musicians ran away from the Immigration raid is completely wrong. Everyone, including the administration, knew Immigration was coming and even knew the time. People whose papers were not in order simply left practice early.”
An estimated 20 new substitute musicians have only tourist visas, the source said.
“Why did Immigration even come?” one person wondered aloud. “They didn’t return, they didn’t check the posted list of musicians or the payroll. It doesn’t prove a person is working if they are at a practice. Immigration did the minimum and did it in a way so that people didn’t get caught. Does that look like complicity?”
Some observers note that Parisotto’s past statements about planned auditions to replace “frozen” or terminated musicians have not come to fruition and say this has created general mistrust.
“A conductor usually protects his own hires and everybody else is fair game. But I see this conductor as someone with very little loyalty, even to people he’s brought in. And he doesn’t seem to know how strong Mexican labor law is.”
As the orchestra heads off this week for its much awaited concert in Mexico City’s prestigious Palacio de Bellas Artes — one of the highlights in its celebration of the 100th anniversary of orchestral tradition in Jalisco, a probable motivation behind the desire to upgrade the orchestra and thus a likely cause of the current labor upheaval — some see irony in the adage carved in the facade of the Teatro Degollado above the tableau of musicians and dancers in togas: “May discord never arrive here.”