His most powerful statement is at the end:
“One last thing: here in this building, we don’t entertain people. We are not entertainers. Music is not an entertainment. It is sacrifice. It is an evolution of the mind and the heart. And this makes this orchestra a treasure that is priceless.”
“I am here with my musicians. Today we were supposed to have a rehearsal for the next program but instead, as you see, the musicians are here to try to get a better situation for their life, their pension, their work.
“I want to make clear one thing: some people want to read my position together with the musicians as a position against the Board. That is not true. I am not against the Board, against the Trustees, the Donors. I just would like for them to understand and listen more carefully to the needs of musicians who represent one of the greatest orchestras in the world.
“Now, when I hear people saying, ‘They work three or four hours: not enough,’ this is very stupid. The work that you see on stage is just a small part of the work that they do at home. Because to be at the level that this orchestra is means the musicians need to do a lot of work at home. They are always very, very, very well prepared, already at the first rehearsal. That means that they have done a great amount of work at home.
“Also, you should not forget that the responsibility of our musicians is a responsibility in front of the world. La qualità in Italian, the quality. The whole world — the musical world — is listening to what is happening in Chicago. For other orchestras, there may be less interest or no interest. When the Chicago Symphony Orchestra goes around the world, the musicians not only play, they are the ambassadors of the culture of this country.
“For we Europeans and for the rest of the world, the United States is not just a nation of power, of muscles, but is also a nation of great culture. In the music world, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra brings a high level of culture that can compete with the quality of other orchestras like the Vienna Philharmonic or the Berlin Philharmonic. (I conduct both very often so I know what I am talking about.) So it is a big responsibility for the City of Chicago, for the world, to take care of this treasure.
“A collapse in the quality of the Chicago Symphony would be such a tragic thing not only for the musicians, but would affect generations. The lack of values — not only in the United States, in Europe, in Italy, in the world — is affecting the new generation: crimes, violence are increasing because culture is going down.
“The Chicago Symphony represents one of the temples of culture of this nation and of the world. The world today is very small. We are responsible for what happens. To put the Chicago Symphony at risk does great damage to the world, musically speaking.
“So this again, is not an attack of the Board; that would be stupid of me. I appear, with my musicians, proud of my musicians. And after, I will try to reconcile these two elements for the good of everybody, as a friend.
“Sometimes disputes happen with partners, with fathers and sons. This is a moment of crisis. But I am sure that with intelligence and good will, this will be solved and the orchestra Board will be prepared to bring music to an even larger group of people. There are still many people in Chicago who have not had the benefit to enjoy the Chicago Symphony.
“One last thing: here in this building, we don’t entertain people. We are not entertainers. Music is not an entertainment. It is sacrifice. It is an evolution of the mind and the heart. And this makes this orchestra a treasure that is priceless.”
~Riccardo Muti at the CSO Strike Picket Line
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