It’s official: on august 6, while some people were on vacation and others preferred not to be bothered, the Italian government published the figures of the funds allocated for all orchestras around the country. More than 60 orchestras were not admitted to receive any funding. Many others saw a drastic cut, like the Toscanini of Parma.
Basically two thirds of the musical scenario is being wiped away. The domino effect is easy to predict: the job loss will be of high impact not only for the musicians and administrative, but also for all those independent companies who work around any event, whether they provide catering or scaffolding for sets.
The bitter thing, is that this does not surprise me. It is a direct result of the lack of education and exposure to art appreciation in the school system, which, in turn, does nothing but fueling ignorance.
The direction should be just the opposite. Italy is, historically, cultural by definition. Opera was born here. We have one of the longest and deepest musical tradition in the entire world and, without being presumptuous, quite a few people are envious of it. And yet, our best thinking, for decades now, has been to continuously cut what we should cherish the most and what would actually provide a way out of the economic crisis.
As I said, it does not surprise me. It doesn’t prevent me though from thinking that they are useless idiots.
Cover photo by madamepsychosis | flickr
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