Don’t Stop the Music! The Cold Winds Facing Culture

This evening, we will engage in a search for a deeper understanding of the economic, legal, and social underpinnings of a culturally relevant sector with parallels to other vulnerable sectors beset by labor market insecurity. Heather Kurzbauer’s recent book Employment Vulnerabilities in the World of Orchestral Musicians: Symphonic Metamorphoses (Kluwer 2023) examines the concerns of musicians from Haydn’s 18^th century heyday to the present. It sheds light on a musical work world replete with challenges including financial insecurity, discrimination (gender, race and also #metoo issues) and the pandemic. In this event, Kurzbauer will look closer at the original gig workers, musician freelancers and their quest for equal work conditions and engage in a panel discussion with Caroline Cartens and Martin Kothman.

About the speakers

Heather Kurzbauer is a senior lecturer at the University of Amsterdam and has performed in leading Dutch orchestras including the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra and the Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra. A former Corresponding Editor at Strad magazine, Ms. Kurzbauer reports on music festivals and competitions the world over for a wide variety of media. She was awarded a Hijmans Fellowship for PhD research on employment/labor issues impacting orchestral musicians. Heather Kurzbauer received her Doctorate in Law (University of Amsterdam 2022). Employment Vulnerabilities in the World of Orchestral Musicians: Symphonic Metamorphoses is her recent book.

Throughout his long and distinguished career, Martin Kothman has been active in the fields of education, culture and advocacy for workers in these fields. After working for a short period in education and social cultural work, he was employed by the National Support Institute for Arts Education (LOKV). As director of FNV Media & Cultuur, he was an advocate for workers in many arts disciplines, with a focus on classical music. Kothman was involved in all aspects of labor market reforms for Dutch orchestral musicians and the improvement of terms and conditions of employment of workers in symphony orchestras.

Caroline Cartens studied classical singing at the Royal Conservatoire (Den Haag), opera at the Dutch National Opera Academy and Law at the University of Leiden, where she currently is a student. Caroline is one of the founders of the Platform voor Freelance Musici (PvFM), a foundation that advocates for the rights of freelance musicians. Next to her work for the PvFM, Caroline was secretary for the Creatieve Coalitie, an association that unites 45 organisations advocating the rights of over 40.000 artists in the Netherlands. In demand throughout Europe as a soloist, Caroline has performed over 35 world premières, and works presently as a soprano in the chorus of the Dutch National Opera, which was recently elected best Opera Company of the Year 2023.

Harriët Bergman is a PhD researcher at the University of Antwerp working on political emotions, climate justice and activism. She wrote the foreword to the Dutch translation of Andreas Malm’s How to Blow Up a Pipeline and contributes to the publications Hard//Hoofd and Jacobin. She gives action- and media training for activist groups and NGOs with Stroomversnellers (NL) and TRACTIE (BE).